Doug McMasters: Chapter 59.
Doug McMasters: If you don't have a Bible, you can go to page 650, right in that area, you'll find uh just about where we're at in Isaiah.
Doug McMasters: Sometimes when we look around our world today, we often are brought to wonder where justice and truth are.
Doug McMasters: We see as we engage in social media and the news and uh even interact with others in our neighborhood, and sometimes even in our own families, we see dishonesty rewarded, we see righteousness mocked, we see those who resist evil having to suffer for it.
Doug McMasters: And the chapter that we're going to look at in Isaiah 59 addresses all of those things directly.
Doug McMasters: Last week, uh, for those of you that were able to come in the storm, and those of you that watched online, you heard uh Pastor Micah talking about Isaiah 59 in its early verses, as it talked about these things and said that this is not just Israel's problem, it's a worldwide problem.
Doug McMasters: And God starts this chapter by saying that the problem is not about his weakness, and the problem is not about his arm being too short to save and his ear being deaf.
Doug McMasters: It is about us, and it is about our sin.
Doug McMasters: And he goes on to talk about the devastation of sin.
Doug McMasters: It separates us from him, it corrupts our lives, and it does bring devastation to our communities.
Doug McMasters: And the verse we'll begin with is verse 14 of this chapter.
Doug McMasters: Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off.
Doug McMasters: For truth is stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
Doug McMasters: I don't know if I could find a more apt description of our generation than that one.
Doug McMasters: Because our world is exactly like what Isaiah is saying his world was like.
Doug McMasters: The Senate started an investigation, and eventually the truth was uncovered.
Doug McMasters: And the nation realized that one of its top officials had actually taken public trust and used it for personal gain.
Doug McMasters: And the fallout was historic.
Doug McMasters: The Secretary of the Interior, Fall was the first member of the U.S.
Doug McMasters: cabinet to actually go to prison.
Doug McMasters: The public confidence in government was shattered at the time.
Doug McMasters: And until Watergate, the teapot dome scandal was the most salacious thing that had ever happened in our government.
Doug McMasters: And at that moment, people were asking, where is justice?
Doug McMasters: Where is truth?
Doug McMasters: And Isaiah's words resonated then, and they resonate now.
Doug McMasters: Justice is turned back, righteousness stands far off.
Doug McMasters: That indictment could mark out our country and every other country around the world today.
Doug McMasters: Because in ours and in theirs, we see corruption, we see violence, we see falsehood, we see injustice.
Doug McMasters: It's all over the headlines.
Doug McMasters: And we feel it in our neighborhoods.
Doug McMasters: And if we're honest, we'll even feel it in our own hearts.
Doug McMasters: But Isaiah 59 also tells us that there's hope.
Doug McMasters: There's good news here, that all is not hopeless, that God will intervene, that when no one else can save, God does.
Doug McMasters: And when human strength falls, the arm of the Lord will come and bring salvation.
Doug McMasters: And so that's where we're going to go today.
Doug McMasters: And as we look at the rest of Isaiah chapter 59, I just want to break it into two sections.
Doug McMasters: Sin devastates, but God delivers.
Doug McMasters: And so let's look at that first one in verses 14 and 15.
Doug McMasters: Let's read those two verses together.
Doug McMasters: Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off, for truth is stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
Doug McMasters: Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
Doug McMasters: Wow.
Doug McMasters: Isaiah doesn't sugarcoat this at all.
Doug McMasters: He does not play tiddlywinks with the truth.
Doug McMasters: Justice is collapsed, truth is stumbled, honesty can't enter, those who turn from evil themselves are plundered.
Doug McMasters: What a horrible indictment against the human race.
Doug McMasters: Last week, Micah brought us into what was bringing Isaiah to this summary judgment against humanity.
Doug McMasters: And in verses one and two of Isaiah 59, he reminds us that the problem is not God's weakness, it's our sin.
Doug McMasters: And he paints this picture in verses three to eight with hands defiled with blood and lips speaking lies and feet rushing to shed innocent blood.
Doug McMasters: And we can look at almost every portion of the human body and find some connection to just how corrupt we are.
Doug McMasters: Paul later quotes those verses in Romans chapter 3 to prove the point that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Doug McMasters: And then verses 9 to 13, the people themselves confess we hope for light.
Doug McMasters: We hope for light, but there's nothing but darkness.
Doug McMasters: We grope along a wall as if blind.
Doug McMasters: Justice is gone, truth is missing, honesty is shut out.
Doug McMasters: Now, doesn't that sound familiar to you?
Doug McMasters: Sounds familiar to me.
Doug McMasters: These statements that truth is twisted, righteousness is pushed aside, those who try to stand for right in the public square are mocked or marginalized, certainly sounds like our day.
Doug McMasters: Where lies spread faster than truth and honesty is shut out.
Doug McMasters: And those who are whistleblowers or reformers are simply people who want to stand for what is right, don't get a hearing.
Doug McMasters: Or if they do, it's simply one of derision in response.
Doug McMasters: Think about some of our headlines, just right here in New York City.
Doug McMasters: In fact, I think it was last month.
Doug McMasters: 70 workers in the Housing Authority had been demanding kickbacks from contractors in order to give them the contracts to work.
Doug McMasters: And they received over$2 million in bribes, and$15 million of contracts were steered because of those bribes.
Doug McMasters: What was the result of that?
Doug McMasters: People who were living in government housing were left in unsafe, deteriorating conditions, while the money that was meant for the repair of their domicile had been siphoned off by greed.
Doug McMasters: Isaiah's words ringing true.
Doug McMasters: Right in our neighborhood.
Doug McMasters: Justice turned back, righteousness standing far off.
Doug McMasters: Or think about that case uh not too many years ago in Texas, the affluenza case.
Doug McMasters: You remember the affluenza case?
Doug McMasters: Ethan Couch, a teenager who killed four people while driving drunk, and then was just simply given probation?
Doug McMasters: And he made the argument that he was actually too wealthy to know right from wrong, and the judge said, okay, while four people and four families were devastated.
Doug McMasters: And it was only after repeatedly violating his probation that this man was put in prison.
Doug McMasters: Truth is indeed stumbled.
Doug McMasters: But here's the pivot that we need to hear for ourselves.
Doug McMasters: Take a look at verse 16.
Doug McMasters: We'll talk more about it in a second, but we need to feel this.
Doug McMasters: He saw there was no man.
Doug McMasters: He was amazed that there was no one interceding.
Doug McMasters: You see, Isaiah's words don't just describe a broken system, they describe broken hearts.
Doug McMasters: And that is the case for all of us.
Doug McMasters: Down to a person.
Doug McMasters: It's easy for us to get riled up and to be indignant about the corruption in government, or to feel the pain of violence in our community, or falsehood in social media, or injustice in the courts.
Doug McMasters: But if we stop there, we're missing the truth of the chapter.
Doug McMasters: Because the same sin that lies in government and communities and social media and the courts, it rests right here, right within every single one of us.
Doug McMasters: And this is why Paul in Romans chapter 7 said, Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?
Doug McMasters: He wasn't just being rhetorical, he was being honest.
Doug McMasters: You see, and it's not just Paul's confession, it really ought to be ours.
Doug McMasters: Now, we may not take bribes or sit in a courtroom, but we know how to shade truth when it honesty would cost us.
Doug McMasters: We know how to harbor resentment when forgiveness feels too hard to offer.
Doug McMasters: We know how to indulge selfishness when sacrifice is a step too far.
Doug McMasters: The collapse of justice in society, the collapse of justice in the courts, the collapse is all about a collapse of righteousness in our own hearts.
Doug McMasters: And Isaiah's indictment is not about them, it's about us.
Doug McMasters: And if sin devastates communities, and if sin is found in places like the government and the courts, believe you me, it's also found in churches.
Doug McMasters: And one thing I've learned over the years as a pastor is that most of the broken marriages and fractured friendships and estranged children and split churches are not the results of big sins out there, but of everyday selfishness and dishonesty right here.
Doug McMasters: How often I've sat with couples who want to mend their marriage so they think.
Doug McMasters: Because the more you do this, the less you're going to be together.
Doug McMasters: Paul's cry, who shall save me from this body of death, is a good cry because it shows you finally understood the depth of need that we have.
Doug McMasters: That our best efforts fail, that our resolutions crumble, that our strength is not a match.
Doug McMasters: And deep within us is something that needs fixed.
Doug McMasters: And Isaiah wants us to feel that.
Doug McMasters: And it's sin that devastates us.
Doug McMasters: But this is the wonderful turning point of this passage.
Doug McMasters: Because Isaiah doesn't leave us in despair.
Doug McMasters: And I felt bad listening to Micah preach on the early part of Isaiah because he's like, hope's gonna come.
Doug McMasters: Come back next week, please.
Doug McMasters: You're gonna hear it.
Doug McMasters: And I thought I left him no good thing to say.
Doug McMasters: And honestly, it wasn't selfish on my part just to take it all.
Doug McMasters: I really should have brought you into that.
Doug McMasters: But here it is: sin devastates, but God delivers.
Doug McMasters: God delivers.
Doug McMasters: And he shows us here, as we'll look look at this, that when no one else can rescue, God himself steps in.
Doug McMasters: And when human strength fails, God brings the strong arm of his salvation.
Doug McMasters: And when justice is gone and truth is silenced, the Lord of righteousness rises to act.
Doug McMasters: And so let's look at this, the deliverance of God.
Doug McMasters: And we'll start in verse 16 through 19 and see God's intervention.
Doug McMasters: He saw that there was no man.
Doug McMasters: He was amazed that there was no one interceding.
Doug McMasters: So his arm brought salvation, and his own righteousness supported him.
Doug McMasters: He put on righteousness as body armor and a helmet of salvation on his head.
Doug McMasters: He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
Doug McMasters: Now, what beautiful picture this is.
Doug McMasters: Before we get to that beautiful picture of God arming himself to deliver, let's see why he does again.
Doug McMasters: The Lord saw there was no justice, and he was offended.
Doug McMasters: What a stark picture it is, this transition.
Doug McMasters: God surveying humanity and finding not a single soul standing in the gap.
Doug McMasters: No one able to intercede, no one able to bring justice.
Doug McMasters: The silence cast over the human race.
Doug McMasters: No one's voice.
Doug McMasters: No one's voice crying for truth or righteousness.
Doug McMasters: That same tension is found in a place that you might be familiar with.
Doug McMasters: We won't turn there, but in Revelation chapter 5, where John is caught up into a vision in heaven and he sees a scroll in God's hands, one with seven seals on it, the unfolding of God's plan.
Doug McMasters: And a search is made.
Doug McMasters: And here's what it reads: it says, A search is made in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and no one was found worthy to open the scroll.
Doug McMasters: And as John contemplated that, he wept.
Doug McMasters: He wept because the story of God's unfolding plan seemed stalled, if not broken.
Doug McMasters: And he lamented, just like Isaiah hears, speaking about the lamentation of God himself.
Doug McMasters: The crisis is the same.
Doug McMasters: No person is able.
Doug McMasters: And the resolution, wonderfully, is the same.
Doug McMasters: God himself redeems.
Doug McMasters: In Isaiah, his own arm brings salvation, is the phrase.
Doug McMasters: In Revelation, it is the Lion of Judah, the lamb who was slain, who is worthy.
Doug McMasters: And the connection is clear.
Doug McMasters: Isaiah is anticipating the Redeemer who is going to come because there's no one else who can intercede.
Doug McMasters: And John speaks about the identity of that Redeemer, who is Christ Himself, who has come in human flesh to intercede.
Doug McMasters: Where none of us could, Jesus does.
Doug McMasters: Where there is no one who could take or even touch the seals of the scroll, Jesus takes and opens and unveils the plan of God.
Doug McMasters: And Isaiah continues, He put on righteousness as body armor, and a helmet of salvation on his head.
Doug McMasters: He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
Doug McMasters: This is God clothing himself as a warrior.
Doug McMasters: Righteousness is armor, salvation his helmet, vengeance his garments, zeal his cloak.
Doug McMasters: Now, as Mark brought us into the reading in Ephesians 6, we see that the armor of God is something we are to wear.
Doug McMasters: And what a wonderful privilege this is.
Doug McMasters: And if I if you just allow me a two minute aside with this.
Doug McMasters: Some years ago, I visited the Tower of London.
Doug McMasters: And if you see the tall tower in the middle, that's called the White's Tower, and it's the armory.
Doug McMasters: It's where all the weaponry of the kings are held.
Doug McMasters: Not all of them, but they're on display, many of them.
Doug McMasters: And if you go to one particular floor and you'll see elevated up on some steps, and inside a clear, either glass or encased uh box is the armor of Henry the Eighth.
Doug McMasters: Now, Henry VIII was a big dude.
Doug McMasters: And uh people you look at it and it's elevated above where everybody's standing, and you're thinking, well, that is imposing.
Doug McMasters: And you would see little children walking up there and kind of going, that what's wonderful about Ephesians 6 is that the very armor that our Savior wears to bring deliverance to us is the very armor he puts on us.
Doug McMasters: And our savior, who was successful against the ways of the devil and even defeated the devil, has given us the wherewithal to stand in our day.
Doug McMasters: And we don't have to look at his armor and go, wow, that is too big for me.
Doug McMasters: When we slip it on, it fits us, everyone, whether we're four foot ten or six, six foot three or seven foot one.
Doug McMasters: It fits us all.
Doug McMasters: But here is the Lord coming, coming with with the weapons of war, coming as a galleot, fighting for his people.
Doug McMasters: He is the one who fights, and he is the one who saves.
Doug McMasters: But let me say a word here.
Doug McMasters: This is both a word of warning and a word of welcome when he comes to intervene.
Doug McMasters: Take a look at verse 18 for a second.
Doug McMasters: He will repay according to their deeds, fury to his enemies, retribution to his foes.
Doug McMasters: God's justice is not sentimental.
Doug McMasters: It's holy and it's righteous and it's fierce against sin.
Doug McMasters: You see, the sword of the Lord cuts two ways.
Doug McMasters: It cuts down the enemies, and its cutting edge also delivers.
Doug McMasters: The same arm will come, striking down enemies with fury and retribution.
Doug McMasters: But that same arm brings salvation to those who turn from their transgressions.
Doug McMasters: And Isaiah is here showing us that when the Lord comes, when he comes to intervene, he will come to do two things.
Doug McMasters: He will bring the terror of judgment, but he will also bring the triumph of grace.
Doug McMasters: And so we find here two things to hear.
Doug McMasters: First is a sober warning that if any of us persist in sin, if any of us cling to injustice or refuse to turn from our unrighteousness, we are placing ourselves on the wrong side of God's activity.
Doug McMasters: And he will wield that sword against us.
Doug McMasters: To continue in rebellion against him is to invite fury rather than mercy.
Doug McMasters: But it also tells us that the Lord will work.
Doug McMasters: Take a look at verse 19.
Doug McMasters: They will fear the name of the Lord in the west and his glory in the east, for he will come like a rushing stream, driven by the wind of the Lord.
Doug McMasters: The Redeemer will come to Zion and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.
Doug McMasters: This is the Lord's declaration.
Doug McMasters: You see, there is deliverance in the Lord's coming.
Doug McMasters: It's not just casting down the injustices, it is a saving of people who have found themselves also unjust and have begged for mercy.
Doug McMasters: And he will redeem them.
Doug McMasters: And so in verse 20, we find not only does the Redeemer intervene, the Redeemer comes to save.
Doug McMasters: And here we have hope, every one of us.
Doug McMasters: Though the indictment of verse 14 lies there against all of us, justice turned back, righteousness standing far off, truth stumbling in the public square, honesty just devastated.
Doug McMasters: And God looking at us and saying, There's no one, no one who can stand.
Doug McMasters: We now hear these words.
Doug McMasters: Now, this word redeemer is a rich, rich, rich word.
Doug McMasters: It talks about covenant language of God fulfilling his promises.
Doug McMasters: And it carries over.
Doug McMasters: If you've ever read the book of Ruth, where it talks about a kinsman redeemer.
Doug McMasters: And what is that?
Doug McMasters: It's about a person who steps in to help out a family member who's in distress and rescues their family member, who buys back what is lost and restores what is broken.
Doug McMasters: And Isaiah is saying here that he is going to come to humanity in that same vein.
Doug McMasters: He's going to come and he's going to be that redeemer.
Doug McMasters: He's going to come to the people and he's going to buy back what is lost.
Doug McMasters: He's going to restore what is broken.
Doug McMasters: He's going to help those who are unable to help themselves.
Doug McMasters: Paul quotes this verse in Romans chapter 11.
Doug McMasters: The deliverer will come from Zion and will turn godlessness away from Judah.
Doug McMasters: There's a lot to say about that verse, but one thing we can say without any equivocation or uncertainty at all is that Redeemer is Jesus.
Doug McMasters: That Redeemer is Jesus.
Doug McMasters: We're here at Christmas.
Doug McMasters: You're like, what does this got to do with Christmas?
Doug McMasters: It has everything to do with Christmas.
Doug McMasters: Literally everything to do with Christmas.
Doug McMasters: In Luke chapter 2, Simeon is holding this little infant child.
Doug McMasters: And he says, My eyes have seen your salvation.
Doug McMasters: In that moment, Isaiah 5920 was being lived out in real time.
Doug McMasters: Because the strong arm of the Lord had just showed up on earth.
Doug McMasters: And it was a baby.
Doug McMasters: Born in Bethlehem, laid in a manger, announced to the shepherds by the angels.
Doug McMasters: And on that night, God didn't send one of his mighty angels blazing in glorious brightness, luminescent, with vengeance in his arms.
Doug McMasters: God sent his own arm to deliver.
Doug McMasters: And he gave the human race a child.
Doug McMasters: A child.
Doug McMasters: Why?
Doug McMasters: God looks down from the eternal heavens upon humanity and all of its history and says, no one, no one, not a single human alive ever could deliver or intercede.
Doug McMasters: And so God Himself becomes human.
Doug McMasters: So that there would be one.
Doug McMasters: So that there would be a human who would intercede.
Doug McMasters: So that there would be a human who would deliver.
Doug McMasters: So that he might bring us all away from the one who holds the fear of death.
Doug McMasters: That is the devil.
Doug McMasters: That he might deliver us from the destruction that brings us to that fear by way of our own sin.
Doug McMasters: You see, Isaiah 59, you may not see it plastered in the Christian bookstores and in Christmas regalia, but it's a Christmas prophecy nonetheless.
Doug McMasters: God Himself has come, not with armor and vengeance this time, but with swaddling cloths and humility.
Doug McMasters: Because what he wants to do is destroy the pride of men with the humility of God.
Doug McMasters: He wants us to recognize that our salvation is not found in power and strength and might.
Doug McMasters: It is not exercised in rule and dominion and authority.
Doug McMasters: It is only found at the foot of the cross, where all of us must go to receive forgiveness.
Doug McMasters: All of us must cast ourselves with utter humility at the very feet of God and say, I don't deserve anything from you but judgment.
Doug McMasters: Please save me.
Doug McMasters: And here the baby in the manger has come.
Doug McMasters: The decisive moment has arrived where the prophecy of Isaiah is true.
Doug McMasters: But Christmas is not just about looking back, Christmas is about looking forward.
Doug McMasters: You see, Christmas is as much about the cross as it is the manger, but it's also as much about the second coming as it was the manger.
Doug McMasters: And the next time this Jesus comes, oh, he does come, riding on a white horse, bearing a sword, and bringing all enemies under his feet.
Doug McMasters: The incarnation is the beginning of God's intervention, but it is not the end of it.
Doug McMasters: And all of the warnings of Isaiah 59, stand true still.
Doug McMasters: He will bring down those who are still considered his enemies and foes.
Doug McMasters: We live in a world that longs for redemption.
Doug McMasters: But we're looking for it in all the wrong places.
Doug McMasters: We think it can be found in if we just get the right people positioned in politics and in places of leadership.
Doug McMasters: If we could if we could just get our person situated there or there or everywhere, then things will be better.
Doug McMasters: No, they won't.
Doug McMasters: Or maybe technology will help us.
Doug McMasters: Or maybe if it's just self-help lectures, that'll help us.
Doug McMasters: Or maybe it's social movements.
Doug McMasters: None of them.
Doug McMasters: This is why Christmas matters.
Doug McMasters: Because the answer is here.
Doug McMasters: When the baby arrives, his own arm has brought salvation.
Doug McMasters: The manger is more than just a quaint scene on a beautiful Christmas card.
Doug McMasters: It is the entrance of the strong arm of God to save.
Doug McMasters: And that little child born in Bethlehem is opening up a message to all humanity.
Doug McMasters: Turn and live.
Doug McMasters: Recognize your doom.
Doug McMasters: Recognize the disaster of sin.
Doug McMasters: Recognize the awful plight if you continue.
Doug McMasters: Turn and live.
Doug McMasters: The Redeemer will come to Zion and to those in Jacob who turn from their transgression.
Doug McMasters: Christmas is God saying, I see the collapse of justice in all humanity, and I will bring righteousness.
Doug McMasters: Christmas is, I see truth silenced, but he who is the way, the truth, and the life has come.
Doug McMasters: I see honesty shut out, but I'll raise up the one who would be able to speak to his generation and say, which one of you can convince me of sin?
Doug McMasters: Simeon held that little baby and said, My eyes have seen your salvation.
Doug McMasters: That's Christmas.
Doug McMasters: That's Isaiah 59 in real life.
Doug McMasters: And it's still here today.
Doug McMasters: God's salvation is visible, it's tangible, and it's present even in this moment.
Doug McMasters: And if you're here this morning and you don't know Christ is your Savior, God has come to save people just like you, because we are all like each other.
Doug McMasters: There's not one of us who can stand and intercede.
Doug McMasters: There's none of us who speak of righteousness that can prevail for ourselves, even, let alone others.
Doug McMasters: But if you turn from your transgression to the Redeemer who's come, the invitation is clear, and the invitation is welcoming.
Doug McMasters: Turn and live.
Doug McMasters: And if you're here this morning and you've felt the oppression of sin that others have cast against you, even while being a believer, your Lord has come to rescue his people, and he will rescue you to the uttermost.
Doug McMasters: He will bring you into the vindication of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who stood over all enemies, seen and unseen, and you will enter into the glory of that victory.
Doug McMasters: Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Doug McMasters: Christmas is a beautiful time of year.
Doug McMasters: It's filled with vibrant colors and fun festivities and family reunions, joyous song, bright lights, but at the core of it all is the reason to celebrate.
Doug McMasters: God has intervened, and he still does.
Doug McMasters: And so we rejoice.
Doug McMasters: Let's pray.
Doug McMasters: Father, it is with great joy to know that you've come, even offended in the knowledge that we are unable and unwilling to be truthful and righteous, that you have come to turn us from sin and to bring us a redeemer, so that we might rejoice that you have stepped into safe.
Doug McMasters: And Father, I pray that as we come closer and closer to the day of celebration of the birth of Christ, that we will become come into a greater degree of understanding of the reality of why he did.
Doug McMasters: May we understand that your intervention, this strong arm of the Lord, has come to deliver, but also come to destroy evil.
Doug McMasters: And so, Lord, may we with humility receive the offer of deliverance and not stand on the wrong side when you come to destroy evil.
Doug McMasters: And we pray this in Christ's name.
Doug McMasters: Amen.