Isaiah chapter 8 this morning I Am such a horrible sinner I Need continual assurance. I sorrow at how unbelieving I
am, at how little I really sorrow over how unbelieving I am. I murmur, I complain, I fret
over the least little thing. It doesn't take much whatsoever. I number Israel, and look to my own hand, and
look to my own strength, and trust in a refuge of lies continually. And I need assurers. a blessed assurance to know without
a doubt that I'm safe, that I'm in the cleft of the rock, that
I'm on the firm foundation, that I am in the sanctuary where no
harm can come to me whatsoever. I need that assurance. In Isaiah
chapter 8 and verse 11, the Lord spake thus to me, Isaiah says,
with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in
the way of this people saying, now you be sure to get this or
you can miss the instruction given here. Everything from this
point on is what the Lord spoke to Isaiah. Isaiah is merely repeating
to us what the Lord said to him Everything from this point on
is the Word of the Lord not the Word of Isaiah This is the Lord
speaking if you really want to hear this personally Then simply
listen to this as the Lord speaking to you just put your place in
Isaiah's put you yourself in Isaiah shoes and But be sure
to bear this in mind, this is the Lord of Hosts speaking. Verse 12, say ye not a confederacy
to all them to whom this people shall say a confederacy? Neither
fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself. Let him be your fear, let him
be your dread, and he shall be for a sanctuary." Now, as we
saw last time, Christ is the sanctuary in whom the believer
finds refuge and safety, like we saw typified in those six
cities of refuge where the manslayer could flee to and not be touched. Christ is the holy sanctuary
in whom the believer worships and communes with God like that
holy sanctuary in the tabernacle in the wilderness. And Christ
is the sanctuary wherein God's elect have always dwelled because
God put them there by divine election. And by the power and
grace of God through the Holy Spirit, when he quickens us and
makes us alive, It's in Him that we dwell. We become strangers
and foreigners on this earth. We become pilgrims in this land
here. We dwell in Mount Zion, in Christ,
in Him alone. The entire passage speaks of
the Lord as being the only separation between His chosen remnant and
utter destruction. The Lord has promised that the
overflowing scourge is going to pass through the land. It's
going to pass through the land and it's going to destroy every
living thing. It's going to destroy everyone. Noah was protected from God's
wrath when God rained down destruction upon sinners in judgment for
one reason. For one reason. He obeyed God
and he entered the ark and he stayed there in the ark. Sanctify
the Lord of hosts himself and he shall be for a sanctuary.
All the firstborn of Israel were passed over when the Lord passed
through Egypt that night because those who believed God went into
the house and stayed in the house under the blood and God passed
over them. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself. Let Him be your fear. Reverence Him. Let Him be your
dread. Let Him be your confidence, your
assurance on Him as being the only hope you have, period. And He says, He shall be for
a sanctuary. The Lord of Heaven and Earth
speaks to you and me in the plainest terms possible. Destruction is coming. The world
has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly and have rejoiced
in the power and strength of man. Destruction is coming. But for you who own the Lord
of Hosts to be your only refuge, to you a refuge he shall be. Now drop down to verse 16. Here's our text. Bind up the
testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. Whose testimony is it? It is
the word the Lord of hosts himself. What can he gain from sinful
wretches like you and I? So why would he say anything
that is any less than true? He's not a man that he should
lie. He will receive nothing by telling you something that's
deceptive. He says, lock away my promise
in your heart. Mark it down. Etch it in stone. Inscribe my testimony and never
forget it. Believe me, the Lord said. What did he tell Ahaz? If you
will not believe, you shall not be established. Now those are
simple terms. Those are simple words that anybody
in this room can understand. His word is so sure and so certain
that he calls it a law. He says, he instructs Isaiah
to declare nothing else to his disciples. to declare this one
word so emphatically, so dogmatically, so unapologetically, till it
is sealed among his disciples. What word is that? It is the
testimony of the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord who rules
all things, who works all things together for good to them that
love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. It's His Word. You know, this
world is full of tricksters who are out to make a quick buck.
And because we've come in contact with so many of them, we've grown
accustomed to where if something sounds too good to be true, we
ask some questions, don't we? We ask some questions and we
read the fine print. And we research the credibility
of all those involved. And we love, we get assurance
from, testimonials. I want to hear what somebody
else that used this product thinks of this product before I buy
it. I want to know what somebody else thinks of this service before
I pay my hard-earned money for this service. The Lord gives
this testimony. This is how you can be sure.
Remember this. Lock it away, he said. Bind it. Bind up my testimony. Seal this among my disciples. Now, remember, this is still
the Lord speaking. Verse 17. And I will wait upon
the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and
I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord
hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the
Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion." Now the reason
I keep emphasizing that this is the Lord speaking is because
at this point it's easy to get a bit confused. We understand
it is the Lord speaking when we hear him say, sanctify the
Lord of hosts and he shall be for sanctuary. We understand
that's him speaking. We can grasp that it's the Lord
of Hosts speaking when we hear the command for us to bind up
this testimony, to seal this law among his disciples. But
then we come to this place and we hear the Lord of Hosts say,
I will wait upon the Lord. And behold, I and the children
whom the Lord hath given me. That sounds like the words of
a man. These are the words of a man. This is the testimony
of the Lord of Hosts declaring why you can be certain that He
shall be for a sanctuary to you who look to Him alone. Now listen
now. It's because the Lord of Hosts
joined Himself with the humanity of the children whom He purposed
to save. The word of His promise is sure,
because everything which the Lord of hosts requires of His
children, He did for His children. So all that remains for His children
to do is rest in Him, and He shall be for a sanctuary. Well,
that makes me want to jump up and down. None of God's elect could ever
serve God. None of God's elect could ever
serve God in the perfection of faithfulness which holy God demands. None but one. None but one. There was a man chosen by God
from before the foundation of the world. Man chosen by God
to do for God and for his brethren What not one could do for themselves? God called that man from eternity
from the womb of eternity and God called that man from his
mother's womb and God called that man Jesus for he shall save
his people from their sins You remember the text we looked at
Thursday night? This is where Paul's strength
came from as he waxed bold speaking to the Jews who refused to believe
on Christ. And he quoted from Isaiah chapter
49, and this is how that passage began. Listen, O Isles, unto
me, and hearken ye people from far. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. The Lord hath called me from
the womb. From the bowels of my mother
hath he made mention of my name. Now listen to his testimony.
Verse 17. I will wait upon the Lord. You and I have a hard time waiting
for anything. We get held up at a traffic light
and have to sit there for one minute. And we will sin enough
to cast us into hell a million times over. Is that not right? But now listen to this. Listen
to how he waited. And I will wait upon the Lord
that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look
for him. There's more to this than I can
ever begin to say to you. But be sure you
understand that the sanctuary for believers is a man. He is a man who is in every way
just like you and I, except for sin. He walked where you walk. He was touched with the same
feelings of our infirmities. He hungered. He thirsted. He grew weary. He felt sorrow. He felt pain. He knew what it
was to be deserted by those he loved. In fact, he was touched
with the feelings with which we're touched in a far greater
manner than you and I are touched with. He's preeminent in all
things, even in how he was touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
You know how badly it hurts you when one of your children is
injured and suffers? You know how bad that causes
you? If you could, you'd just immediately
take away their suffering. You'd immediately take it from
them. Our Savior beheld the suffering due to the sin of His people
as He walked this earth. He came to put that suffering
away. He came to put away the sin which
caused that suffering. And He beheld it in those that
He came to die for. And yet he waited for 33 and
a half years until the time appointed for him to take it away. It had
to be so though. It had to be so because he had
to be tempted like every man he came to save. He had to be
taught of God. Now listen. He had to be taught
of God like every man he came to save. He had to learn to obey God like
every man he came to save. He had to experience the weakness
of the flesh and look to God alone for wisdom and strength
just like every man he came to save. He had to be a witness, a martyr,
to lay down his life declaring the name of God and singing praises
to God in the midst of the church, just like the children whom he
would save. The difference is, in order to
declare God just and the justifier, and in order to be the complete
savior and high priest of his brethren, The man, Christ Jesus,
had to do these things without sin in perfect, righteous obedience
to God from the heart. And he did. For 33 and a half
years, he did just that. All the while, beholding the
suffering of his people beholding that God had hidden his face
from his people. And yet he suffered through that
because he had to righteously prove his fidelity as a man on
behalf of those people he represented. But there's so much more to this.
Now listen. Please listen. I will wait upon
the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and
I will look for him." God chose to declare His righteousness. The Lord of hosts chose to declare
His rightness in saving sinners. and his righteousness in being
the holy God. And he chose to manifest that
and declare it to this world through the faithfulness of his
son, Christ Jesus, the man. God set him forth to be a propitiation,
a seat of mercy. where he would both be satisfied,
his justice satisfied, and where he could be merciful. That's where he said he'll meet
with his children. That meant Christ Jesus not only
agreed to be the faithful servant of God by obeying the precepts
of the law as the representative of his people, but it also meant
that he must be the faithful servant of God as he endured
the eternal wrath of God in their place on the cross as their substitute. Now get that now. Listen. Is
he our substitute? Is he the substitute for his
people? Indeed he is. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us. That's substitution. And he went
to the cross and he bore the wrath of God in their room instead. But even when he was bearing
the wrath of God in their room instead, he must still be the
righteous representative of that people and be faithful even in
the midst of that suffering. Listen carefully, listen to this,
and try to let this sink in until all you can do is rest right
here and rejoice in this. Listen, if you don't get anything
else, I'm going to read this to you because I want you to
get this right here. You want assurance, you want
comfort, you want to be to have the confidence of knowing the
Lord's own testimony to His people is. Behold Him as He is. Trust Him alone. Hope in Him
alone and He shall be for a sanctuary for you. You want to know why
that word is so sure for those that He represents? You want
to know why it is? In order for God to remain just,
God, in righteous judgment, had to turn His face from our substitute
because Christ Jesus was made sin for us. In order for God to remain just,
God, in righteous judgment, had to turn His face from Christ
Jesus the Lord because He made Him to be sin for us. And his justice required he had
to turn his back on his son in justice. Yet at the same time, in order
for God to be the justifier, Christ Jesus could never turn away his face
from his God. not even in the midst of judgment,
not even in the midst of judgment. Bind this to your heart as the
most precious pearl, the rarest of all jewels, the unsearchable
riches of Christ. God manifests his righteousness
through the faithfulness of Christ. The man Christ Jesus faithfully
depended upon God to strengthen him. And he went to the cross. And there God hid his face from
his elect, from the house of Jacob. When he hid his face in
righteous, eternal judgment from his own Son, Christ Jesus our
God. Yet, even when God turned his
face from him in judgment, he cried out, My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? You all know well what Martin
Luther said on that. God forsaking God. That's one
blessing in that statement. Because in order for God to be
holy God, He had to pour out justice. He had to forsake His
Son, Christ Jesus, the Lord on that cross. But the second blessing
in it is, is when He cried out, even in the midst of that suffering
and anguish and pain and sorrow that you and I can't even enter
into, He cried out, God, my God. Do you know what blessing there
is there? Do you know what blessing there is there? That means that
whenever you or me get our finger, get a little splinter in our
finger, And we're walking around fretting and fussing and murmuring
and complaining because we've got that little splinter in our
finger. That means God won't impute sin to us because our
substitute bore our sin. But it also means because he
faithfully in the midst of judgment cried out, my God, my God, God
says, that is the most perfect, faithful son I have right there. He was as much our representative
on Calvary's tree as he was our substitute on Calvary's
tree. He had to be both. The psalmist said, Save me, O
God, for the waters have come in unto my soul. I sink in deep
mire where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters where
the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying. My throat
is dried. My eyes fail while I wait for
my God. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy
me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. that I restored that
which I took not away. How did I restore that which
I took not away? How did the Lord Jesus Christ
in the midst of that anguish, how did He restore that which
He took not away? He said, Yet I will wait upon
the Lord that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and
I will look for Him. Now, you want a testimonial that
he'll be for a sanctuary? Look at verse 18. Behold, I and the children whom
the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel
from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion. Behold
Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Behold Christ Jesus. Ahaz, you want a sign? Oh, I
won't tempt the Lord in asking for a sign. Well, the Lord will
give you a sign anyway, Ahaz. Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and she shall bring forth a son, and his name shall be called
Emmanuel. An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it but
the sign of the prophet Jonas. As Jonas was three days and three
nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the earth. Behold, I am for a sign
and a wonder in Israel from the Lord of hosts which dwells in
Mount Zion. You want to know, you want to
hear a word that you can say, I have a testimonial now that
this is something I can trust in. This is no trickster. This
is no deception. This is someplace I can put all
my trust and all my hope and He shall be for sanctuary for
me. He said, behold me. That's what He said. Behold me.
Look at me. Behold me. And he said, and behold
the children whom the Lord hath given me. You want signs and
wonders? Well, the Lord's given you some.
The Lord of hosts has given you some from Mount Zion. Behold
the children that He's given me. Why are His children signs and
wonders? Because they dwell where He dwells. Why is He assigned in a wonder? Well, I see that He was faithful
on the cross and I see that He went into the earth three days
and three nights. But why is He assigned to me?
How is that going to be the assurance I need and the confidence I need
to know that He shall be for sanctuary for me? The last place
I see Him is on a cross and in a tomb. Psalm 18.6, he said,
In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God.
He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before
Him even into His ears. And verse 19 says, And He brought
me forth also into a large place. He delivered me because He delighted
in me. The Lord rewarded me according
to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands,
as He recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the
Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments
were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me.
God raised Him from the dead. And what are the signs of His
children? What are the signs and wonders
of these children? Because where He is, is where
they are. Turn to Ephesians 2.4. Ephesians
2.4. Are you listening now? Listen
to this now. Ephesians 2.4. I'll give you
some time to get there because I want you to read this. Here's His testimony. This is
what He said He accomplished by His fidelity. Ephesians 2
verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love,
wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ by grace you say, and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness towards
us through Christ Jesus. Look over at Isaiah 54. Isaiah
54, verse 7. The Lord of hosts is for a sanctuary
for those who put their trust in Him, because He satisfied
His own justice and justified His people Himself in the faithful,
faithful, faithful Son of His love, Christ Jesus, the Man. Listen to verse 7. For a small
moment have I forsaken thee. But with great mercies will I
gather thee, and a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a
moment. But with everlasting kindness
will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." Isn't
that amazing? Isn't it amazing that we read
that the Lord of hosts hid his face from Jacob, from his house,
from the house of his elect, when he hid his face from Christ
Jesus the Lord. And yet we read here, the Lord
says, I hid my face from you, but now in everlasting kindness
I'll be merciful to you, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer. You know
what that means? That means there is a man who
is God, Who is your Redeemer? He knows you better than you
know yourself. He knows me better than I know
myself. He knows where I've walked, what I've felt, what I've thought,
what I'm going through, every valley I've traveled. He knows it. Everything about
it. Everything about it. And He says
here, But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith
the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of
Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that the
waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I
sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed. My kindness
shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. That's what
he accomplished. That's how you can be sure. He
said, bind it up. Bind up this work. Bind it up,
safer and more secure than any of your most precious valuables,
because it's more valuable than anything you got. Can a woman
forget her suckling child? That she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Sure she can. They do it every
day. But he said, I will not forget
thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hands, and thy walls are continually before
me. I'm a sanctuary for you, he said.
The sign and wonder of all wonders are those He brings to behold
Him as He is, who believe on Him. Through their sin, though
their sins were scarlet, now they're white as snow. They were
red like crimson, now they're like wood. They were dead in
trespasses and in sins, and now they have life eternal. His children were spiritually
blind and spiritually deaf. Now by His power and grace, they
worship God in spirit. and in truth. His children were
lost and going astray, but now by His glorious hand they are
returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. And I
got one question. I got one question. Are you one
of His signs and wonders? Are you? Are you one of His witnesses? You know, we talk about that
word witness. People running all over this world want to be
a witness. You know, we're human beings. We're humans being what
we are. What did you have to do to be
a human? Be a human. We're witnesses being by virtue
of what He's done for us and in us. without us ever lifting
a finger, or before we've ever lifted a finger, we be witnesses. Trophies of His grace. Trophies
of what His victorious redemption accomplished. Witnesses. Are you one? Are you a sign and
a wonder? He said, bring forth the blind
people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. There's
commentaries that say different things on that, but you know
what I hear that saying? Take the people who were once
blind and deaf and trespassers in sins and now have spiritual
eyes and spiritual sight. Bring them forth. These are my
witnesses. These are my signs and my wonders.
You want to see the amazing grace? Look at these folks that trust
me. Let the nations be gathered together.
Let them bring forth their witnesses." Can they declare this? Is there
anybody, any religious group, any prophet, any philosopher,
anybody who themselves have given themselves sight, given themselves
this vision? And he said, let them say, this
is so, and let me be justified. Let them say it's truth, and
let them hush. And he said, You are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you
may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me there
was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I,
am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. I have declared,
I have saved, I have showed, when there was no strange God
among you, therefore you are my witnesses, saith the Lord,
and I am God. You know what it is to sanctify
the Lord Himself? It's to say, that's right. That's who He is. That's exactly
who it is. That's the only one I'm trusting
right there. Well, can I show you for sure that's what this
whole passage is saying? Turn to Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2.
Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. Now, this passage
here, the Lord is teaching the believer how it is that we are
sanctified. And He's teaching us that the
reason and the way we're sanctified is because the one who sanctifyeth,
who continually keeps us from the evil, keeps us safe and secure
in this sanctuary, became one with us. Everything that Isaiah
preached when the Lord spoke to him with a strong hand and
instructed him, the Apostle Paul speaks right here in the book
of Hebrews. Look with me. Verse 10. Hebrews 2.10. For it
became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. We got a perfect captain who
suffered perfectly. Now listen, for both he that
sanctified, that's Christ the Son of Man, both he that sanctified
and they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause he's
not ashamed to call them brethren. And here's what he did, saying,
I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the
church while I sing praise unto thee. As a man, that's what he
did. That's what he did. And again,
this is right from our text. This is where it's quoted from.
I will put my trust in him. He demands you to declare his
name unto your brethren, to sing of him in the midst of the church.
He did it. He did that. He says, for you
to trust in Him alone. He did it. He already did it. And again, behold, I and the
children which God hath given me. Why did He have to do that? Why did it become Him to do that?
Verse 14, for as much then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same,
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took
not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the nature
of the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved
him, in all things it behooved him to be made alike unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God. What things? to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people. That's what he does for us to
God. Now look, here's something else
he does as a faithful high priest, because he'd been where we've
been. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted,
he's able to comfort, to be the only comfort, to make himself
the only comfort for them that are tempted. I got three words for you. Sanctify
the Lord of Hosts. That's the first thing. Sanctify
the Lord of Hosts. Do you see Him as He is? Do you see what He has done?
I can't think anything that causes me more to see the splendid light
and to see Him higher than anything than when I behold the great
condescension He made to save His people. And the fidelity, the faithfulness
of Him, I see Him higher than the highest. Here's the second word. Let Him
be your fear and your dread. If you consider that He spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up, that He might remain
just and yet justify the people He chose to save. When you behold
Christ who faithfully endured the wrath of God for God and
for His brethren, do you think the Lord will stand for anyone
to glory in the strength of their own hand? If there is one we should fear,
it's Him. He has every right to destroy
all those who will not submit to Him. But trusting Him, reverencing
Him, seeing what a mighty God He is, and owning Him to be your
only salvation, He says thirdly, He shall be for a sanctuary for So the next time that you're
enduring those light afflictions that we don't like for people
to call light afflictions, because they're never light when we seem
to be going through them. But the next time you are, say this, I will wait. I'm just going to wait. And if
somebody says to you, how are you so patient? How is this thing not swaying
you from the left and the right? How are you so at ease in the midst of all this? Why is it you don't join in with
us and put an end to all this right now? Why don't you do something? Tell them this, because He waited. Because He waited. Because He
waited. And therefore I'll wait upon
the Lord that hideth His face from Jacob. And I'll look for
Him. And He says for all those that
do that, I'll be a sanctuary for you. I'll be a sanctuary
for you.