Go with me if you would back
to Isaiah 33. Just a moment, I want us to do
what our Lord commanded us to do at the beginning of verse
20. Isaiah 33 verse 20, he said, look upon Zion. Take just a minute and get a
good look at Zion. Right now, as we move not one
muscle, we are, if we're in Christ, that's the key to it all. If we're in Christ, we are right
now marching to Zion. Every minute, every hour, every
day, we are getting one step closer and closer and closer
to Zion. It is a difficult journey. It's a tiring Journey, but we
are taking one more step Every minute that passes one step closer
to Zion in the process of these steps While we march our Lord
said take a good look at where you're going. I Know that you have not physically
been there yet But take a good look at where you're going Now,
when I was in high school, I had the opportunity to go on a school
trip to England. I went twice, actually, two years
back to back. But I took something with me
that is virtually obsolete now. I took a camera that used rolls
of film. You used to have to go buy film,
and it was so expensive. And you take a picture, you know,
did it turn out? I don't know. We'll see. Oh,
it didn't turn out, you know, too late. But I went and I bought
all these rolls of film and I brought them over there with me and I
took a lot of pictures. I took picture after picture
after picture. And then I got all these rolls.
I brought them back home to Franklin, Tennessee. I took them to the
place to get them developed. You used to have to wait. It
was not instant gratification. If you wanted to pay top dollar,
you could go to one hour photo. But you'd take them to Walmart
or wherever and wait three days and finally get your pictures
back. And I went and they had packets. of photographs and I got all
these packets of photographs and I pulled out a bunch of photographs
and I told my family, everybody come here and look at these. Look at these with me. And we
flipped photo after photo and even though they had never been
there yet, one by one they saw England. One by one. Photo picture after
picture. Well, let's just flip through
a few pictures of Zion. Go with me over to Psalm 2. I just want us to look upon Zion. I want to see if we can see Zion. Psalm 2. Verse 6 says, yet have I set
my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Zion sits on top of a hill. It sits up on top of a hill.
If you want to know where it sits, it's on top of a hill.
Actual Zion. In order to see Zion, you have
to look up. It is not on a flat plain where
you just walk to it. It is not down in a valley. It
is on top of a holy hill. That's where Zion is. Up on top
of God's holy hill. I'll tell you something about
England. Some of you, probably most of you have been there,
If you haven't, I'll tell you this about England. It is a real
place. It's a real place. Kingsport
is a real place. You can live in Kingsport. You
can move in Kingsport. You can have your being. It's
a real place. England is a real place. Zion is a real place. It's a real place. It's sitting
on top of God's holy hill. With spiritual eyes of faith,
can you see it? You see it sitting, can you imagine?
One day, you know, we just, we sang just a moment ago, we're
marching to Zion. I just sang the song. One of
these days, all this is going to be over with and I'm going
to see him face to face. Zion is a real place sitting
on top of God's holy hill. All right, now let's go to the
next picture. Psalm 9. Verse 11. Sing praises to the Lord, which
dwelleth in Zion. Declare among the people his
doing. I was on that trip, I believe
it was 12 days. It was either 9 days or 12 days
or something like that. In those 12 days, I saw a lot
of castles. It was a school trip, educational
trip, and we went to castle after castle after castle. I took a
lot of pictures of castles. The one that made the biggest
impression on me was Windsor Castle. And the reason is because
the whole time we were there, it struck me that the queen actually
lived there. That was one of her homes. She
actually abode there. We went through the castle and
I thought, this is where she lives. It's not just an empty
castle. The queen is actually here. Well,
in this real city called Zion, the Lord lives there. The Lord actually lives there.
Psalm 2, we just read, he said, I have set my king in my holy hill of Zion. I've
set my king, his actual throne is there. And I can see it. I can see it
up on a hill, the actual place where the Lord, our King dwells,
his actual throne is sitting there. All right. Flip over to
this picture. Psalm 48. Psalm 48, verse one
says. Great is the Lord. and greatly to be praised in
the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness, beautiful for
situation. The joy of the whole earth is
Mount Zion. On the sides of the north, the
city of the great king, God is known in her palaces for a refuge. Zion is absolutely beautiful.
It is absolutely beautiful the way that it's situated. is so
beautiful. It is the master work of the
master architect. No architect is like this architect. It is absolutely beautiful. It says it's the joy of the entire
new earth. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. It has been referred to as paradise. absolute paradise. All right,
here's the next picture. Verse 12 says, walk about Zion
and go round about her. Tell the towers thereof, look
at the size of those towers, actual towers, a fortified defense,
strength, safety. He said, get a look at the size
of those towers. full of watchmen. Our Lord has
sent watchmen all around this city, and God's people are absolutely
safe. When they see this city, they're
going to look up on this holy hill, and it's going to be so
beautiful for situation. They're going to see these towers,
and in the midst of these towers, in the middle of this city, sits
a throne, and they're going to see the King face-to-face. All right, one more picture.
Psalm 87. Psalm 87 verse one, it says his foundation is in
the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of
Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." The Lord has set His
affection on this place. He loves the gates of Zion. He
has set His affection on the city of Zion. Why has the Lord
set His affection on the city of Zion? It's because that's
where His people are. That is where all of his people
are going to be gathered together. Verse two says, the Lord love
at the gates of Zion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious
things are spoken of thee. Oh, city of God. I will make
mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me behold Philistia
and tire with Ethiopia. This man was born there. What
he's saying is, you know how. You were born in Virginia, and
you were born in Kentucky, Ohio, Kentucky, somewhere, and you
were born in Tennessee. Well, he's saying in verse 5,
of Zion, it shall be said, this and that man was born in her. And the highest himself shall
establish her. The Lord shall count when he
writeth up the people. I love that. He's not going to
lose one. And to make sure he's going to
count, he knows them that are his. He knows exactly how many
belong to him. In verse 6 says, the Lord and
he shall. Not one word is going to fail.
He is going to count. when he writeth up the people
that this man was born there. Selah means just dwell on that
for a while. He was born here. That means
when the name of a sinner comes up that God has chosen to set
his affection on. When that question is asked,
is he supposed to be here? Is he truly supposed to be here? The Lord is going to say, absolutely. He was born here. He was born
here. This is his place. This is his
home. Born in Zion, born of God. Our Lord said, my people are
not of this world. They're not from this world. They're from Zion. And they are. They are. They're all from Zion. Every single one. They all have
the right to be there. They were all born here. One
more picture while we're here. Verse 7. As well the singers
as the players on instruments shall be there. All my springs
are in thee. Can you see all those singers?
Can you imagine how happy Zion is going to be? Can't you just
see all the players on their instruments singing, playing,
praising God, rejoicing, following their King, listening to Him? If you are in Christ, if I'm
in Christ, then we can get a good look. I know we have not physically
seen it yet, but we can get a good look. That's our home. That's
our home, our eternal home. Now go with me back to Isaiah
33. Verse 20 says, look upon Zion,
the city of our solemnities. That means the place of our solemn
assembly. John Gill said, Zion is a place
where the saints solemnly assembled together to worship God. That's
what it is. It's a place where God's saints
solemnly assembled together to worship God. He said, it's where
the word of God is solemnly preached and where the ordinances are
solemnly administered. and the sacrifices of prayer
and praise are solemnly offered up. This is Zion. This is our
eternal home on earth. This is a slice of heaven on
earth. This is Zion. God's people meeting
together, a solemn assembly where the Word is preached, the Word
of God is preached, and where the ordinances are solemnly administered
and where prayer and praise are solemnly offered up. Somebody
said one time, if a man or a woman does not enjoy worshiping God
here on this earth, they really will not enjoy heaven too much.
Everybody thinks they want to go to heaven, but if they do
not enjoy worshiping God and praising God, they really won't
enjoy it too much. That's all that will take place
there. That's all God's people will be doing there. And they're
going to do it perfectly. They're going to solemnly worship
God, not in the way that we worship now where the flesh hinders us,
but they're going to do it in absolute perfection. Verse 20
says, look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities. Thine eyes
shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation. John Gill said quiet
means peaceful. They're going to be at peace,
total peace. There will be total peace in Zion. He said there
will be no more envy. I love that. No more envy. Never again will the heart of
a man or a woman say, I want what you have. Never again. That'll never happen ever again.
Everybody will have Christ. If everybody has Christ, everybody
has all things. And envy will absolutely go away.
He said there will be no more vexations. Do things ever happen
that vex your heart, just tear you all to pieces? No more vexations. He said there'll be no more animosities,
no more divisions. He said, it'll be a true sheep
fold. That's what it's going to be an absolute true sheep
fold. He said, Christ is the shepherd. The saints are his sheep. The
church is the fold where they're gathered, fed and preserved.
They're going to be in absolute peace and safety. They're going
to lie down in peace and safety. It's a quiet, peaceful, pleasant,
comfortable, safe habitation. That's what Zion is. Verse 20
says, Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities. Thine eyes
shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that
shall not be taken down. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle
moved often. It moved place to place. It was a tent where God put his
name there and he put his spirit there and he put his true worship
there. The true worship of God took
place in the tabernacle. That's where the sacrifice was
made. True worship revolves around
a sacrifice. In the middle of Zion, on that
throne, sits the sacrifice. Everything revolves around that. And that tabernacle in the Old
Testament would stay in one place until God determined it was time
to move it somewhere else, and it would go to another location.
It is still that way today. That's exactly what is happening
right now. God has purposed at this very
moment to put his name and his spirit in his true worship in
Kingsport, Tennessee, one of his locations. There will come
a day. I used to hear men say this and
you have to, and I thought, surely not. There will come a day when
it will be said the gospel used to be preached in Kingsport,
Tennessee. You see that building right there?
That's so sad, isn't it? Isn't that so sad? Does that
ever hit you? Oh, I hope that doesn't come
in my lifetime. I really hope that does not come
in my lifetime. You see that guy in there, that
guy used to preach the gospel. He used to be counted as one
who preached the gospel. That building used to be a building
where the truth was preached. That's so sad to me. And when
God is ready and when his purpose is fulfilled, he will move the
gospel to another location. He moves it, it's there for a
while, and then he moves it to another location. In that day, when we are finally
in Zion, it says in verse 20, look upon Zion, the city of our
solemnities, thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation,
a tabernacle that shall not be taken down. Not one of the stakes
thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords
thereof be broken. In that day, we will not ever
have to worry about the gospel being taken away from us ever
again. What would we do if God removed the gospel from us? Have
you ever asked yourself that question? What would we do? In
that day, we'll never ask ourselves that question ever again. It'll
never happen. God, who is the gospel himself,
lives there. That's his permanent fixed home. And he said it's never going
to be taken down. That tabernacle of worship around
the sacrifice of Christ, a stake is not going to be pulled out
of the ground. Not one cord is going to be broken. Hold your
place right here and go to Revelation 21. Revelation 21 verse 3 says, and
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle
of God is with man and he, the tabernacle is a he. The tabernacle
of God is with men and He will dwell with them and they shall
be His people and God Himself shall be with them and be their
God. The tabernacle is a He and He
said, I'll never leave you. I'll never leave you. Now hold
your place right here in Revelation 21 and go back to the text. Isaiah 33 verse 20 says, look upon Zion, the city
of our solemnities. Then I shall see Jerusalem, a
quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down.
Not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed. Neither
shall any of the cords thereof be broken, but there the glorious
Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams wherein
shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass
thereby." He said, the glorious Lord. is going to be to us a
place of broad rivers, broad, huge rivers that supply everything
we need. Cities were established on rivers.
And our God is going to supply all our need bountifully. Huge,
broad rivers. And he said, no enemy ship is
ever going to be able to come up that river. No ship. All right. Go back to Revelation
21. I adore the thought of this.
Revelation 21. Verse 25, it says, talking about New Jerusalem,
the city of God, it says, and the gates of it shall not be
shut at all by day. They're going to remain wide
open all day, which means forever because there's no night there.
Eternity is one day. One day we have a calendar. We
have days. We have weeks. We have months.
We have years. You don't have that in eternity.
There's one day. It's a he. We live in a day. And it's a heat. And that day
is going to have his gates wide open all day. It says in verse
25, the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day for there
shall no night be there. And they shall bring the glory
and honor of the nations into it. All of the glory and the
honor of the nations. are going to flow right in, the
recipients of God's glory, the recipients, those that God has
honored with His Spirit and His blood and His choice and His
grace. They're going to flow right in.
Verse 27 says, And there shall in no wise enter into it anything
that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh
a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. I
am personally thankful for that verse. The thought has very foolishly
gone through my mind before. You know, I hope sin doesn't
ever creep in again and ruin things. God promises in His Word
it will not happen. He said the gates are going to
be wide open and sin is never, ever going to defile ever again.
Never going to enter back in. He put it away. He put it absolutely
away and only those who have had their sins completely washed
away in the blood of the Lamb and had their names written in
the Lamb's Book of Life, they're the only ones who are going to
enter into Zion. All right, go back to Isaiah 33. Verse 22 says. For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. He will
save us. All the government is on his
shoulders. If it needs to be decided, if
it needs to be executed, if it needs to be enforced, he'll take
care of it. He will completely take care
of it. Everything that he does is going to be right. Everything
he does is going to be to the fullest. Every jot, every tittle,
whatever need there is, it will be supplied to the absolute fullest. Everything he does will be done
in absolute sovereignty because he's the judge. He's the lawgiver. He's the king. And it says he
will save us. He will. Justice will demand
it. The price has been paid in the
blood and justice demands it. He will save us. Now, as for
those that he has not chosen to set his affection on, the
enemies of Zion, verse 23 says, thy tacklings are loosed. They
could not well strengthen their mast. They could not spread the
sail. Then is the prey of a great spoil
divided. And the lame are going to take
the prey. The enemies, everything that they think they have and
have acquired, it's all going to be spoiled. And the lame are
going to take that spoil as a prey. In order to walk into Zion, In
order to be able to walk into Zion, you have to be lame. That's one of the requirements. You cannot walk into Zion unless
you're absolutely lame. You have to come pleading the
efforts of Christ alone. Only those who cry, I cannot
enter in. In my own flesh, I'm unable. I am a lame man. Only those who cry like Mephibosheth,
come get me. I'm a lame man. He said every
Mephibosheth is going to have that spoil divided to him. Everything
is going to be divided to his people and the lame are going
to inherit it. And verse 24 says, and the inhabitant is never ever
going to say again, I am sick. Never again. That is just about all we say
here on this earth. That's almost all that we say
down here. We say, I'm so sick, sick with
sin. I am so filled with a loathsome
disease. I am nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. God said the day they enter into
eternal Zion, they're never, ever going to say that ever again.
Never again. Verse 24, And the inhabitant
shall not say, I am sick. The people that dwell therein
shall be forgiven their iniquity. There's a reference right there
if you have it in your Bible. The people to Jeremiah 50 verse
20. Turn with me over there to Jeremiah
50. Just a few few pages over the
next book. Jeremiah 50 verse 20 it says,
in those days, those days that God's people step into Zion. In that time, saith the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall
be none. And the sins of Judah And they
shall not be found for I will pardon them whom I reserve. He said, the sins of my people,
they're not there. They are absolutely not there.
Where did they go? He left them in the grave. They
died when He died. They all died as soon as Christ
suffered that last blow of punishment for His people. That very last
blow, God Almighty said, their sins and their iniquities will
I remember no more. They're all taken away, away. Their sins are all taken away.
And throughout all of Zion, all of the Habitation of Zion all
of God's people for all of eternity Just wrap your brain around eternity
for all of eternity nothing will die there cannot die for all
eternity We're all gonna say thank God. We are not sick anymore. I We will never stop thanking
God for that. Never will his people say, I'm
sick anymore, but never will we stop thanking God for removing
the sickness. I mean, you, you, you tack on
billions and trillions and whatever the words are past those of years. From right now, we're still going
to be saying this exact same thing. Thank God we're not sick
anymore. We were sick. And thank God we're
not sick anymore. We've been given health. I mean,
70 years of a loathsome disease compared to billions and trillions
and gazillions of years, which is the first fraction of a second
in eternity, of saying, we're not sick anymore. We've been
given absolute health. We've been given wealth. We've
been given happiness. Acceptance, redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. Now. If anybody would like to
come back on Wednesday, I have a few more pictures I'd like
to show you more pictures. That's what we're going to keep
doing. We're going to keep pulling out photos. That's what these verses are.
Photographs, pictures of our Lord, pictures of Zion. Alright,
let's all stand together.