From the middle of chapter 63,
starting with verse 15, a prayer begins there. It says, look down
from heaven, this is a cry to God, and behold, from the habitation
of thy holiness and of thy glory, where is thy zeal and thy strength?
Where is your, and as you read on, and we won't read all of
these again, but you remember he's saying, you in days past
have been strong and mighty to help us, to save us, to keep
us, but where are you now in that capacity? Why have you let
us go? Why do we languish in our sinfulness
and our idolatry and our foolishness as though you've let us go? And
the cry goes on all the way through the end of Look at verse 17,
why hast thou made us to err from thy ways? And again, he's
not accusing God, he's not blaming God there, he's just saying,
you've let us go and look at us, come back, return. See there,
return, the last part of verse 17, for thy servant's sake. the
tribes of that inheritance. He keeps saying, yours, yours,
you're our father, we're yours, we belong to you, you belong
to us. That's a good way to plead, to plead with God. The people
of thy holiness, verse 18. And then through chapter 64,
we saw that, oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens. come down,
that the mountains might flow down, that the mountains themselves
might melt. Again, that's spiritual language.
We need you to do what we can't do. We can't move mountains,
we can't render heaven, but you can. You can come where we are
and make a difference. You can accomplish what we can't
even begin to think about. It's cause and effect, verse
two. If the fire is hot, the water will boil. We need your
fire, Lord, we need your fire. You did terrible things, awesome
things, which we look not for. You came down. You have been
our help in times past. Don't leave us now. And so that
cry goes throughout all of that, all the way up to chapter 65.
Be not wroth, verse 9 of 64. Don't be wroth, very sore, Lord.
Neither remember our iniquity. Don't remember our iniquity.
If you should mark iniquities, Lord, we can't stand. Nobody
can stand. And so you see the cry, and then this is the Lord's
answer, chapter 65. And it's important to know that
because this is the nation of Israel as a whole crying out
to God. Somebody's voicing, somebody's
representing the nation of Israel. Help us, look at us, we're wretched,
we're vile, we need you. And then here's God's answer. from 65 verse one, I am sought
of them that asked not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said to them, behold me, behold
me. And you think about this now,
there are three verses in the part of, really three passages,
some of it's a couple of verses together. But three things I
want us to look at, and we may go back over this same, just
like this morning's message, I may very well go over that
same exact passage, because there was so much that we didn't see
this morning. But we may go back and look at this, but I want
us to see three things in this tonight that tell the whole story
of this chapter. And Lord willing, we'll look
at these three key passages in the first part of this by way
of introducing this chapter. This is a very consequential
chapter. This is God's answer to them
crying, Lord have mercy on us. This is his answer. That's interesting. That's vital. It's life or death. I am sought of them that asked
not for me. I am found of them that sought
me. Not, and he's talking, of course,
clearly about the Gentiles there. He's not even talking about the
Jews yet. I'm gonna be sought of those
that didn't even look for me. And found. And think about what
he's saying. Think about this one for a second
now. Israel is crying to God as a nation saying, you're our
father. Come back to us. Don't see our horrible sin. Don't
remember our iniquity. And he says, here's what I'm
gonna do. I'm gonna bless people that aren't
even looking for me, aren't even asking me to do anything for
them. Now, this is not a discouragement
to cry to the Lord. Of course, we're to cry to the
Lord. But what he's saying is that people that don't even want
anything to do with me, I'm gonna save them anyway. That's how
the Lord does his business right there. And that's to be established
up front. When you're crying to the Lord,
you need to understand he blesses who he wants to bless. And he
don't bless who he don't wanna bless. And he makes that clear
right up front, doesn't he? And what does that tell us about
how a sinner is saved? compared to what this religious
world is preaching. They're crying out, God save
us, help us, come. And he said, I'm gonna save people
that aren't even looking for me. And then I want us to look at
another passage, verses 11 and 12 together. And of course it goes right with
this. And everything in between this is important. I'm not saying
we're not gonna look at it. Lord will, we will look at all
of these verses. And we may go word by word like
we do a lot of times. But that first, I say who I wanna
say whether they're looking for me or not. And then verse 11. But you, now
he's talking to Israel, but you are they that forsake the Lord. That's what you did. He talked
about putting them in their place now. If he does do something
for him, it ain't gonna be because they deserved it. You are they
that forsake the Lord. You forgot my holy mountain.
You're asking me to forget your sins. You forgot me. that prepare a table for that
troop, that furnish the drink offering unto that number. You've
thrown yourself in with the godless, with the enemies of God, the
idolatrous. Therefore, will I number to you
the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter, because
when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not hear,
but did evil before my eyes and did choose that. wherein I am
delighted not." Think about this for a second.
Why would God reveal himself and declare openly, I'm gonna
reveal themself, myself, I'm gonna say to the heathen that
never called on my name, idolatrous worshipers of wood and stone,
in preference To those people, to the heathen, to the godless,
lawless heathen, my preference is gonna be to them over the
nation that God chose to bless with every outward advantage
that a man can have. The law, God's word. They had
the word of God. The prophets, a spokesman, somebody
to tell them. to teach them the things of God,
the types, even the law itself, the ceremonial law pointed them
to Christ, the hope for sinners. They had every advantage possible.
His presence among them, his very presence went with them.
But he said, I pick them over you. Why? Because you forgot
God, you neglected and forgot and forsook. Me. The heathen never did that. The heathen never knew God. They
didn't forget God, they never even knew him. But you did. You had every outward advantage.
You had all of the means of grace and you despised them. You despised
me. You see what he's saying here? It's because that even having
all of these outward advantages, the Jews forsook the Lord. Knowing who he was now, they
forsook him. And I'm not excusing the Gentiles
for not knowing God. We know better than that. We're
gonna read from Romans chapter one in a minute here. It's not
that they had any excuse, but the Jews had great advantage. over every other nation, and
they thumbed their nose at God. And he said, so I pick them. Even having every, the very word of God before them
and taught to them and shown to them in picture and type,
Christ was exalted among them. His very presence went with them. And they forsook the Lord. Even
the godless Gentiles hadn't done that. And that's how he's answering
the Jews here. If God has blessed you, here's
the lesson. This is not a history, this is
the lesson right here. If God has blessed you to hear
the truth, to know him in the sense of Romans
121. Listen, Romans 121, because that
when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. That doesn't
mean they knew him in a saving way. This is life eternal, John
17, two, I think it is. that they might know thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. It's not
that knowledge, but it's knowing up here who God is. You can't
hate somebody you don't know. But they do hate him. And that's
what he's saying now. When they knew God, they refused
to glorify him as God. And neither were thankful. All
of the blessings that God bestows and just take for granted despised
the one that gave them. You remember Hosea and Gomer.
Hosea would bring her things that she had to have and needed.
And she bragged on, not him. But became vain in their imaginations
and their foolish heart. was darkened. Don't despise God's
means. Don't despise the advantages.
Don't despise, if you've heard the gospel, if you know, if God
has blessed you with outward advantages that he gives to many
people, I can't call them blessings. I call them advantages because
if it turns out that the means that God gives, the advantages
that he gives, if it turns out that you hate and reject him
and despise him, which you'll do if he doesn't have mercy on
you, then they won't have been blessings. They will have been
aggravations to your condemnation and wrath. But he does give advantages,
doesn't he? But understand now, Israel's advantages made them
much more evil when they rejected God than they would have been
had they never had them. You remember how the Lord Jesus
Christ said, if Sodom and Gomorrah, if I'd done the mighty things
in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented. If they had been in a state of
complete ignorance, like the heathen, the Gentile, we're all
heathens, but you know what I'm saying? The Gentiles. Romans three, listen to Romans
three. You turn with me if you want to, but Romans three, one through four. What advantage then hath the
Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? And he's asking
that question because he just got through saying it doesn't
make any difference what you are, you're a wretch before God.
Whatever you call yourself heritage-wise or your family tree is, you're
a wretch. You're an evil wretch before
God. And so what advantage then hath the Jew? Verse two, much
every way. Don't look at it like that, because
that unto them, chiefly because that unto them were committed
the oracles, they had the word of God and no other nation did. For what if some did not believe?
Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid, yea, let God be true. And every man a liar, as it is
written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and
mightest overcome when thou art judged. In other words, God is
right to judge the Jews more harshly than others because of
those advantages. And of course, all of us by nature
are under his condemnation and wrath because we're liars and
we act upon those lies. We don't act according to God's
word. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
10. This is a very controversial
passage of scripture. There's a lot of argument over
who this is talking about. We know that if God saves somebody,
they can't ever be unsaved. We know it don't say that. But
look at Hebrews 10, 25. Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting
one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
In other words, don't despise the mean. Don't neglect the advantages
that God gives. If he's given you a place to
come hear the gospel, come hear the gospel. For if we sin willfully, after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins. but a certain fearful looking
for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. Again, there's a lot of speculation
about that. Of course, we know that when
God saves, salvation's an eternal work. It's not on again, off
again. God saved you, oh, but you got out. If you can escape
salvation, I guarantee you, you will. If there's a way we can
unsave ourselves, all of us will be in hell. I'll see you there.
We know that. It's not saying that, but I'll
tell you what it is saying. It's saying this, if you reject
this truth, if you're not interested in gathering and hearing the
word of God, then there's no hope for you. None. There's just one sacrifice for
sins, and if that doesn't mean anything to you, what other hope
are you gonna have? You just look for the judgment
of God. Just eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow you die,
and I don't mean just physically. Look, verse 28. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses. Remember when the
Lord drew the line? Moses drew the line and said,
who's on the Lord's side? That's what's happening today.
It happens all the time. Are you interested in what God
says or not? Are you gonna do your own deal? Of how much sorer punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot
the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith
he was sanctified an unholy thing? and have done despite unto the
spirit of grace. So you see, back to our text,
Israel is crying to the Lord. They've done that before. And
whoever this is that's confessing this, I don't know if it's Isaiah
himself or if he's just using kind of the representative language
coming from the whole nation of Israel, Lord, come back to
us. God said, I'm going to save whoever I want to save. I'm going
to save people that aren't crying to me. And I'll tell you who you are.
You're the ones that forsook me. Not the other way around. You're
the ones that forgot me. And you're going to pay for it.
Remember the part about sword and slaughter and not going to
be good for you. But, verse eight. We deliberately
skipped over verse eight, but look at verses eight and nine
back in Isaiah 65. Here's the third part that I
want us to see tonight. But thus saith the Lord, as the
new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, destroy it not.
It's not wine yet, it's just a cluster of grapes. But somebody
looked at it and said, that's going to be wine one of these
days. Don't destroy that. There's a
blessing in it. So will I do for my servant's
sake that I may not destroy them all. He's going to destroy them. The
nation of Israel is a goner. They've been a goner. for thousands
of years and just don't know it yet. This world's a goner. We're not picking on them. This
whole world's a goner, but not all. How many times have we seen
that in the book of Isaiah? The remnant, the gleaning grapes,
the ones that got left behind when the harvest came and went.
But God said, those were mine, right there. The ones that are
left, the leftovers. That's what a remnant is, it's
a leftover. As far as this world is concerned.
He said, those are mine. And I will bring forth a seed.
We know who that is too, don't we? I'll bring forth a seed out
of Jacob and out of Judah, an inheritor. Now listen, an inheritor,
you see an S in that word? an inheritor of my mountains,
an inheritor of my city, of Mount Zion, of my kingdom, of my world,
of my field, my vineyard. It's all his, isn't it? An inheritor,
singular, that's Christ. But look at this, and mine elect
shall inherit it. That's a whole bunch of people
there. Who's the inheritor? Christ and everybody that's in
Christ. Mine elect now is Christ too,
that's Christ. It's also us if we're his, his
chosen. And mine elect shall inherit
and my servants, plural, shall dwell there. What a message now. Think about
those three things. They're crying out, God, look
at, we deserve, we deserve your wrath. Don't remember our sins. We're
wretched, you've left us and look at us. And he said, I'll
save who I want to save. You forgot me and as a nation,
it's over for you, but I'm gonna save who I purpose to save from
the foundation of the world, from you, out of every kindred,
nation, tribe, and tongue under heaven. That's the gospel. And that word seed is key. One of the commentators that
I read and rely on a lot speculated about whether that seed was Christ
or the elect. Is this passage talking about
Christ or is it talking about the elect? There's no need to
choose. There's no need to choose. Turn with me to Galatians 3,
verse 16. Galatians 3, 16. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. And that's not talking about
the nation of Israel. He was the father of the Jews
in an earthly physical sense, but listen to the text here. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, and to thy seed. And the reason he said
it that way is because it's Christ. So that answers the question.
Is it Christ or the elect? It's Christ, that's who it is.
And this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of
God in Christ, the law which was 430 years after Caintas and
all that, the law's not going to do that. The law's not going
to be a problem with God saving people because he's going to
keep the law for them. God made promises. There's the
sin of the sea. I'm going to bless you. I'm going
to bless you. I'm going to bless my seed. But
then the law came and they hated God. They rejected God. They
failed to measure up. Of course they did. We're sinners.
Is that going to keep God from fulfilling his promise? No, because
Christ is going to come and fulfill all of the terms of the covenant
for us. The covenant is still in effect, not because you made
good on it, but because Christ did. That it should make the promise
of none effect, for if the inheritance, verse 18, be of the law, then
it's not a promise anymore. It didn't depend on you keeping
the law, aren't you glad? That wasn't true of the nation
of Israel. It's not true of you either. God's promises are yes
and amen, not in the... Where? In Christ alone. Not if
you do something or don't do something. But God gave it unto
Abraham by promise, not by law. There was no... He didn't say
in blessing, I'm gonna bless you and your seed if. He just came to Abraham, an idolater
in the middle of nowhere and said, I'm in the blessing business.
And while I'm blessing people, I'm going to bless you, period. There's no if. There's no conditions. Wherefore then serveth the law?
It was added because of transgressions to show us our need. The law
was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Why do you need Christ? Because you take a look at the
law real quick and you find out it's life or death for you. Christ
is your only hope. The promises that are yay and
amen in Christ. I need those, I need God, I need
his son. till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made. The promise was made to Christ,
not Jews, Christ. And it was ordained by angels
in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator
of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises
of God? Is there some kind of a conflict
between God's covenant promises and the law? No, God forbid.
If there had been a law given, which could have given life,
then verily righteousness should have been by the law. God sent
his son in order to do what we could not do. and undo all, pay
for what we did do because there was no other way. There's no
law whereby you can be saved, much less the law of Moses. You
look at the law of Moses and you say, you know, some people
actually put that stuff on their wall and kind of make a little
middle check that I haven't committed adultery today. Yes, you have.
I haven't committed adultery. Yes, you have. And think about
it. What law would save us? Here's
paradise. Here's everything you could ever
want or ever imagine, just don't eat of the fruit of that one
tree. It don't get any easier than that. Fail. Fail. If there had been a law that
could have saved you, then life would have been by the law, but
it ain't that way. But the scriptures have concluded
all under sin. that the promise by faith of
Jesus Christ, by the faithful, the promise by his faithfulness
to the law of God, not yours. This is not complicated, is it?
The promises are yay and amen in Christ because they're covenant
promises. That's a covenant that's gotta
be kept by both parties. And you ain't even one of them. But Christ is, and if you be
in Him, then you're in on it. You're in on it. Might be given to them, given
to them. You see that in verse one? Given
to them that believe. The faith to believe is given
to them. And then the covenant promises
to those that have faith are given to them. Everything's given
to them. That's why we worship Him. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law and under the old covenant, the law was
binding upon them, but why? Shut up unto the faith, which
should afterwards be revealed. They looked forward to Christ
just like we look to him now. It hadn't been revealed, it hadn't
been experienced yet, but they saw then that they couldn't keep
God's law and they needed his grace and mercy, which is in
Christ alone. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster. And he's talking about back then,
the law was, all the way from the start. It is tonight, and
it was from the beginning, our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. If the law teaches you to do
better, you haven't heard the law. If the law teaches you to
run to Christ with all you've got, then you've heard the law. That's what he gave his law,
so that we would do better, so that we would know how to act.
Do you think God's that naive? He's not expecting anything from
you or me. But look at verse 25, but after
that faith has come, we're no longer under a schoolmaster.
Once God gives you faith, you're not under the law, you're His.
You belong to Christ, you look to Him for your law keeping.
And you do what you do because you love Him, not because you've
got to. Aren't you glad you don't got to? If you got to, you're
in big trouble, because you ain't gonna. For you are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus, not by Jewish birth and not by
keeping the law. By grace are you saved through
faith in the Son of God. And that's not of yourselves,
that's his gift. Lot of works, lest any man should
boast. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ, you're immersed in him. You put him on, you walk
before God in him, not in your law keeping. And there's no such
thing as a Jew or a Greek anymore. Not in the family of God, not
in the kingdom of God. There's neither bond nor free,
neither is there male nor female. All other distinctions are meaningless.
We're the body of Christ, we're the family of God in Him, for
you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ's, then
you are Abraham's seed. Is it Christ or the elect? Yes. Who's Abraham's seed? Well, he
just got through saying it says seed and not seeds because it's
Christ. And then in the same beautiful
gospel message, he said, if you believe on him, it's you too. And heirs, heirs. If we're heirs, then we're joint
heirs with Jesus Christ. Heirs according to that gospel
promise. Think for a minute of the mercy
of God here. If we ever see, if God ever gives us eyes to
see how gracious he is, we will never be the same again. I believe that's what he's saying
in Romans 2, 4, when he said, do you despise the riches of
his goodness and forbearance and long suffering, not knowing
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? It's in his
goodness that he gives repentance to sinners. If you ever see that,
you'll repent. He's got to give you eyes to
see, but it's his grace. Oh, if we ever see how gracious
he is, think about this. On the one hand, in our text,
on the one hand, you have a stiff-necked, rebellious, self-righteous, proud,
God-hating bunch of rebels that trample under their feet
the precious blood of Christ. And on the other hand, you have
a bunch of idolatrous, heathen, steeped, Think of Sodom and Gomorrah. You've got religious reprobates
and then you've got irreligious. There wasn't nobody. Think of Sodom and Gomorrah.
I don't know how to say it any other way than that without it
being embarrassing. You know what I'm talking about.
The wretched, vile, disgusting thing that we are without any
advantage from God. So on the one hand, religious
evil, just as idolatrous, they were still carving gods out of
wood and stone, weren't they? Even though they had the word
of God, the prophets, just as idolatrous as the heathen who
worship those things as well, but religious, using God's name
and obeying some version of his statues that they had deemed observable. They were doing that outwardly,
going about to establish their own righteousness that way. And
then on the other hand, godless, fleshly, irreligious animals,
monsters. God leaves man alone and he's
a monster. King David was a monster, wasn't
he? A man after God's own heart. God took his hand off of him
for a little while and he was a monster. Nebuchadnezzar, boy,
a great and mighty king. God took his hand off of him
for a little bit and showed him what he was. He didn't turn him
into a monster. He just showed him what he was.
Saul of Tarsus was a monster. And when God saved him, he said,
I'm a bigger monster now than I was then. But then God holds even more
responsible those that he didn't utterly leave alone. So I don't
know which would be worse, do you? I believe the religious is worse. But I don't know. But here's
the wonder of wonders. God's gonna have mercy on some
of all of them. Some of both anyway. Not the cream of the two crops
now. He's not gonna look at the two groups and say, oh, you know,
there's a little bit of cream in both crop. He's gonna save
the worst out of both camps. Ephesians chapter two, let's
read it together. Verse 11. And we could read this whole
chapter if we had the time and the attention span. Can we be honest with ourselves?
Ephesians 2.11, wherefore remember that you being in time past Gentiles
in the flesh, who are called in circumcision by that which
is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands. that
at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. If you're without
Christ, you're without hope. But now in Christ Jesus, you
who were at one time far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. For he is our peace with God. He doesn't just provide it, he
doesn't make it available, he is it. If you have him, you have
peace. If you don't have him, you don't
have peace. There's no availability, there's no contingency, there's
no offer. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both,
Jew and Gentile, his remnant, his elect, his chosen ones, his
loved ones unto God, in one body by the cross, having slain the
enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you, which
were far off. He did it for you, and then he
came and told you he did it for you. He didn't wait on you to
do anything. Isn't that the truth about the
gospel? People present the gospel as some kind of an offer. Here's
what God has done, and now he's waiting on you. No, Paul said
here, God saved you, and then he came and told you, I've saved
you. That's what he does for his people. to them that were far off and
to them that were nigh." Which is where you'd say, well, them
that are far off have got to be worse than them that are nigh,
no. Them that were nigh were the ones that had every outward
advantage and still hated God. It doesn't matter, there's no
difference. God said there's no difference,
didn't he? For through him we both have access by one spirit
unto the Father. Now therefore you're no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. He was the foundation back when
the prophets In the days of the prophets, he was the foundation.
In the days of the apostles, he's the foundation tonight.
The chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye
also are builded together for inhabitation of God. Through
the Spirit. Of the Jews, in our text, God
said, I'm not gonna kill you all. I'm gonna kill you and put you
in hell, but not all of you. Why? Because of the seed. For my little ex sake. Christ and those who are in Christ
are safe. I'm gonna wipe out this whole
wretched God-hating world, but there's an art. Those in the ark have found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. I'm not gonna throw all of you
in hell. And to the Gentiles, God said, even though you didn't
seek me, even though you had no interest in me, you never
asked for me, in spite of that, I'm gonna say
to you, behold me. Boy, that's salvation. God looked
down upon the children of men to see if there were any that
did seek God. How many did he find? You remember that from
the Psalms? There were none that did seek
after God. Salvation is God seeking us and
finding us and saying, behold me, behold me. You're not looking for me, but
you're gonna see me anyway, because I'm gonna tell you to. And that's why we sing amazing
grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm
found. Was blind, but now I see. I found him. He said, I'm found
of them that sought me not. I found him. I didn't find it,
I found him. Because he left the 99 and came
where I was and found me and put me on his shoulders and brought
me home. Because he knew me before the
foundation of the world And those whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. I love him because he first loved
me and sent his son to be the propitiation for my sins. God says I am found of those
who sought me not. And I say, I found him I wasn't
even looking for. God said, behold me, behold me. As Moses lifted up that serpent
in the wilderness and said, look and live, the son of man was
lifted up between heaven and earth. And he says, behold and
see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow. The son of God laid down his
life, made his own soul an offering for my sin and was lifted up
on a cross and said, look. And by his grace and power, I
did. And now I live by his grace, by his power. Let's pray.