Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Isaiah chapter 4. Isaiah chapter 4. This passage of scripture sets
forth the totality of men and God. This is the totality
of what men are in themselves, what men are as being found in
Christ, as Almighty God is in His glory
to show mercy and compassion to whosoever He will. Our passage begins, and I've
entitled this, with this word right here, these words. And
in that day, seven women shall take hold of
one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own
apparel. Only let us be called by thy
name. that take away our reproach. Now that verse of scripture right
there sets forth man as he's born in Adam. That's his attitude. The carnal heart is enmity against
God. In that day But what day that
is, we're not told. Some say the day of judgment. I think with the wording that
we're going to see, it's the day in which we're living right
now. It's the day in which time is
still going on. That day in which God's good
pleasure to show mercy or to withhold mercy according to His
will and purpose. That day. In that day, the scripture sets forth that
that day has been since the beginning of time. In the second verse through the
end of the chapter, we're going to look at the same day, but
a different group of people. But this first verse is going
to set forth a group that is referred to as seven women. Seven women, many women, not
necessarily seven, but it's a typical number. seven women, a certain
amount of women, taking hold, fastening to seize a man that
they perceive to be their security. In that day, seven women shall
take hold of one man. It's a man that they feel they
can negotiate with. They've got some They've got
the finesse, they can strike a deal. That's what they're saying
right here. They have this desire. They said, now, we're going to eat our own bread. We're going to wear our own apparel.
Only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. Here's what they're saying. We
don't truly need you. But we just need your name. We
just want to be associated with your name. Now, this is the attitude
of every person before conversion. This one man that they think
is the Lord Jesus Christ. If any man preaches another Jesus,
that's what Paul the Apostle. There's another Jesus. Now there's
many men standing in pulpits today and they're preaching about
Jesus. They're using His name. But you listen to the message
that they're preaching and you're thinking, that's not the Lord
Jesus that I'm serving. This world knows at least in
their head because of a conscience that the Lord is the Messiah. They know that. The devils know
that. But they think that He's one
with whom they can bargain. They say, let us be called by
thy name. Because of that law that's written
in their conscience, there's a knowledge of sin. There's a
knowledge of right and wrong. And what we're asking, we're
going to take hold of this man and we're going to eat our own
bread, we're going to wear our own apparel, but just we want
to be called a Christian. Everybody's a Christian. I'm
a Christian. They're Christians. This is Christians. But we can meet all the requirements.
We know that we'll provide for ourselves. What are they going
to do? We're going to eat our own bread. We're going to feast
upon the Messiah of our own taste. We'll make Him according to our
own ingredients, by our own free will. Here's the reason why we're
going to eat our own bread. declared himself to be the bread
of heaven. Now we know that. We know that. But these that take hold of him,
they say, we're going to eat our own bread. Here's the reason.
The sovereign of this universe isn't pleasing to our palate. We just don't like the taste
of him. The Christ who died only for
his sheep, That's distasteful to us. We don't savor him who
prays only for the elect, the one who only died for the sheep.
We'll eat our own bread. Thank you. Now let me ask you
something. Is that not so by what we know
and see? Why Do men not love the sovereign
Lord of this universe? Of heaven and earth. Why do they
not? Why do they want to provide their own bread? Because they
don't have a taste for Him. We'll provide our own bread.
And I'll tell you this, we'll wear our own apparel. We're going
to weave ourselves a covering of our own making. And we can
hide our own nakedness. like Adam and Eve did. But here's the problem. The scripture
reveals what man's own apparel is. Isaiah 64, 6, for all is
an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags. And here's the end of that apparel. Hold your place right there.
Isaiah 28, 18. Here's what's going to happen.
We'll eat our own bread and we're going to wear our own apparel. Now a believer hears these words
and thinks to themselves immediately. I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, I tell you what, I don't want to wear my own apparel.
I don't want to eat the bread of my making. I don't want to
knead my own loaf of bread and bake it and say, boy, I can feast
on this. I did it. I put in all the ingredients
that I wanted. I put in everything I liked.
Bear, I'm going to tell you something. Everything I like ain't worth
nothing. Here's the end of that bread
of man's own making and man's own apparel, Isaiah 28, 18. Your covenant with death, and
that's what you've done. You'll eat your own bread, you'll
wear your own apparel. Your covenant with death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with hell, and that's all man's
doing. A man that wants to eat his own
bread and wear his own apparel, he's made an agreement with hell.
And it's not going to stand when the overflowing scourge shall
pass through, and you'll be trodden down by it. The time that it
goeth forth, it shall take you, for morning by morning shall
it pass over, day by day, day and by night, it shall be a vexation
only to understand the report. Why? Here's what's going to happen.
This bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it. And
the covering, narrower, and he can wrap himself up. My dad used
to tell me I'd do something. And it wasn't his approval, probably
wasn't anybody's real approval. And this would be his statement
to me. Boy, you made your own bed, now you're going to sleep
in it. I knew that meant trouble for him. That's what was going
to happen. You made your bed, now you sleep
in it. Here are these seven women. They're
going to eat their own bread. They're going to wear their own
apparel. They just all we want. is to
have your name. We want to be called a Christian. We want to be known as those
that know Him. That's the totality of man being
born in Adam. That's man born in sin. That's
man born in rebellion. That's it. I can handle this. Thank you. I can handle it. Verse 2, Isaiah 4. Oh, in that
day, there's another group. And here's the rest of mankind. All that are found without Christ,
they're going to make their own bread, they think. They're going
to wear their own apparel, they think. And when the judgment
of God comes through, the Lord's promise, you're not going to
stand. Oh, but in that day, in this
day that we're in right now, in that day, The Scripture says
the branch of the Lord, the branch of Jehovah, should be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them
that are escaped from Israel. In the day of God's mercy to
His people, eating their own bread and wearing their own apparel
is not beautiful, It's not lovely. It's not tasteful. Boy, but in
that day, the day of God's mercy, the day of God's compassion,
the day of regenerating grace, God Almighty is pleased to remove
that heart of stone and give a new heart. And you think, oh,
but for the grace of God, where would I be? Well, but for the
grace of God, I'd be doing the same thing I was doing before.
In that day shall the branch of the Lord..." Who is that branch? Well, it's the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. "...shall the branch of the Lord
of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious." Look at Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah
23, verse 5 and 6. Here's the branch Himself. Jeremiah 23, five and six. Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David
a righteous branch. A righteous branch. And a king
shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice
in the earth in his days. Judah shall be saved, and Israel
shall dwell safely. And this is His name whereby
He shall be called." Now what are we going to call Him? Here's
what we're going to call Him. The Lord our righteousness. Don't talk to me about my own
peril. I know what it is. I can sit
here, I'm standing right here preaching and thinking to myself. I'm not worth shooting. So disrespectful,
so unworthy, so... Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. That's what that publican said.
Zechariah 6.12, And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the
Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch. He shall grow up Out of His place,
He will build the temple of the Lord. Oh, what temple is that? Listen to 1 Corinthians 3.16.
Paul, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, says, Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you? Who's building His own temple?
The Lord. The branch Himself. Believers,
God's temple, see Him. How? They see Him as beautiful,
altogether lovely, and glorious, the One that has been given power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many
as the Father has given Him. In that eternal election, the
branch Himself, shall build the temple. He's calling them out. God's everlasting and He had
them, ordained them to life eternal, chosen them to salvation in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And He's glorious because He
is righteous. The righteous branch. The scripture says in verse 2
back in Isaiah 4, In that day shall the branch of the Lord
be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth. Fruit
of the earth. He was made flesh. He was made
of a woman. Made under the law. made, likened
to His people in the form of sinful flesh, that He might reconcile
His people as their advocate, as their great high priest, as
their elder brother, as their federal head, the man, Christ
Jesus. A root out of dry ground. In
that day shall the Lord be beautiful, the fruit of the earth. And He
shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of
Israel. Comely. His majesty. Beautiful. For them who are escaped,
rescued. They didn't escape themselves.
They didn't pick the lock and get themselves out of the bondage
of sin and unbelief, but the Lord Himself came and rescued
them. And they're escaped. We're escaped
right now and escaping. God's keeping us right now. We've
been saved. We're being saved. We shall be
saved. For those that are the remnant,
the remnant according to God's electing grace, who have tasted
of the Lord that He's gracious. Now this those that are being
escaped, that have escaped out of Israel. Now who are they? Who are they? Well, look at verse
3. It shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and
he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every
one that is written among the living, in Israel. Now who are
they? Well, first of all, I know that
latter part right there, it's those that are written among
the living in Israel. Those that are written. Those
that are written, if you have a margin in your Bible, mine's
got a margin. I'm talking about being written
among the living. My Bible, my marginal says written
to life. Those that are written to life.
Those that have been chosen before the foundation of the world and
written in the Lamb's book of life. That's Revelation 17. Those
whose names have eternally been written in God's book. God's
book of life. That entry in the first service
I was preaching out of Luke 10. He had called his 12 apostles
and he chose 70 more. 70 more men that he sent out
to preach the gospel everywhere that he was going to go. This
is recorded in Luke 10. You can go back and listen to
the message after, but Luke 10 verses 1 to 21 is what I preached
out of. And he sent them forth. They came back after he sent
them and told them what to preach, told them how to do it, when
to do it, all the instructions. They came back and they were
so joyful, even the devils were subject to us. And the Lord said,
I saw Satan fall from heaven as lightning. He said, don't
rejoice that the devils are subject unto you, but rather rejoice
in it that your name is written in heaven. You rejoice that God
Almighty has chosen to show mercy and grace, you rejoice in that,
was pleased to not leave you to yourself. So it shall come
to pass, he that's left, he that remains in Jerusalem shall be
called holy. Who are these? Well, they're
the ones that's been written in the Lamb's Book of Life from
before the foundation of the world. And they that see the
branches being beautiful and glorious, what are they said
to be? Well, still in verse 3, it shall
come to pass that he that is left, he that remains, that remnant,
he that's left, that's what it means. He that is left, the word
left right there is what it means. The remnant. that's left in Zion,
he that remaineth, he that is preserved alive in Jerusalem
shall be called holy. Holy. Set apart. Sanctified. Sanctified and set
apart for God. And we're commanded to be holy. Leviticus 1144, ye shall be holy,
for I am holy. We're commanded to be holy, but
we can't make ourselves that. Listen to Job 14.4, who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean thing? Not one. But let me ask you this,
is that not what those in verse one think they can do? I can make myself holy. I'm gonna
take hold of the one that I think I can bargain with, and what
I'm gonna do is I'm gonna grasp hold of him as long as I have
his name. That's all I really need. That's all I need. I'll
eat my own bread, I'll wear my own apparel, but I just wanna
have your name right there. Why? And I can make myself holy. I can make myself holy by my
free will. And Job says, who can do that? Who can bring a
clean thing, and is that not what man by nature thinks? I
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. I can save myself
and give my heart to Jesus and I'm cleansed. I'm cleansed, that's
all I have to do. Here, pray this prayer, pray
this prayer. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, save me. I'm sorry for
my sins. Come into my heart, come into
my heart. and save me today. And did you mean that? Yes. You're
saved. You're saved. You're saved. And don't ever let anybody cause
you doubt. Let me ask you this. Where's
justice? Where's God's honor in that? Where's the law? Where has the law been honored
in that? Where's the obedience to the law in that? Where is
that? That's a lie. That's a lie. Who can bring a
clean thing out of an unclean? Job says, not one. Not one. That's impossible. The
holiness of God's people is to be found totally as being in
Christ Himself. Ephesians 1.4. This is what the
Scripture says. Ephesians 1.4. according as He has chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. How are men made
holy before God? Two things are going to have
to take place. I've got to have no sin. To be holy, I have to
have no sin. to answer for. If we say that
we have no sin, we make God a liar. I have no sin under the condemnation
of God. Christ has borne it all and paid
it. The presence of sin is still
there. But thanks be unto God, He's paid the debt of the sin
that I'm sinning right now. Isn't that an amazing thing?
Somebody said, I've heard this. You tell people that and they'll
live just like they want to. If they're a believer, they are
living just like they want to, continually casting themselves
upon the mercy of God. Lord, forgive me, the sinner. Thanks be unto God, there is
therefore now no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus.
Thank you, Lord, thank you. I don't know how to thank you
for that. I have to have no sin to answer for before God, and
I have to have righteousness enrobed in his righteousness. robed in His righteousness, found
in Him, I am holy, holy. He hath made Him sin for us who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. What about our sins right now? Listen to this. Psalm 103, 11. Psalm 103, 11. For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. Don't
you like that word abundantly, Neil, a while ago? So great. So great. It's His mercy. I think about man, you know,
somebody's offended me and I'm going to, I'm going to just go
ahead and show mercy. I'm going to, you know, okay. But there's
still something in me that I'm, you know what, there's, there's
a certain point I'll go up to, but no farther. I'm going to
be merciful, but just this far. So great. It's His mercy toward
them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. But again, again, here I am seeing
myself as a sinner. What about how God truly regards
me right now? I want you to look at Isaiah
42 verse 19 to 21. This is an amazing passage of
Scripture. Isaiah 42 verse 19 to 21. Who is blind but my servant? Now let me ask you this. Who
is the servant of Jehovah? The Lord, the Lord Jesus. Who
is blind but my servant? Or deaf as my messenger that
I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect? And blind as the Lord's servant? Seeing many things, but thou
observest not. opening the ears, but he heareth
not. The Lord is well pleased. Jehovah is well pleased for his
righteousness's sake. He, that is the servant of Jehovah,
will magnify the law and make it honorable. Now you want to
talk about mercy? You want to talk about salvation? Who is the one being spoken of
here as being blind that sees not? The Lord Jesus. And Father
in Him. Deaf. Who hears but doesn't regard
it. What is He saying? God sees. He sees. I'm talking about knowing myself,
knowing something of myself, knowing something of my frailty.
God sees it. But He doesn't regard it. Why? Because the Lord Jesus put away
the debt of it. He's paid the debt of it. He's
paid the debt. Does He see when we're doubtful? Does He see when we're less than
what... Yeah. Does He hear when we speak
that which is not right, not kind, not gracious? Does He hear?
Yeah. Does He regard it? Not under
death. Not under judgment. Why? You
just remember this, Romans 8.33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Is that
not mercy? Is that not? You think. The Lord
who sees and the Lord who knows and the Lord who... But He doesn't
regard. Why? because He has magnified
the law. By His righteousness, He's satisfied
every demand, and God's not gonna charge me with it too. Oh, when I see the blood, when I see the blood, I'm gonna
pass over you. Is there something there that's
chargeable? Oh yeah, oh yeah. What happened to it? Christ bore
it. And He put it away. He put it away. And now Almighty
God has mercy. We must possess righteousness
and the only righteousness that I'm telling you that God's going
to accept is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans
chapter 4. Romans 4 verses 4 to 8. Now to him that worketh, is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. You want to eat
your own bread? Wear your own apparel? You think
that your works, you know? But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without work, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven and whose sins are covered. And concerning those who are
the Lord's, what shall they all be? I'll tell you what they're
going to be. They're all going to be found
to be washed and cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, back in Isaiah 4. Verse 4, And when the Lord
shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and
shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof
by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. How many of them is the Lord
going to cleanse? All of them. All that the Father
has given the Lord Jesus Christ In John 6, 38-40, here's what
the Lord says, I came down from heaven not to do mine own will,
but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will which has sent me, that of all, all, which He has given
me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, everyone
that seeth the Son and believeth on Him. may have everlasting
life and I will raise him up at the last day. Shall the Lord
find them all and cleanse them all? Absolutely, that's what
he said. He's gonna find all of them and
he's gonna cleanse them all, Ezekiel 16. Ezekiel 16, verses
three to 12. Listen to this precious passage
of scripture. And thus saith the Lord God unto
Jerusalem, thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite, thy
mother a Hittite. As for thy nativity, in the day
that thou was born, thy navel was not cut, neither was thou
washed in water to supple thee. Thou was not salted at all, swaddled
at all. None eye pitied thee. to do any
of these unto thee, to have compassion on thee, but thou wast cast out
in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that
thou wast born. And when I passed by and saw
thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast
in thy own blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, live. I caused thee to multiply as
the blood of the field. Thou hast increased and waxen
great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breast are fashioned,
thine hair is grown, whereas thou was naked and bare. Now
when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was
the time of love. And I spread my skirt over thee
and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swear unto thee and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God. And thou becameest
mine, then washed I thee with water. Yea, I throughly washed
away thy blood from thee. I anointed thee with oil. I clothed
thee also with broided work, and shod thee with badger skin,
and girded thee about with fine linen. I covered thee with silk.
I decked thee also with ornaments. I put bracelets upon thy hand,
and a chain upon thy neck, and I put a jewel in thy forehead,
and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine
head. How much did we do? How many is He going to do this
for? All that the Father has given Him. He's going to do this for those
that are washed. Who can cleanse? That's the Lord. Who can clothe? That's the Lord.
Who can feed? That's the Lord. Who can wash
away sin with His own blood except Him who shed His own blood for
His people? Who can purge except He who has
washed them white in that precious blood? And how is He going to
do that? Again, look at verse 4. When
the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem in the midst
thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, God Almighty in absolute justice,
burning wrath against what I am by nature, sin. By that spirit
of burning judgment, I'm sorry, in that spirit of burning, the
Lord Jesus Christ by one offering perfected forever them that are
sanctified. How has God put away the sin
of His people in absolute justice? For all those that want to eat
their own bread, wear their own apparel, they're going to stand
before God and suffer that penalty forever. Ever. When under the judgment of God's
wrath and the burning justice of God's holy law, He washed
away the filth of the daughters of Jerusalem. Forsaken of the
Father. My God, my God, why has Thou
forsaken me? Because God would not forsake
me in Him. Verse 5 and 6. And the Lord will
create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her assemblies
in His church and in the assemblies of His church. a cloud and smoke
by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For upon all the
glory shall be a defense, a covering, an atonement. And there shall
be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat
and for a place of refuge and for a covert from storm and from
rain. All that the Lord has redeemed
I'll tell you what there's going to be. There's going to be a
divine watchfulness and cover, a watching over, watch care,
and a protection of them in this world. Just as a shepherd cares
for his sheep, the Lord, as He did in the Old Testament, by
that pillar of fire at night, that pillar of a cloud by day,
He led them, and guided them, He protected them, He shaded
them from the heat of justice. You're mine. My God, Paul wrote
under the inspiration of God's Spirit, shall supply all your
need. I read that scripture and how
easy it is for me to think, and I know this, all of my need,
I need to have something to eat today, the Lord knows that. I
need to have something to wear, the Lord knows that. The Lord,
He knows you have need of all these things. Let me tell you
what I need. I need for God to take care of
my sin problem. That's what I need. I need for
the Lord, I need righteousness before God. My God shall supply
all your needs. All your needs. Needs that I
don't even realize. I know something about that.
But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches
and glory. Listen to this. by Christ Jesus,
by the Lord. I pray that the Lord be pleased
to bless this word to our heart, teach us, remind us of what we've
been delivered from, from that desire to eat our own bread and
wear our own apparel, what that one verse entails. May the Lord
keep us, teach us, for his glory and our good, amen.