Good morning. This morning's text is going
to be in Isaiah chapter 2. It will be from verses 9 through
22. Now last Wednesday We looked and saw that the idolatry
of man, the idolatry that man trusts in is not going to save
him. They're all vain, earthly things
and they're not going to help him in that which is eternal
and spiritual. So they're going to all perish.
Everything that man creates, everything that man is trusting
is going to perish. be burned up and perish when Christ returns
to the earth. And we saw also that God himself
provided salvation. He provided salvation for his
people in his son so that Christ is no idol. He is the true and
living God revealed to us and he is the salvation that God
has provided in him and in him alone. Now what we'll see this
morning is that the vain idols that man trusts in are indeed
worthless and that what Christ has created, that which Christ
our Savior creates, that shall stand in the day that Christ
returns. When God burns this earth up
and the heavens up, In fire, that which remains will be what
Christ himself has created. And so to show this, God says
that he's going to shake all things in heaven and in earth
and prove that, you know, that which is worthy of our confidence.
He's going to prove that it's Christ and Christ alone and that
everything man made and is trusting in, all his idols that he's trusting
in, are going to prove to be vain and worthless. Our title
is Christ's Creation Remains, and we'll have three points.
We'll see that which man builds, we'll see that which Christ builds,
and we'll see the Lord proving the work by the shaking that
he says. Alright, so first a look at what man has built. In his
vanity, in his vain imaginations, he builds and creates things. He's trying to create for himself
a sense of peace and security and comfort and protection, something
that he can glory in and that others will look at him and glory
in. in the man as well. And he does this by trusting
in his idols, these things which he himself has made with his
own hands. He thinks these are his gods
and really he's just made them with his own hands. He's just
worshipping himself and that which he has made. And in verse
9, we see this in the people bowing themselves down and humbling
themselves before their idols. So verse 9 says, And the mean
man or the low man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself.
Therefore, Lord, forgive them not. So in all levels of society,
we see it from top to bottom. Everyone is trusting in the works
of their own hands and that which they have made themselves. And
the Lord listed what these idols were back in verses 6 through
8, but in verses 13 through 16, we now see the achievements or
the accomplishments that man makes out of his idols, out of
those things that he was trusting in. So that when it says in verse
8, their land also is full of idols. They worship the work
of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
What they mean is what we see here in verses 13 through 16.
So verse 13 says, and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are
high and lifted up and upon all the oaks of Basham. So these
would represent the men themselves, right? Those kings and those
princes and those mighty men, the great men, the giants, those
titans of industry that people look up to and admire because
of what they've been able to build and do in this life. So these are their men of renown
and they're great people. that they're looking to. These
are the giants spoken of. in Genesis. And then verse 14,
and upon all the high mountains and upon all the hills that are
lifted up, so that we see their empires that they've built with
their own hands in the spirit of Nimrod, like when they built
those towers of Babel so that they could reach into the heavens
up to God, and you see them dotted all over the planet now, all
these pyramids and things which were just a picture and a type
of those towers. that Nimrod built, and it's just
in the heart of man. You can see that spirit in which
he's trying to attain unto a righteousness and the glory that he makes for
himself. Verse 15, and upon every high
tower, and upon every fenced wall, so that we see how men
throughout ages have built their castles, and built their fenced
cities, and built their gates to keep people out, and to protect
themselves, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all
pleasant pictures, representing their robust trade, and their
ability, and their means to get gain in the earth, and wealth,
and accumulate all these things by by their thoughts, by their
ways, by the things that they do and think and build and invent. So natural man then sees these
things and what some people have accomplished and he envies those
men. He looks to those things and
says, yeah, I can see that. I can handle that and touch that
and taste that and see exactly what they've done and they admire
and envy that because it seems like something to be proud of
and something to admire and something to copy and to repeat in your
own way. man sees these things and he
looks and thinks, well, the things that are a blessing to people,
that which proves to be of true value to men and women is either
their birth, or their education, or their intelligence, or the
inventions that they make, their wealth, their religion, they
trust in these things. And so that these things that
produce these earthly things before our eyes, they worship
them. as their idols. They give their
trust over to them, and they trust in those things. And even
the psalmist in Psalm 73 was taken away by this when he saw
it. And he said in Psalm 73, verse 3, I was envious at the
foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are
no bans in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not
in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain, violence covereth
them as a garment." Right? Because they don't think they're
ever going to be called into question for the things that they do.
Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could
wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression.
They speak loftily. They set their mouth against
the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth. But
The reality is that man is going to be called into question. He's
going to be called into judgment for his works and what he's done. He's going to have to stand before
God and he's going to find that everything that he valued and
trusted in is going to come up short when the Lord comes to
judge the works of men. It says in verse 17, Isaiah 2,
17, and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down and the haughtiness
of men shall be made low and the Lord alone shall be exalted
in that day." So that man thinks for a time that he's outwitted
God and that he's outplayed God and accomplished those things
that he wants to do and that somehow everything's going to
work out. But when the Lord arises in that
day of judgment, he'll realize that all his idols, everything
that he's worshipped and put his confidence and trust in,
is going to fail him. It's going to come up short,
it's going to fail him, and he's not going to be satisfied. And
it says in verse 18, and the idols the Lord shall utterly
abolish. So carnal man is ignorantly comforting
himself in his own deception. He's willingly, willfully deceiving
himself by trusting in these carnal things that he sees and
looks around and says that, that is his status, that success,
and that's an accomplishment in those things that he's made.
That's what he thinks. But the reality is, it's like
man thinks that he's not going to die. You know, especially
when we're younger, and even as we get older, you know, 20s
and 30s, even 40s, even 50s. People act like they're not going
to die, and yet everybody we know that we've ever known that's
ever lived on the earth dies. They all pass away, they all
expire, and there's a judgment once we die. As Paul said, we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone
may receive the things done in his body according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad. And the great deception
of man is that even when he considers that, he looks at what he's done
and says, well, what I've done is good. I've done some really
good things. I've done well for my family. I've taken care of those that
I love. I've even done some good charitable works in the world.
And he doesn't consider that what he's done is not going to
stand in that day. They're all vain idols, all his
religion, all his works are not going to stand for him and speak
well for him in that day, even though he trusts in those things. In the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to this gospel which
we preach, that our salvation is not in the things that man
does, Man can't save himself. Our salvation is in what Christ
has done for his people, when he laid down his life, when he
bore their sin and made them righteous, bearing the judgment,
the just judgment of God against him, being poured out upon him
for the sin of the people. But, you know, we're going to
be judged. by Christ when the Lord looks
at the people he's going to judge them by the standard of the Lord
Jesus Christ and you know it's not going to be God isn't going
to compare one man against other men and see if he's better than
the others. He's not even going to compare
that man to his former self to see if he's improved over time,
and he's not going to be judged by some vain set of rules that
man says is accomplishment and status and worthy of our attention
and our pursuit, but rather he's going to be judged by the Lord
Jesus Christ and his righteousness. If we are not the very righteousness
that Jesus Christ is, then we shall not be accepted of God
and we won't stand in that day of judgment. All right, in Isaiah
2, verse 19 and 21, our text is in Isaiah 2. In Isaiah 2,
19, it says, and they shall go into the holes of the rocks and
into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the
glory of his majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the
earth. So the Lord is said to bring
up such fear and terror upon men that all the foundations,
all that which they trust in and have hoped in their whole
life and made preparations for against that day, are going to
fail them. They're going to have such fear
and terror in that day that all those things that they've done,
which are nothing more than wood, hay, and stubble, are going to
be burned up in the fire of God's fury. Verse 20 In that day a
man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which
they had made each one of himself to worship to the moles and to
the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops
of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory
of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
So what the Lord is saying is, you know, I've, I've, I've heard,
you know, in the last, I don't know, four or five, 10 years
or something like that, but there's this trend going on where the
rich and the wealthy are actually buying a bunkers. and places
down in old missile silos and going under rocks and mountains
and there's underground tunnels supposedly all around for defensive
purposes and to protect the elite or whatever. So there may be
a literal fulfillment of this where people will run into those
things, but What we see here is that any idol, anything that
man makes, that's his rock. That's his hope. That's his security
and salvation. So it doesn't have to be a literal
underground bunker or anything like that. They're fleeing to
their idols. They're looking back now and
looking to those things that they thought would trust them.
that they could trust and depend on, but they're going to find
that they're going to shake and they're not going to last. They're
not going to stand for them in that day. So the shaking is going
to prove or test that work and they'll see that it fails them
miserably. In Deuteronomy 32, 31, it says,
for their rock is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves
being judges. So they're going to see that
the rock that we trust in shall stand and not be shaken. It'll
endure the shaking of God, but the rock that they trust in shall
be shaken and crumble and fall apart, and it'll prove to be
unworthy of their hope. In Luke 21, 26, and 27, We read
that at the end of the age, at the end of the time, of this
time that we're in now, it says, men's hearts failing them for
fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the
earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken and then shall
they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. That's what man has built. That's
what man is hoping and trusting in. We already see those things
are going to be shaken and fall apart. Now let's look at what
Christ has built. Our God is a merciful God and
He's not left men without hope. He's provided the salvation in
His Son. He's provided everything that
we need to stand and be secure in that day is found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's showing us and teaching
us over and over and over again in His Word that everything that
man goes towards and everything that man builds and looks to
and trusts in and puts his hope in Those things will fall apart. Those things he'll be ashamed
in. Those are the things that are not going to endure in that
day. He's provided his son, that which
has been proved already of God and does endure in that day when
the Lord returns. So Christ is called for his people
a rock. He's the rock of salvation. He's
the one who's not going to fail his people at all so that Our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was sent to bear that shaking,
to bear that proving of God, to bear the judgment of God and
His wrath. And He endured it. And we know
that God accepted His work because He raised Him from the dead.
He didn't leave Him there in the grave. So that we who look
to Christ are given a heart to show Him that we are sinners.
and that our works shall not last." We look at what the Lord
has said in his word and we see, yeah, everything that I've trusted
in, everything I've done to this point is not going to stand for
me in that day. It's all going to fall apart.
We see that and we see the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
he's the one provided of God to save his people. The psalmist
wrote in many of the psalms, we see it over and over again,
I'll read just a few, who is God, save the Lord, or who is
a rock, save our God. All right, so the children of
this world, they have their refuge that they go to, and the children
of God have their refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ, who they go
to and who they look to. But the Lord is my defense, and
my God is the rock of my refuge. And again, in another psalm,
in God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength
and my refuge is in God. So Christ is our refuge because
He paid the debt of sin that the children owe to God. He paid all that we who open
Him, He paid what we owe to God. That perfect righteousness and
that perfect obedience, not a rebellion, like our father Adam did in the
garden, and that we did in him, but a perfect righteousness and
a perfect obedience. Christ did that work. He was perfect in all that he
did, in his obedience to the Father, he fulfilled all righteousness,
and he went willingly to the cross, bearing the sin of his
people, and put it away, bearing the wrath of God in his own body.
As Isaiah 53 verses 4 and 5 tell us, Surely he hath borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. So God proved
the Son, and the Son pleased the Father, so that God raised
him from the dead. And we see in Isaiah 53, 11 and
12, that Christ shall see of the travail of his soul. He saw
what he was working for. He saw those for whom he was
laying his life down, those people that he saved, and it says, and
shall be satisfied. He is a successful Savior. He
accomplished the salvation of His people so that we don't need
to fear. We don't need to look to those
idols and those vain works that man, that carnal man is continuing
to look to. We don't need to look to those
things. We're not looking to and trusting in our works and
our obedience to the law. We're looking to what Christ
did and only what Christ did and trusting in Him and in Him
alone. he shall see of the travail of
his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoiled with the strong." We're great and we're strong
in Christ, not the great and strong of this world. who are
great and strong because of what they do. We're great and strong
because of what Christ has done, and he divides the eternal inheritance
with us. Because he hath poured out his
soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he
bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Now the Lord, when he was here
in the flesh, he asked his disciples, what do you say of me? Who am I? What do you think? Who am I? And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And what he was declaring there,
what Peter was declaring when he said that is, you are the
promised Christ of God. You're the one that God said
that he would send back there in the garden when Adam rebelled
against God. and brought death into this world,
him and his whole posterity. And Peter is saying, you're that
one. You are the one that God said
that he would send into this world to save his people from
their sins. And Jesus answered and said unto
Peter, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock,
this confession, that I indeed am the Christ, that I shall prevail
for my people and put away their sin forever. On that confession,
that gospel that we hope in that Christ has accomplished our salvation,
that's where he builds his church. It's right there on that confession,
on that confession that it's not my works, but the work that
the Lord Jesus Christ did. That's the rock. That's the hope
and the gospel that the children of God have. It's in what Christ
has done. It's built on Christ our foundation,
not on our works and what we do or don't do. So that's what
I'm really trying to emphasize here and drive home. And he that
hath received his testimony, the testimony that Christ is
salvation for his people, hath said to his seal that God is
true, that God has done exactly what he said he would do there
in the garden, that he has provided the salvation for his people
and he's declaring it and preaching it and proclaiming it in churches. Not every church. There's many
that are still talking about what man needs to do rather than
what Christ has accomplished and what he has done. But he
brings his people to hear this gospel and he shows them that
they are sinners and that they're their hopes, all that they've
worked for is worthless and it's not going to save them. But everything
that Christ has done, that he is a perfect Savior, that he
is able to save his people perfectly, that's what he drives his people
to, to the Lord Jesus Christ, to hear that and to believe it.
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his
hand. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So that's why we preach and proclaim
the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that he's done because that's
the one, Christ is the one to whom the people of God flee to. for refuge, for safety. That's
our rock that we're fleeing to. That's the rock that we're going
to, knowing that the wrath of God is coming upon this world,
and coming to shake everything. Everything's gonna be proven
when the Lord returns. And so we're fleeing to Christ,
who cannot be shaken, who is a faithful rock in whom we shall
be saved. He is our refuge. And all the
rest are gonna be looking to what they've done in their lives
and looking to those things for their refuge and their salvation
and it's not going to stand the shaking of the Lord. It's going
to collapse and fall upon them and they shall be naked and they
shall be ashamed. They're not going to stand in
that day. So what Christ does is that his
creation is that he gives life to his people so that they hear
this word. They're given life, a new heart,
and they see that in themselves they're nothing but sin and that
they're They can't please God in themselves, but they see that
Christ is everything. So Christ creates in us that
new man. That's why it says in the scriptures
that you must be born again. And that's what it's talking
about is that Christ has given to us of his seed so that we
are born of him. Just as you were born of your
parents once and you came forth in the flesh, in which you can't
please God in the flesh, Now Christ gives you life by his
seed and you come forth a spiritual living soul whereby that spiritual
work that Christ created, that's where we believe Christ and we
hope in him. We don't look to these earthly
carnal works that man does. So that's the creation that Christ
did and that creation of Christ is going to withstand that shaking
of the Lord, because it's built of Christ. His work remains. It will not fail us. Alright,
now the Lord proves the work. In 2 Thessalonians 1, that's
where we see the returning of the Lord, and in 2 Thessalonians
1, in the latter half of verse 7 through verse 9, it says, The
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of his power." So at that time,
all those who mocked God and refused to hear and listen and
refused to trust in the salvation that God said, this is salvation,
who refused him and rejected him, which all natural man does
in the flesh, God has said that he's going to mock them. And
it says in Psalm 2, verses 4 and 5, he that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. And remember
that psalmist in Psalm 73 who was envious at one time of the
wicked, saying they seem to have everything together and everything
goes well for them. They don't seem to be shaken. He saw when
he went and worshipped the Lord, the Lord showed him and revealed
to him, this is their end. And it says in Psalm 73, 18,
surely thou did set them in slippery places. Thou castest them down
into destruction. How were they brought into desolation?
As in a moment, they are utterly consumed with terrors as a dream
on one awaketh. So Lord, when thou awakest, thou
shalt despise their image. You'll despise their image. They,
by their works, despised the work that God provided in his
son. And now God says, I'll despise your very image. I'm rejecting
you and I'm casting you out of my presence. We see here that
mocking in Isaiah 2 in verse 10, we see the Lord mocking them.
And he says, enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust for
fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty. And he's
talking about their idols, their works, all that they've trusted.
And he says, go ahead, flee to those things, flee to those rocks
and see if they'll stand for you. And what they're going to
find is that everything they hoped in, there's no healing.
There's no ointment. There's no balm in what they
do and what they say. There's no satisfaction. There's
no peace. There's no reconciliation. There's
no nourishment. There's no life. There's no hope
in that which man does. It doesn't have an eternal hope. You saw that, I guess, in the
Egyptians and other things where they tried to bury them with
all these treasures and with people to serve them. It ends. When you lay down your your body
to die, that's it. You can't take anything with
you. So nothing's going to stand or protect you or help you in
that day. You'll be naked before God. So all the works of man
have an end and they're not going to stand for man at all in that
day. And he says, Isaiah 2.11, the
lofty looks of man shall be humbled and the haughtiness of men shall
be bowed down and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
So they were so smug and they thought so lightly of the Lord's
Christ and they refused him. But now their lofty looks are
going to be humbled and their haughtiness is going to be brought
to shame and the Lord alone is going to be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts
shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty and upon everyone
that is lifted up and he shall be brought low. And the Lord
says it, you know, this is definitely those idols and those works that
they're trusting in there. And he says in Deuteronomy 32,
he even compares it to that. He says in Deuteronomy 32, if
you want to turn there, verse 37, the Lord God shall say, where
are their gods? Their rock in whom they trusted,
which did eat the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine
of their drink offerings. Let them rise up and help you
and be your protection. See now that I, even I am he,
and there is no God with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound
and I heal. Neither is there any that can
deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven
and say, I live forever. If I wet my glittering sword
and mine hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine
enemies and will reward them that hate me." The Lord's going
to shake terribly the earth. He's going to prove that work. He's going to show that the only
refuge that man has is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Hebrews
12, it speaks of this as well. Hebrews 12, 25. So that, you
know, here's man, he's turning to, he's looking to his religious
works, he's looking to the things which he has done, his intellect,
his wisdom, all the things that he can buy with his own money
and his technology and things like that, and it's going to
do them no good when Christ returns. And it says in Hebrews 12, 25,
see that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escape
not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not
we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven,
whose voice then shook the earth. And he's talking about when the
children of Israel were standing there before Mount Sinai. when
the law was being given by Moses and it says that the mountain
smoked and was on fire and there was thunderings and lightnings
and trumpets and the people feared and they quaked and they were
afraid and he's saying, they fear then, wait till the Lord
comes to rebuke all those who hated him. He says, But now he
hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake, not the earth only,
but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifieth
the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain,
so that That which is eternal, Christ's blood, his redeeming
blood that has delivered us from our sins, that redemption, that's
an eternal work. That's going to last forever.
That reconciliation that Christ made for the people, when he
reconciled his people to God, that's an eternal work. That's
going to remain forever. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is
a consuming fire. So what is that going to mean
for the works of man? Are the works of man gonna stand
in that day, everything that man has done and trusted in?
When you think about people that you esteem to be great and to
have accomplished a lot in this life, is that gonna last in that
eternal day? Is that gonna stand for them
and speak well for them? Is God gonna be impressed by
what they've done? Or is he, as he says in his word,
impressed with one, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? Look
to the Lord Jesus Christ. He and he alone is the salvation
that God has provided. God's going to shake all the
works of man and he's already proven the work of Christ and
he tells us over and over again in his word, there is my salvation. Get you to the refuge, which
is Christ. He is the rock of his people
and he shall not fail them. He shall prevail. I pray the
Lord will bless this to your hearts. Let me just read verse
22. Cease ye for man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein
is he to be accounted of. So don't trust what man does. Don't look to the idols that
man looks to. They're not going to last. They're
not going to stand for the Lord's people in that day. I pray the
Lord will bless this word to your hearts. Let's close in prayer
and then we dismiss for a few minutes. Our gracious Lord, we
thank you, Lord, and ask that you would be merciful to us,
Lord. Help us to hear the word, to
see that Christ is the rock of his people, and that he has prevailed
and provided salvation to all those who look to him and trust
in him and in his work alone. Lord, we pray that you would
shake and break the hard heart of sinners here, Lord, that you
would Show them that their works, anyone who's trusting in their
works and looking to what they've done, Lord, that you would shake
that terribly in this day of grace, that they may see and
know that what they trust in will not stand in that great
and final day. And then show them Christ, Lord.
We pray that you would turn us to Him, for in Him alone is mercy
and grace and peace and reconciliation. We pray that you will show us
this. Give us life in Christ. We pray in Jesus name, our Lord
and Savior. Amen.