Wasn't that good? Amen. Honoring
to the Lord. It's good to hear Alan and Gail
and Jessica again. I know I don't need to say this
for the majority of you here tonight, but if you don't know,
Brother Alan is pastor of Middle Fork Baptist Church in Willard,
Kentucky. Lord willing, he'll be bringing
the message next Sunday evening here. Just want you to know how
much I appreciate you, brother. He's been a big, big help to
me and to all of us here at 13th Street Baptist because he's so
faithful to come and feed the sheep when the Lord calls on
him. And I appreciate it. I speak
for the whole church when I say that. I really do. All right,
let's open our Bibles now to Isaiah chapter 40. Many of you
have expressed to me that as you read through Isaiah, and
as I preach through it, that you were sort of anxious to get
to these verses here. Well, this passage, Isaiah 40,
opens up a new section of Isaiah's prophecy to Judah, God's word
to his people through the prophet Isaiah. Many commentators label
this passage, and some following passages, the comfort passages. And so I've entitled this message,
Comfort My People. And that's how it starts off.
As Brother Stan read in verse 1, Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. Now that's God's instruction,
God's command to his prophet. This is what you do for the people
of God. Now, there are many times when
we, as the people of God, we need to be corrected, don't we?
We need to be admonished. We need to be taught a lesson.
Someone said one time that every sermon ought to instruct our
minds, but it also ought to tan our hides. And I don't know how
true I would hold to that. But I do know this, that any
correction or any admonition or any instruction that is to
be done in the Word of God, it must end up comforting God's
people. For if we leave here tonight
without the comfort that only God can give by His grace in
Christ, then we've been here for nothing. Every sermon ought
to glorify God. And the only way you can glorify
God is to exalt Christ and Him crucified in the glory of His
person. and the power of his finished
work at Calvary. And then every sermon ought to
be aimed at the salvation of sinners. Now we can't save any
sinner, can't even save ourselves, but we ought to preach that which
God uses to bring his sheep into the fold. But then every sermon
ought to edify brethren. It ought to lift us up and encourage
us in the Lord and comfort our hearts even in instruction. Historically,
Isaiah 40 is God's promise of grace and restoration to Judah. Someone said that in these passages,
and this is the way of God's word because it's an eternal
word. You know, back in the 60s and 70s, the watchword was relevant. Everything had to be relevant,
make it relevant. Well, my friend, there's nothing
more relevant than God's word in any and every generation.
For in this passage, Isaiah had a word for the people of his
day, even though he's speaking of the future. He's talking about
a time, and judgments have already been pronounced in the first
39 chapters here. He's been talking about a time
when Jerusalem, the city of God, would be destroyed for a while,
the temple would be destroyed, and the people of Judah and Jerusalem
would be carried away into captivity in Babylon. That was about a
hundred years after Isaiah. But yet, in speaking that prophetic
message and the comfort that comes with it, he has a message
for the people of his day, for there's comfort in the God of
all grace for every day. And it was an encouragement for
these people to repent. because all the punishment that
was due unto Judah was because of sin. Also, there was a message
of comfort here for the people who a hundred years later than
this would be in exile in Babylon, for they would read the passages
of Scripture that God had foretold of them as they read these instructions
and these gospel messages from Isaiah. and hopefully be comforted
and know that God had not forsaken them. God will never forsake
his people no matter what. You can mark it down. No matter
what your circumstances here on earth, whether you're high
on the mountain or low in the valley, God will never forsake
his people that he promised to save. And then certainly there's
instruction and comfort here for us today. For we look back
upon this and we see it already fulfilled in the person and finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Back up in chapter 39. Look at
this with me. Look at verse 5. Here Isaiah
is speaking to King Hezekiah, the king who was lifted up with
pride, and to the nation Judah. And he says in verse 5, he says,
Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of
hosts. Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house
and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day
shall be carried to Babylon." Carried away. Nothing shall be
left, saith the Lord. Probably this was the greatest
destruction that Isaiah is speaking of here in the future now. It
would be the greatest destruction, the greatest devastation that
Judah and Jerusalem will have ever gone through. up until the
time when it was completely destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Roman Empire. Nothing like this had ever taken
place. The Temple of Solomon would be brought down. All of
the people and all of the riches of this great country that God
had blessed in so many ways would be carried away to Babylon and
also scattered off elsewhere. And then he says in verse 7,
He says of Isaiah 39, he says, and of thy sons that shall issue
from thee which thou shalt beget shall they take away. Your children
Hezekiah, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of
Babylon. Now that's a strange prophecy when you consider that
the line of the kings of Judah had to be carried on through
because Christ, the king of kings, the Lord of lords, came from
that line, according to the flesh. The Bible says he was made of
the seed of David, according to the flesh. Well, we know from
here and from other passages of scripture, as we trace the
history of Judah through the Bible, not through man's history
now, but through the Bible, that not all of Hezekiah's sons were
taken to Babylon and made eunuchs, but some of them were. And so
this is the prophecy. Judah was going to face the consequences
of her sin. And yet, even in that, God would
not utterly forsake the nation. This was God's punishment, and
justly so, for the sins of the nation. But yet, even with the
majority of the nation having forsaken God, there was still
an elect remnant in Judah. A remnant according to the election
of grace, a small remnant Isaiah identified way back in chapter
1. And so lest their hearts be overcome
with grief and despair and think that God had totally forsaken
them, Isaiah was instructed and commanded by God here to assure
his people of the nation's restoration and the certainty of God's promise
that would come full swing into view in the future. Now, first
of all, what is the message? Well, he says in verse 1, comfort.
It's a message of comfort. Comfort ye. Comfort ye, my people,
sayeth your God. Back over in the book of 2 Corinthians
chapter 1, if you would turn there just for a moment. This passage, 2 Corinthians 1,
identifies God as the God of comfort. Look at verse 3 of 2
Corinthians 1. Now, this is God's relationship
to His elect. This is God's relationship to
His children, His redeemed ones, those whom He justifies in Christ,
those whom He calls by His Spirit. And it says in verse 3, Blessed
be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And listen,
it's the Father of mercies. He's a merciful Father. and the
God of all comfort." He's the God of comfort. And it says in
verse 4, "...who comforteth us in all our tribulation," all
our trouble, "...that we may be able to comfort them which
are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted
of God." In other words, as God comforts us, we're able to comfort
each other by the same comfort wherewith He bestows upon us.
And it comes from God. He says in verse 5, for as the
sufferings of Christ abound in us, that is, as we are identified
with his suffering and his grief and his pain for righteousness'
sake, so our consolation, another word for comfort, also aboundeth
by Christ. And whether we be afflicted,
it's for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual
in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer, or whether
we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And
our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as you are partakers,
or sharers, or fellowshippers of the sufferings, so shall ye
be also of the consolation." And what he's simply teaching
there is this, all our comfort comes from God in Christ. There's no comfort on this earth.
There may be moments, but it's only temporary. It won't last.
And this is the issue. Look back down at verse 18 of
this chapter. He says, but as God is true,
that is, God is faithful. God cannot lie. God cannot go
back on His word. God brought the nation Judah
together. He brought the nation Israel
together. And He promised to keep them together until His
appointed time. And that appointed time was when
the Messiah would be brought through, when the Messiah would
come in. And God is faithful to his promise. So you can be
assured, this is the way Isaiah comforted the people of his day.
You can rest assured that no matter what happens in Judah
and Jerusalem, God is faithful. And he comforts them with these
words. So as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and
nay. We didn't preach a gospel unto you that was this way today
and that way tomorrow. I've heard people say about preachers
that, well, he'll preach grace sometimes, but then he'll put
you back under the law. Well, do you know what that is?
That's yay and nay. Isn't it, brother Al? That's
yay and nay, back and forth. You see, God's people aren't
on a pendulum swinging. Back and forth, here over here
the gospel of grace and over here the law. One fellow told
me, he said, well, you've got to preach grace some, but then
you've got to preach the law or people won't get in line.
Well, my friend, if grace doesn't get you and me in line, nothing
else will. There's only one line. Heard
a man say one time that the Christian life is like walking on a tightrope. On this side you have the righteousness
of Christ, and on this side you have your own righteousness.
Well, my friend, if that's what salvation is, it's an unsure
thing. In fact, I'll tell you what,
no, it's a sure thing. It's sure that you'll fall, and
I'll fall off that tightrope. You want me to tell you what
salvation is? You want me to tell you what the Christian life
is? It's standing on the rock Christ Jesus, on the solid rock,
firm and sure. Now, that's the comfort that
we have, that no matter what we go through in this life, no
matter what happens to these physical bodies, no matter what
happens to this body of believers, our God is true. He will not
forsake His people. He's the God of all comfort.
He says in verse 19 of 2 Corinthians 1, for the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by men, Silvanus
and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. In other words, when we preach
Christ, we preach a sure thing. That's what he's saying. We don't
preach, Brother Tim James said, a maybe, maybe, yea be gospel. That's not what we preach. We
preach a sure thing. And he says, for all the promises
of God. Now, how many promises? All the
promises of God in Christ. That's what he's saying. In Christ
are ye, are sure. And in Christ, amen. That means
certain. So be it. That's what it means.
In Christ, they're sure and certain unto the glory of God by us. And that's how he establishes
us. That's how he comforts us. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who have blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. They're ours for sure and certain
because Christ earned them. We didn't earn them and we didn't
deserve them, but Christ did. That's the key. And they're all
in him. Now go back to Isaiah 40. That's
the message. It's a message of hope. It's
a message of peace. Alan and Gail and Jessica, they
sang of whispering hope. That's the comfort. Fits right
with this message. The hope, the sure and certain
expectation of salvation and glory that's in Christ, that's
based upon His shed blood and His imputed righteousness alone.
That's the issue. It's a message of peace and assurance.
It's a message of promise that's sure and certain in Christ. Now,
next, who is to be comforted here? Well, he says it, comfort
ye, comfort ye my people. Now, we can't speak this comfort
to everybody without exception. I know preachers want to do that
today because that makes people feel good about themselves. They
feel like you can't be evangelistic unless you tell everybody that
God loves you and Christ died for you, smile. But that's not
evangelism, my friend. That's a lie. That's what that
is. We speak the comfort of God,
and we encourage all who hear the message to come unto Christ,
to come to God at the mercy seat, pleading the blood of Christ.
Believe on Him. That's the command to all of
you here tonight. That's the command that's given
from God to all who hear the message. But this comfort, is
for my people, he says. Comfort my people, God says.
And they're identified further, verse 2, speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem. What is Jerusalem? Well, that
was the city of God, the city of David. Under the old covenant,
this spoke of Judah and Jerusalem and that earthly kingdom. But
that was a type and a picture and a symbol of God's chosen
people, those whom God chose before the foundation of the
world in Christ. Those whom he sent Christ to
redeem by his obedience unto death at Calvary. Those whom
he sends his Spirit to regenerate and bring to faith in Christ,
the new birth. Those who are justified in Christ. I think about, when I see this
comfort, this consolation, I think about that man named Simeon in
Luke chapter 2. who the Holy Spirit revealed
to Simeon that he would not leave this world until he saw the Christ
child actually in physical form. And it says in Luke chapter 2
and verse 25, it says, Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout. Now, what that means to me, and
I believe in the context of Scripture when it says a man is just and
devout, is simply this, he's a sinner saved by the grace of
God in Christ. He was a man of faith, God-given
faith, who was looking to Christ. Now, how do you know that? Well,
look here. It says, he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Now, who do you suppose he's
waiting for? He's waiting for the Lord Jesus. He's waiting
for the Messiah. Waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ. And the
Holy Ghost was appointed. And you remember when Joseph
and Mary brought the Christ child into the temple to go through
the ceremony according to the law. They, Simeon, lifted that
child up and he said, he said, for mine eye, he said, now I'm
ready to depart, Lord, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Speaking of that child, the God-man,
the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. In the book of 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 and verse 16, the Apostle Paul wrote, he said, now our
Lord Jesus Christ himself, And God, even our Father, which hath
loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace." Our comfort is the comfort of grace. And it's God's will
that we who have fled to Christ for refuge have strong consolation. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 18. This is for the people of God.
This is comfort spoken to sinners who have seen their need of Christ. Sinners who have seen their failures,
who have seen their depravity, who know that they haven't earned
anything from God by way of blessing, and they don't deserve anything
but wrath, but who see that God is a God of mercy and that He's
just to justify the ungodly at the mercy seat by the blood through
the Lord Jesus Christ. And they come to Him. That's
who this comfort is to be spoken to. Well, how was the message
to be delivered? You know, this is something here
in verse 2. It not only says what to say and who to say it
to, but how to say it. And here's what it says in verse
2. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Now, that word comfortably there,
literally, and you might have this in your concordance, means
speak to the heart. Speak to the heart. I can't remember who preached
this, but it may have been Brother Scott Richardson. I don't remember.
But he had this outline. Preaching from the heart. The
preacher that preaches from the heart. Number one, he preaches
from the heart of God. That's number one. Now, how can
I preach from the heart of God? I'll tell you exactly how. Right
here. This is the heart of God. This word right here. Preach
the Word. This is the revelation of God's
heart to His people. And of course, this book, from
Genesis to Revelation, is the book of Christ. He is the heart
of God. He's the Son of His love. He
said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear
ye Him. We're to preach the Word. Preach the gospel of God's grace.
Yes, we preach the love of God. We preach the mercy and the grace
of God, but not without the justice of God, not without the truth
of God. Yes, we preach from the heart
of God when we preach Christ and Him crucified, when we preach
the gospel. Secondly, he's to preach from
his own heart. He's to preach what he knows
and what he believes, what he's been convinced of. And then thirdly,
he's to preach to the hearts of the people. In other words,
he's to preach what they know, and what the Holy Spirit has
taught them, and what they believe, what they've been brought to.
And all we can do is just preach the gospel. Speak ye comfortably. Speak to the heart. Salvation. Salvation is a heart matter.
And the heart is made up of the mind, the affections, and the
will. It's the inner man. It's everything that we are.
This is not just philosophy. This is not just theology. It's not just religion. This
is life and death. That's exactly what it is. What
I'm talking to you about tonight is life and death. Don't walk
out this door without getting on your knees and your heart
praying to God, Lord, make it effectual to my heart. Speak
ye comfortably. Well, next, what is the basis
of this comfort? What is the basis of it? He says
this, he says, verse 2, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and
cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished. That's number
one. We can speak comfortably because the warfare is accomplished.
That her iniquity is pardoned. Oh, my soul. Our iniquity is
pardoned. For she, and thirdly, for she
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sin. Now,
every bit of this. refers to the work of God in
their deliverance from Babylon, but ultimately and spiritually
and eternally it refers to the work of Christ in our eternal
salvation. Deliverance from spiritual Babylon,
that great whore, that great harlot is what the scripture
calls it. Back in the book of Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24
it speaks of the coming of the Messiah. who would come and make
an end of sin, who would finish the transgression, who would
bring in everlasting righteousness and seal up the vision and the
prophecy and fulfill all things. What's he going to do? Well,
here's what you tell Jerusalem. Here's what you tell sinners
who have run to Christ for salvation. Your warfare is accomplished.
What does that mean? Well, we know that there is a
warfare that we're right now engaged in. It's called the warfare
of the flesh and the spirit. And it's a battle. It's a daily
battle. Every second of our lives we're to be engaged in the warfare
of the flesh and the spirit. But actually that warfare is
accomplished in that the outcome is already sure and certain.
We're going to be delivered. But here what he's speaking of
is the work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. When our Lord
came to this earth and took upon himself human flesh without sin,
the God-man. He walked the earth and he went
to war on sin. He went to war on Satan. He went
to war against the world and the flesh and the devil and against
the curse of the law. And on the cross of Calvary,
by his obedience unto death, by the shedding of his precious
blood, he totally defeated sin. He put away our sins. Sin was
laid to his account, for he was made sin who knew no sin. And
when it was laid to his account, he paid our debt in full, didn't
he? He didn't leave one iota for
us to pay, not one penny, not one farthing, as the old writers
would say. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. And he did it for his people.
When He went to the cross and died for our sins, He made an
end of sin. Sin did not make an end of Him.
You see, without Christ, sin will make an end of you and make
an end of me. But He took upon Himself the
sins of His people, for He was delivered for our iniquity, and
He made an end of sin. He finished the transgression.
He fulfilled the justice of God. And He defeated Satan, Satan
the accuser of the brethren. He makes his accusations even
now. But my friend, rest assured,
in the sight of God's law and justice, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? That warfare is over. And when
the great accuser comes and accuses, how do we turn him back? Revelation
12, by pleading the blood of the Lamb and our testimony of
Him. Christ is my hope. Christ died
for me, Satan. You have nothing to accuse me
with. Christ died for me. That warfare is accomplished.
You don't have to fight that warfare again. The curse of the
law is gone. The law cannot curse where sin
is not charged. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians
5, I believe verse 18, for God, or 19, for God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing, not charging, not
counting their sins unto them. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. That's right. Again, who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies.
Who can condemn? It's Christ that died. You ever
notice how that is answered in Romans 8? I think it's verse
33. I'm not sure. Who can condemn us? I've been such a good guy
today. No. Who can condemn us? Well, I've been on my knees all
night in prayer. No. Who can condemn us? Well,
I went to church. Haven't missed a sun. No. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died. That's what Isaiah is talking
about right here. Her warfare is over. The curse is removed. Jesus Christ became a curse for
us. For cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree. And He removed the curse. Secondly,
her iniquity is pardoned. Do you realize that the blood
of Jesus Christ cleanses us from sin? No, all sin. And that's important, isn't it?
I hear people talking about forgiveness of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us from it. And God is just to forgive us
our sin by his blood. That warfare is over. We're washed. You remember back in Isaiah chapter
1 and verse 18, I believe it was, he said, Come, let us reason
together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they'll be as white
as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they'll be as wool. How? By the blood of the crucified
one. That's how. That warfare is over.
And then she has received double for all our sins. Not only has
he washed us clean from all our sins, and paid our debt in full,
He has made us perfectly righteous in Christ." We get double for
all our sins. He took our sin and gave us in
return His righteousness. And just as our sins were accounted
to Him, His righteousness is accounted to us, imputed to us. For He was made sin, Christ who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. We get double. That warfare is over. You don't
have to strive to establish a righteousness of your own. That warfare is
over. That battle is done. Christ settled it, you see. What
we have to do is rest in His righteousness. Somebody says,
well, shouldn't we strive to be obedient? Strive to be conformed
to His image? Yes, but not to be made righteous. We should do it because we already
are. That's the issue. Look here in verse 3. the glory
of the Lord revealed here. Now, he says, the voice of him
that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Now, you know, as
I do, from the New Testament, that that's a prophecy of the
forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist. It's four or five times
that this is quoted in the New Testament concerning John the
Baptist. He was the voice, and that's how he referred to himself.
It's almost like John the Baptist said this. He said, I'm nobody
from nowhere. I'm just a voice. I wish preachers,
including myself, could learn that lesson. We're just a voice. Well, what's your name? Voice.
Pastor Voice. That's what we are. Just the
Word. Preaching the Word of God. You see, what is he saying? Prepare
ye the way of the Lord. Well, the preparation in time
was God sending all the prophets And it all had its fulfillment
in John the Baptist. He was the last of the Old Testament
prophets. Christ himself was the fulfillment,
is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecy. And he
says here, make straight in the desert. Prepare ye the way of
the Lord. He's coming. That's what John
the Baptist said. And then he said he's here. And
he's going to make straight in the desert a highway for our
God. These words that describe the
earth, the desert, represents the wasteland, the dry, barren
places, speaks of the sin and depravity of man, spiritual death,
like a desert. That's what we are by nature,
dead in trespass and sin. Dead is a desert. No life, no
growth there, no spiritual life. And it represents the futility
of human works, the desert, futility, vanity. It represents the need
of the human heart and all the obstacles and impediments to
eternal life. He goes on, verse 4, every valley
shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. All
these valleys, rough, crooked places are all the result of
sin. It represents the problems of
life that need to be straightened out. You know, the valleys and
the mountains, men may be low, they may be high, but I'm going
to tell you something, they cannot be right with God without Christ.
And this straight highway that he says here, that's the way
of life in Christ. Christ said, I'm the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. It's the straight and narrow
way. Every valley of hopeless despair is going to be filled
by Him. Every mountain in hell's self-righteousness will be put
down by Him. Every crooked bend of works religion
will be made straight by Him. Every rough place of legalism
must be made plain and cleared away by Him. And here's the message
of preparation. Look at verse 5. Here it is,
and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Now, what is that? That's the appearance of Christ.
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The glory
of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. That's Christ in
human flesh, the God-man, obeying the law perfectly and dying for
the sins of his people. You see, this is saying there's
no salvation, no comfort, no peace, no security in the flesh.
Look at it. All flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. It's not going to
be just for the Jews, but also for God's elect out of the Gentiles.
Who's going to see it? All whom God brings to see it.
He gives you eyes to see and ears to hear. And he says, the
voice said, cry. And he said, what shall I cry?
Verse six, all flesh is grass and all goodliness thereof is
as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth. And it says, because the Spirit
of the Lord blows upon it. What it's saying there is all
God has to do to just wipe it away is blow on it. Just a blast
of his breath and it's gone. And he says, surely the people
is grass. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth." What's he saying there? He's saying there's no confidence
in the flesh. Put no confidence. We worship
God. We rejoice in Christ and have
no confidence in the flesh. Put no confidence in the works
of man. Put no confidence in the philosophy
and the religion and the theology of man. Put no confidence in
this world. Well, where's my confidence to
go? We'll look at the last line of verse 8, but the word of our
God shall stand forever. The word of God is to be our
confidence. First of all, the living word,
Christ himself in beginning was the word, with God and the word
was God. Secondly, in the word that was
made flesh and dwelt among us, the God-man, the word in human
flesh, who did his great work on Calvary. Thirdly, the word
written, the scriptures, we have here where our confidence should
be placed in this word. To the law and to the testimony,
if they speak not according to this word, there is no what?
No light in them. And the preached word, if it
is from the written word concerning the living word that was made
flesh and dwelt amongst us, the uttered word, that is our confidence,
the gospel. Peter quoted this in the exact
same way. The word of our God shall stand
forever. And then lastly, there's the
gathering of his lambs. Now, let me just close with this.
Look at verse 9. He speaks of Zion. Oh, Zion. That's the church. Mount Zion. God's mount. That bring us good
tidings. That's the gospel. Good news
of salvation by God's grace for sinners. The church is the pillar
and ground of truth. The witness of Christ in this
dark world. Get thee up into the high mountain.
Don't bury it under a bushel. Don't hide it. Don't keep it
some secret society. It's not in some code. The Bible's
not written in some secret code. It's right out there if you have
eyes to see and ears to hear, don't you? Don't try to hide
it. Get up on the highest mountain. Old Jerusalem, the city of God,
the government of God, the city of David, but not David the king
back then. the son of David, whom the physical
king represented, Christ. O Jerusalem, that bring us good
tidings, the gospel, lift up thy voice with strength, cry
out strongly, confidently, lift it up, be not afraid, say unto
the cities of Judah, here's our message, behold your God. Behold
your God. Here's the sovereign Savior.
Jesus Christ is God. That's what he's saying. This
One whom John the Baptist comes in to announce, He is God in
human flesh. And because He is God, He is
able to save to the uttermost them that come unto the Father
by Him. Let me tell you something. If He were not God, His righteousness
would be of no value. His blood would have no saving
power. His promises could not be trusted. And His intercession
would be of no comfort. But He is God. And you can trust
in Him. Look at verse 10. Behold, the
Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arms shall rule
for him. Behold, his reward is with him,
and his work before him." He's not only a sovereign Savior,
he's a powerful Savior. He's able. Behold, the Lord God
will come with strong hand. Our Savior is the God of great,
omnipotent power. His name shall be called Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins." What comfort
that is, that He's able. Don't ever have comfort or assurance
in your own abilities, or in my own ability. He's able, you
see. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed, and I'm persuaded that He's able, not only to save me,
but to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. He
was able to fulfill the law in every jot and tittle. He was
able to satisfy divine justice, and He is able to obtain eternal
redemption for His people. He was able to crush the serpent's
head, and He is able to save His people from their sins. And
notice it says, His arms shall rule for Him. His power sustained
Him in the wilderness, upheld Him in Gethsemane, sustained
Him in the agony that He suffered on the cross. All that he had. The grave couldn't hold him because
of his power. His reward is with him. You know
who that's talking about? It's talking about his people.
His people themselves is his reward. He earned his people. He bought the church with the
price of his own precious blood. And they're his reward. He purchased
the church. And it means also all that he
earned for us. All spiritual blessings. All
grace here. All glory hereafter. Everything
that we have by virtue of salvation. is what Christ earned for us,
and we get it by grace. We didn't earn our reward. He
earned it. And then look at the last one,
verse 11. He's the gentle shepherd. Isn't that amazing? He's the
sovereign Savior. He's the powerful Savior, but
He's the gentle shepherd. John 129, the Baptist said, Behold
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Look
at it, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather
the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently
lead those that are with him. Christ laid down his life for
his sheep. And he leads them, as Psalm 23
says, in the green pastures of his rest, his salvation. He leads them beside the still
waters, communion with God. He leads them into the truth
of the gospel. He leads them through the valley
of the shadow of death. And He leads them all the way
to glory. And He'll never stop. He feeds
us. He loves us. He cares for us.
He protects us. He provides for us. Everything
by His love and His grace. Now, what greater comfort do
we need? Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people.
There's the comfort for the people of God. All right. Brother Joe is going
to come and lead us in a hymn here. We're going to have a baptism
tonight before we leave. Most of you, I think, know Brother
Glenn Cromer and his wife Ann. Glenn lives up in West Union,
Ohio. I start to say West Union, Kentucky.
Forgive me. But it's West Union, Ohio. And
he and his son Chuck and several others have been endeavoring
to get a mission started there, church, and to be a witness for
the gospel in that community. And the Lord's blessed them.
And his son, Chuck Cromer, is the pastor there. It's called
West Union Sovereign Grace Community Church. And Chuck has spoken
to him several months ago about baptism, and he's wanting to
come and profess the Lord in believers' baptism. And then
one of the men in that group, Brother J.R. Skinner, is going
to also. It's always a delight to be part
of God raising up a witness in other communities, isn't it?
So, that's what we're going to be doing. So, Chuck, if you and
J.R. want to go on back at this time
to get ready, and then Joe's going to come and lead us in
a hymn, and I'll baptize these gentlemen, and then we'll have
another hymn to close out. Also, let me make this announcement
or I'll forget. I wrote it down. Brother Eddie at Robinette said
that we found a lady's watch out in the parking lot. So, if
any of you ladies lost a watch, check with him back there on
the table about that. But we'll do this. So, Brother
Joe, you come.