Isaiah chapter 2, probably just four or five verses
in that. The word that Isaiah, the son
of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and it shall come
to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house
shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be
exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it. And
many people shall go and say, come ye and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. And
he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths
for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the
nations and shall rebuke many people And they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war anymore. O house of Jacob, come ye, and
let us walk in the light of the Lord. God gave Isaiah a vision
of man, we saw in chapter one. Man in his natural state, vile
and wretched, you could hardly conjure up more vivid language
to describe the despicability of man in his natural religious
state. But he also gave him a vision
of how a man's sins can be cleansed, how they can be made as white
as snow. And now Isaiah declares here that God gave him a vision
concerning the last days. And you will likely, like me,
have heard some preacher or other of man-made religion speak of
the last days at one time or another. They love to talk about
it, they love to hear about it. They make movies about it, you
know, like to scare people. with the dreadful prospect of
being left behind, you know, and the horrific images of what
they imagine the tribulation to be for those who are left
behind in the so-called tribulation. But this refers, this here, the
last days, and usually when that's used in scripture, it's referring
to the days of the Messiah, when the Lord Jesus Christ would walk
the earth, and thereafter, of course, In Hebrews 1.1, Paul
wrote, God who at sundry times and in different manners spake
in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son. So I believe Isaiah was referring
to the days in which Paul is referring to, these last days
in which God has spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. And so are we living in the last
days? I've been asked that a few times. I imagine every preacher
has. Are we living in the last days?
And of course the answer is yes. If Paul was, we are. Wouldn't
you imagine? But what people really wanna
know is, is the Lord coming back in our lifetime? That's what
people wanna know. And of course, I can't answer
that. I have no idea. The more people talk about that
and give their thoughts on that, the more foolish they sound.
I suppose there's nothing wrong with talking about how possible
that is and how much we'd like to see that. John said, Lord, even so come.
Is there anybody that's not ready? Anybody in here that's not ready
for that? So we are, of course, living
in the last days, but we don't know when the Lord will come
back. I know what the Lord said now. He didn't say speculate
about when I'm gonna come. He said, occupy until I come.
There's some things for you to do until I come. When we observed
the ordinances, he said, you show forth my death till I come.
And the word occupy, the scripture does use that word with regard. It was in a parable that our
Lord told, but clearly teaching us to occupy until he comes back.
And the word there means to carry on the business, to continue
the business that he gave us to do. And that's pretty clear. We know what that is. But it
is good to know about the last days, what the scripture says
about the last days. Isaiah was given a vision from
God about it. So I'd say it's important for
us to understand, to know what that vision was, what that word
was from God concerning the last days. We have a prophecy here
concerning the last days. And it's pretty clear, I believe
he's talking about it right now. The word, verse one, that Isaiah
That same word for word is vision. In other places, the word, the
vision that Isaiah, the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem. Concerning Judah. We just read
from Hebrews one, where it says that God has spoken to us by
his son. What has God spoken about? his
son. Judah is Christ. Christ is the lion of the tribe
of Judah and it's concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the city
of peace. It's concerning the king and
his kingdom where he dwells with his people
or the people of God themselves. Judah the son of Jacob was a
type of Christ clearly in the Old Testament. If you remember,
it was Judah who was surety for Benjamin during that drought
in Genesis chapter 43 when Joseph demanded that Benjamin be brought.
And they didn't know what was gonna happen. And you remember
Jacob was already, he was still greatly sorrowful because he
thought that Joseph was dead and now he was afraid that Benjamin
also would fall into some kind of
danger or perhaps be killed also and he didn't want to send him.
But Judah said in Genesis 43, eight unto Israel or Jacob his
father, send the lad with me. Listen to the confidence. Father, you send him with me
and we will arise and go that we may live and not die. Both
we and thou and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. You see who Jacob is? If I bring
him not, he said, I will be surety from him of my hand, shalt thou
require him. If I bring him not unto thee
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever.
That's our Lord Jesus Christ. He agreed to be our surety in
eternity. And he will bear the blame if we fall. If he lets
one of his go, one of the ones that the father gave him, if
they, he's responsible for us. That's what a surety is. And
you remember when Jacob lay dying and he blessed his children,
he blessed Judah this way, in Genesis 49, eight. Judah, thou
art he whom thy brethren shall praise. He didn't say that to
any of the other ones. Your brethren are gonna praise
you, and thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies, and
thy father's children are gonna bow down before you. You're the
preeminent one. They are going to praise you
and they are going to worship you. We know who that is. Now the
city of Jerusalem concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Jerusalem
in Israel of old is a picture of the new Jerusalem. The city
of God which John describes in Revelation 21. That city is compared to a bride
adorned for her husband. We know that is God's church. The city of God is not a place,
it's not a collection of building materials. It's a people. And so this vision, this word
from God, it concerns Christ and includes all who are in Christ. You can just say it concerns
Christ and that includes us. Marriage is a picture of Christ
and his church. And you think about this, marriage,
what's the one distinguishing description of marriage? In the eyes of God, this is when
God instituted marriage, when it was first instituted by God
in Genesis 2, 24. Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife. And here's
what this is, they're gonna be one. That's what marriage is. They're gonna be one flesh. It's
two becoming one. And this is a picture of Christ.
So if it concerns Christ, it concerns us. We're included. The subject is Christ and always
has been. When God gives a vision, when
he gives a word, when he gives a revelation of any kind, you
know what it's about? It's about Judah. It's about
the surety. It's about the one who will be
praised and worshiped by his brethren. Romans 1 1 Paul a servant
of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle separated into the
gospel of God which he had promised to for by his prophets in the
holy scriptures the old gospel the ancient gospel the eternal
gospel concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord what was your
vision concerning Isaiah Jesus Christ what was what was Paul
writing about Jesus Christ what's the message of the whole book
Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be God's
Son If it concerns Christ it concerns
me if it concerns Judah it concerns Jerusalem City of Peace Paul
said in Hebrews where we quoted a while ago that God has in these
last days spoken unto us by His Son. But we see in our text and
in all of the Scriptures now that God has always spoken unto
us of His Son. Whoever He's spoken by it's always
been of His Son, always. Verse 2, and it shall come to
pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house
should be established. Established where? In the top. It shall be exalted above the
hills. And all nations shall flow unto it. That's what's going
on right now. The last days, what's happening?
That right there. It's concerning Christ. It's
for His glory, He's the one causing it. He's the one that said, if
I be lifted up, what's He gonna do? I'm gonna draw all men unto
myself. All manner of men, from all nations,
I'm gonna draw them. That's why they flow unto it.
Because Christ, crucified, is drawing them. Just like He promised
He would. This refers to Mount Zion, the
mountain of the Lord's house. Zion is mentioned clearly in
the previous chapter, verse 27, and this is the same mountain.
In this context, this is Mount Zion, clearly the church, the
city and household of God. Did you notice that? The house,
the mountain of the Lord's house. Psalm 48, one, great is the Lord
and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. In the mountain
of his holiness, and I guarantee you, I don't know about everywhere
else, but he is praised there. In the city of our God, he's
praised. In the mountain of his holiness,
that's Mount Zion on the sides of the north. The city of the
great, who did Paul say this morning? Now unto the king. That's who saved me. You read
Paul's conversion. It's obvious who saved him, the
king saved him. The city of the great king. This
is his kingdom, his household, the city of peace, his peace
that he made by the blood of his cross. And this in a way
that God is known in her palaces for a refuge. That's the church. He's praised here. And in these
last days, this mountain, he said, is gonna be exalted. The
Lord's house, the mountain of his house. Psalm 27, four, one
thing have I desired of the Lord, David said, and that's what I'm
gonna seek after. And that's what we're all gonna do. We're
gonna seek after what we desire, whatever that is. And David said,
there's just one thing with me that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. Do you have that desire? I'll tell you this, his house
is gonna be exalted. You know why? Because he is exalted. We're one with him. To behold the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire. We come here, why? Because we
look into his word and we behold his beauty, his glory, his grace,
his mercy, all of his attributes, his power, his kingship. Him in His character as the victorious
Redeemer, Almighty to save, save in whom He will. We behold His beauty in what?
We ask. We ask Him. We did that this
morning, didn't we? Lord, meet with us, bless us,
use us, teach us, inquire. Lord, will you be merciful to
us? Will you be merciful to our children
and our grandchildren? This is where God's family lives
now. It's where we live. Spiritually speaking, it's where
we live. It's not where we visit, it's where we live. Ephesians
2.19, now therefore you, the church at Ephesus, You are no
more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints and of the household of God. That's what Isaiah is talking
about. And you're built upon the foundation
of the apostles and the prophets. What's that? Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. in whom all the building fitly
framed together. What did God say? It's established. Paul described it this way, fitly
framed together, growing unto a holy temple in the Lord, in
whom also you are built together for inhabitation of God through
the Spirit. Paul is talking about the fulfillment
of Isaiah's prophecy. God's establishing his church
and exalting it. And all the nations are gonna
float to it now. And that's what we're witnessing. This speaks
of the exaltation of God's church, his house, his kingdom, the furtherance
of his kingdom in these last days through the preaching of
his gospel. This world doesn't exalt the
church, not the true church, but God does. And that's all
that matters. That's what counts. You're not
exalted till God exalts you. In fact, everything else in this
world. How is God exalting the church?
Paul said, we're the offscouring of the earth. Nobody cares about
his church. Small and insignificant, just a remnant. Just a bunch
of leftover. Not to God. To God, everything
else in this world exists only to serve his church. His garden. He's the householder. And we're
his. And everything that is not his
garden is weeds. And the good news is, do you
desire to dwell in Zion? You want to live in his holy
city? Come. Come. That's what we're going to see
in this, in this verse. Now come, come freely. Oh, but
here's the thing. People, people say, oh, well,
God, God has an elect, and he's chosen a people, and he's established
them. His little church and everybody
else, you know, is expendable. That just sounds like a harsh
God, you know, that I don't want anything to do with. You know,
the truth is, you're just looking for an excuse to hate God. Because
if you have a problem with it, then come on in. You got a problem
with being left out? Come on in. Oh, but see, here's
the thing. You don't want God. You don't
love God. You're just looking for an excuse to hate him. The simple truth here is that
to God, to God who made the world and everything in this world,
all of it, everything that he made and everybody, it all revolves
around his church, Christ being the head of the church. It's
concerning Judah and Jerusalem and he's going to exalt them.
He's going to exalt his son and us with him. It is exalted, the church is
exalted in his purpose, it's exalted in his heart. He purchased
it with his own blood now. And all the nations are gonna
flow unto it. Listen to this now. I want you
to hear what I quoted a while ago, directly from God's word.
John 12, 31, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the
prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all unto me. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And as he said, signifying what
death he should die. Do you see how even this little
phrase in Isaiah's prophecy, all the nations shall flow unto
it, has to do with Christ in him crucified. He's talking about
the death he should die, and he said, they're all coming to
me, all of them. That's what Isaiah prophesied
here. That's what's happening in these last days. He said,
I'm not gonna lose any, and we're sitting here watching him not
lose any. That's what he's doing right
now, he's not losing any. That's why he hadn't come back,
Peter said in chapter two of 1 Peter, because he's not willing
that any should perish. Not one of his sheep is gonna
perish. That's why he hadn't come back
yet. He's still bringing them. They're still flowing to him. This speaks of the crucifixion
now. This speaks of the death, signifying what death he should
die, talking about him drawing all men to himself. It speaks
of his crucifixion, certainly the lifting of him up between
heaven and earth on a cross. But more than that now, it speaks
of the lifting up of Christ in glory and exaltation for his
victory over death and hell and every enemy of God and his people. He's not just lifted up from
the earth, he's lifted up, period. And we are exalted because he's
exalted, and he is exalted in his glorious death that he accomplished. The song of the ages of eternity
is gonna be what? Worthy is the lamb that was slain. We're talking about Christ in
him crucified. The surety for his people, Judah. All nations are gonna bow down.
His brethren are gonna praise him and worship him. Why? Because
thou was slain and hast redeemed us. not because thou wast slain
and did you best. Thou wast slain and flat got
it done, redeemed us by your precious blood out of every nation. The flowing of the nations unto
Zion is the result of his satisfactory, sin-atoning, soul-redeeming death
for his people under the wrath of God in their place. Do you
see that here? And it's certain, they shall.
He did and they shall. Verse three, and many people
shall go and say come. That's what I was saying a while
ago. You got a problem with God having his garden and everything
else is weeds and chaff and gonna be burned up? You got a problem
with being left out? That's not fair for God to do
that? Come on! If you really, If you really
want Him, you'll have Him. Many shall go, all the nations
are gonna flow. They're gonna go, and as they
go, they're gonna say, come. Isn't that what it is? Come see
a man that told me all things ever I did. Is not this the Christ? That's what we're doing here.
We have gone. He has drawn us to himself. We
have seen the victorious almighty redeemer of sinners and what
he accomplished as our substitute. He was lifted up and we see him
lifted up and we've gone to him and now we're saying come. That's
what's happening in these last days. This is the message of
the church. Come. What was his message? Come
to me. What's our message? Come to him. The Spirit and the bride say,
come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that's
thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take
of the water of life freely, without money, without price,
come. How I want to say that with power. I have no power with which to
say it, but as I say it, if God will say it, he speaks with power,
come. I know that when we say come,
God says to whom he will come, and his sheep hear his voice, and they come. And notice we say come to the
house of the God of Jacob. Did you see those words there?
The God of Jacob. Who are you coming to? The God
of Jacob. The God of worms. God called Jacob a worm in Isaiah
41, 14. Fear not thou worm, Jacob. And
you men of Israel that are just like him. I'll help you, saith
the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. That's the God
we're saying come to. The God who loves worms. Are you a worm? Are you a worm
now? And I'm not talking about the
little cute ones that crawl around in your garden. This is a maggot
now. This is a nasty worm. This is a vile, wretched thing
that's good for nothing but destruction. There's nothing you can do with
a maggot but burn it. It can't coexist with us. It
stinks, it's disgusting, it's destructive. My God. I can think of two things he
said to Jacob. You're a worm, and I love you. Jacob have I loved. The church of this world says
God helps those who help themselves. What are we saying? If you can't
help yourself, come to this God. He loves worms. This world's
church says if you will, God will. If you can't and know you
can't, then come here. Come to this guy. We're talking
about the God of Jacob now. And it says he'll teach us. Is
that what happened in these last days? These are the last days of this
world. And some of us are living out
our last days in these last days. And you know what I want? And
this may be my last day, as far as I know. I know I'm in my last
days. I'm more than halfway there,
my friends. And some of you are, too. You know what I want? God, teach me. Teach me. Draw me to yourself. Let me see
you lifted up. Let me behold your beauty. Teach
me of thyself. Paul said in his last day that
I may know him, that I may know him. That's what's happening here
now also. He's teaching his people. He's teaching Zion, his household. There's so many things that I
wish now that I had taught my house when they were teachable. But our Lord knows how to teach.
He knows what we need to hear and when we need to hear it and
how we're able to hear it. And this is what God is doing
in the last day. Well, there must be some global
things happening, you know, in this and that. This seems so
obscure. We're just meeting in a little building over here in
the corner of nowhere. This seems so insignificant what's
going on here tonight. Most people don't even know it's
taking place. But this is the great purpose of God being carried
out right now, right here in this little building. And other
ones like it. He's teaching his people. That's
what he said he'd do in the last days. Why is he doing that? What's the point? What's the
point? This world is gonna wax worse
and worse and be burned up no matter what we do. Well, you
know what? God's never been trying to save
this world anyway. That's not what this is about.
He is glorified in Zion. He is magnified in the remnant.
It is the Father's good pleasure to give his entire kingdom to
who? The little flock. That's what our Lord said, little
flock. Don't worry about anything. It's my father's good pleasure
to give you his kingdom. God has always done things this
way. His son was born in a manger. Thank God he teaches us. His
purpose includes me. That which was prophesied thousands
of years ago. He was talking about what God
is doing for me right now. in these last days. Teach us,
Lord, when we open your word, you open your word, and open
our hearts, and reveal yourself to us in all your glory. One
thing, make our desire the same thing David's was, that we may
dwell in your house and behold your beauty. He, thank God, he teaches us.
He does so patiently, doesn't he? With long-suffering, kindness. And then Isaiah said, you know
what I saw? What's gonna happen? We're gonna
walk in his ways. His people are gonna walk in
his ways. And this is all about him being
exalted and glorified. How is God glorified? The Lord said, herein is my Father
glorified, that you bear much fruit. When you walk in His ways,
when you walk in His love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness,
gentleness, faith, meekness, love, it doesn't say that they
ought to walk in His ways either. It says they're gonna. The Lord's
gonna be glorified, and that's how. That's one of the ways how.
His people are gonna worship Him and honor Him and serve Him. And you know why? Paul told us
why in Ephesians 2.10, for we are his workmanship. We're gonna
walk in his ways. Why? Because he created us in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. We're gonna walk in his ways
because he's purposed it, and he'll bring it to pass. Aren't
you glad? You see, me walking in His ways
is not me doing something for Him. It's Him doing something
for me. He purposed it, and He works
it in me for His glory. And that's the way I like it,
by His grace. I'm not doing anything for Him.
He's blessing me. He's blessing His church in these
last days. And this is how He's doing it. Philippians 2.13, it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Are
you walking in his ways? Give him glory. Be thankful. And listen to this, for out of
Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from
the city of peace, from Jerusalem. That's what's happening now. This is that according to which
we walk we walk after his ways. What are his ways right here? This is what he teaches us he
shall teach them what's he gonna teach us Not the commandments
of men. Our Lord said in condemnation
of false religion in Matthew 15, and in vain do they worship
me, teaching for doctors the commandments of men. But not
in Zion, they won't. In Zion, His law is going to
go forth. The word of the Lord is going
to go forth. You know how to tell the difference between this
world's religion and Zion? The word of the Lord goes forth.
They speak according to the word of this prophecy. It's because
God's light is shining in them, not because they're smarter,
not because they figured something out on their own, because God's
light shines in them. And he said it would in these
last days. I see it, don't you? The truth now. And that's the
distinguishing factor between the house of the Lord and the
synagogue of Satan, right there. The truth is gonna come out of
Zion. God said it would. Somebody may want to hear that
God loves everybody, but you can't pretend it's the word of
the Lord. What's gonna come out of Zion is the word of the Lord,
Isaiah said. Not fables, not what men wanna
hear. You may want to hear about your
free will or even go to a so-called church which is named after your
free will, but the word of the Lord is that salvation is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that striveth, but of God that
showeth mercy. You want to hear the word of
the Lord, you're going to have to come to his house. And if you come to his house,
you're going to hear the word of the Lord. That's not because, again, let
me just stress it. It's not because of us. God has ordained it and
he brings it to pass. It's not because we're smarter
or more spiritual or anything. Not because of us in any way.
God hath declared it. And you'll know it's the true
house of God because it'll be the word of the Lord. What's
that? Christ. It's concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Concerning
his son Jesus Christ the Lord Romans 1 In Paul's introduction
there the word of the Lord concerns his son Jesus Christ When the
Lord would encourage and teach his disciples on the road to
Emmaus It says he opened under them the scriptures and the law
and the Psalms and all the prophets he expounded unto them the things
concerning himself Paul said, we preach Christ in
him crucified. That's what you're gonna hear
in his house every time. And this is indirect fulfillment.
Paul said that. Paul said, we preach Christ in
him crucified. Indirect fulfillment of Isaiah's
prophecy. The word of the Lord's gonna
come out of his house. It's his word. In its origination,
it came from Him. Paul said in Galatians 1-12,
we didn't receive it from men, we got it from God. It's His
Word and not sin. It's the Word of the Lord, also
in that it's of Him. It's about Him. It concerns Him.
We preach Christ and Him crucified. Not Christ and the crucifixion.
Christ and Him crucified. Verse four, he shall judge among
the nations. What's that talking about? They're
gonna flow to him. He's gonna teach them. The word
of the Lord's gonna go forth. All of these things are gonna
happen. What else is happening right now? He shall judge. He shall decide. He shall render
a verdict. That's what's happening right
now too. He's gonna render a verdict now. concerning you. He shall judge among the nations
and he shall rebuke many people. That's what the gospel does,
isn't it? It's a rebuke. And they shall beat their sword.
When he does, you know what you're gonna do? You're gonna lay down
your sword into plowshares. What's that
about, service? Instead of fighting, you're gonna
serve. Instead of fighting one another, you're gonna serve one
another. When he judges, spears into pruning hooks, nations shall
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
anymore. He shall judge among nations. In his church is where
the verdict is given. We're still talking about the
house of the Lord now. People like to use this passage
of Scripture talking about, oh, the swords are going to be turned
into plowshares and there's going to be peace on earth. No, there's
not. This world is going to burn up
in the middle of war. It's going to be at war till
the bitter end. Always has been, always will
be. We're talking about God's house
now. There's going to be peace in Zion. I guarantee you that.
In spite of us. If you've been in Zion long,
you know it's in spite of us now. In his church also, now we're
gonna get to that, but in his church, that's where the judge
decides. People can make all the decisions
they wanna make. For or against, whatever. But
what matters, what counts, what this prophecy is about is that
God is going to decide some things. We're talking about the house
of the Lord where he teaches his word, where his truth goes
forth, and he says there's judgment there, where the word of the
Lord goes forth. It's life and death. Paul said
we're the saver of one to one and the other to the other now,
and it's God. life or death hangs in the balance.
The deciding of the matter is in his hands. Christ is the one.
He said, I give life to whom I will. And I want you to look at the
context in which he said that. Turn to John chapter five. Just look at John chapter five,
verse 21, just briefly. I want you to see the context
in which the Lord said, I give life to whomsoever I will. What
we're talking about is He's going to judge. He's going to judge
now among the nations. In the context of His Word going
forth, in His house, in His city, in His Zion. John 5.21, As the
Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the
Son quickeneth whom He will. He's given the Son authority
to give life to whomsoever He will. That's what He said in
John 17 there at the very beginning. He said, you've given me power
over all flesh that I should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given me. Who is that? Whoever he wants
to. Whoever he wants to. And he wants to give it to those
that the Father gave him. It's the same people. Quickeneth
whom he will, verse 22, for the Father judgeth no man. What is this thing of Christ
giving life to one and withholding it from somebody else? It's judgment. We think of judgment as God's
wrath being poured out. Well, no, judgment is the deciding
of a matter. He's gonna pass judgment. He's
gonna decide the case. And he does it by showing mercy
to those that the Father gave him from eternity, to whomsoever
he will have mercy. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. I will give life to whom I will,
for the Father judges no man but hath committed all judgment
under the Son. Why? Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren
shall praise. Your brethren are gonna praise
you and they're gonna bow down to you. We're talking about Judah
now. And God has done all that he
has done that Judah be praised and bowed down to. That all men
should honor the son. And he that honoreth not the
son honoreth not his father which hath sent him. The word judge
means to govern. And it means to decide matters
that's in the hand of Christ by the Father's decree. And then
the gospel's a rebuke, isn't it? We saw that in the verse.
You're gonna rebuke many. Thank God when He rebukes you
by His word, when He puts you in the dust, when He shows you
you're wrong about everything, about Him, about you, about how
He saves sinners. When he rebukes you, thank God
for that. The rebuke of a friend is sweet. And the Lord is gracious
to confront our soul-damning error and to turn the light on. 2 Timothy 4, 1, I charge thee
therefore, Timothy, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall judge the quick and the dead, lie for death at his appearing
in his kingdom, preach the word, be instant in season out of season,
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
That's his gospel. Now the word's gonna go forth
and he's gonna rebuke many by that word, but he's gonna do
it in mercy and grace. The rest of verse four, as we
said, talking about peace, swords being pounded into plowshare,
it's not talking about world peace. There's no such thing. The context here is the church
of God. This world doesn't even know
what peace is. When we are reconciled to God
and his church is, all of his church is, Not everybody that comes to church,
but his church, you know what I mean? When we're reconciled
to God, there's peace in every sense of the word. Peace with
God, when you have peace with God, you have peace with his
people. And even where there is no peace in a sense, now we
can't be at peace with this world in a sense, but even there, there's
peace. Because there's peace in our
hearts. And the Lord said in Proverbs
16, seven, when a man's ways please the Lord, which is in
Christ, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. You're
gonna have peace in every sense of the word when you have peace
with God. And Christ made peace by the
blood. You see how all of this concerns Christ and him crucified. You think about it. Christ in
him crucified. Judah, his word is gonna go forth. What is his word? We preach Christ
in him crucified. He's gonna draw all nations unto
him. All nations are gonna flow to
him. Why? Because he said, if I be lifted up, I'll draw all
men unto himself. And he said that concerning what?
The death he should accomplish. Christ crucified. Everything
that Isaiah prophesied has to do with Christ crucified. There's
gonna be peace, how? By the blood of his cross, that's
how. Because it pleased the Father
that in Christ should all fullness dwell, and having made peace
through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things
unto himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, And you, we're not talking
in generalities here, we're talking about you. This prophecy of Isaiah
has to do with you. You who were at one time alienated
and enemies in your mind, not in God's mind ever, but in your
mind, enemies, by wicked works. Yet now hath Christ reconciled
in the body of his flesh through All of it has to do with Christ's
crucifixion. To present you holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in his sight. We are at peace with one another
and even this world is made to be at peace with us. We have
peace in our homes by his grace because we are reconciled to
him. And then he said in verse five,
O house of Jacob, come ye. You see what God's doing in these
last times? Then come ye and let's walk in the light. His light. His light. Let's walk in his light. You
see what he's doing? Are you in on that? Thank God. Thank God. What an honor to be
in on it. Let's pray together.