As Song said, he's homeless,
despised, and rejected. When I sang that, I thought there's
no one on this earth that he cannot identify with. He can
identify with every level, every person, whatever level of society
that person's in, our Lord can identify. Tell me the story. Turn to Isaiah
51. Isaiah 51. I'm going to read the first 16
verses. The title of the message is A
Bright Future. A Bright Future. Hearken to me,
ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord. Look unto
the rock which ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit which
ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father,
and unto Sarah that bear you. For I called him alone, and blessed
him, and increased him. For the Lord shall comfort Zion,
he will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her
wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the
Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found
therein, thanksgiving in the voice of melody. Hearken unto
me, my people. That's to us this morning. That's
to us. Listen to me, my people. What
are you saying? Hearken to me, my people, and
give ear unto me. Give attention, pay attention.
O my nation, for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make
my judgment to rest for the light of the people. My righteousness
is near. My salvation is gone forth. And
mine arm shall judge the people. The hour shall wait upon me.
And on mine arm shall they trust. And we know who that arm is.
It says in Isaiah 53, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed.
That's Jesus Christ. The arm of the Lord is the Lord
Jesus Christ. Lift up your eyes to the heavens. and look upon the earth beneath.
For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth
shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall
die in like manner. But, my salvation, the salvation
that we have in Jesus Christ shall be forever. We don't have
to worry about death, Death has no power over us. My body here
that you're looking at is going to be laid in the grave, but
I'm not going to die. He that believeth in me shall never die.
I'm going to change places. I'm just going to change places
is what I'm going to do. And my righteousness shall
not be abolished. It will not be just to hearken
unto me now. How many times has he said this? Third time? Listen
to me. I have to say that to my kids,
you know, when my boys were growing up. Now listen to me. You have
to say that to kids every now and then. Now listen, pay attention.
Hearken, listen to me, you that know righteousness, you that
know the righteousness of God in Christ, you know that know
His righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law, Fear
ye not the reproach of men. Don't be afraid of men. Don't
be afraid of what's going on. Boy, do we get carried away with
that, don't we? He's telling us, don't be afraid.
I've got this under control. Fear ye not the reproach of men,
neither be ye afraid of their violence. For the moth, now look
here, it doesn't say something great, a moth. He's showing here
the weakness of what you and I are, what they are, and what
we've become afraid of at times. He's showing, he said a moth
shall eat them up. The moth shall eat them up like
a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness
shall be forever. ever and my salvation from generation
to generation. Now verse 9 through 16 is where
I'm going. I hope to bring the message this morning. Awake!
Awake! This is the church speaking here
in verse 9. Awake! Awake! Put on strength! The arm
of the Lord. It's as if they're asking for
the Lord to awake, to rise up and to help in Christ's name
because He is the arm of the Lord. Awake, as in the ancient
days and the generations of old, art thou not it that hath cut
Rahab, or Egypt, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which
hath dried the sea and the waters of the great deep, that hath
made the depths of the sea away for the ransomed to pass over?
Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with
singing and design, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head.
Then she'll obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and morning she'll
flee away. Even I am He that comforts you. Who art thou that thou shouldst
be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the Son of Man which
shall be made as grass? And you forget the Lord thy Maker,
that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations
of the earth, and hath feared continually every day because
of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy, as if God had no power over him? You know, I'll tell you this,
remember this, the devil is God's devil. He's nothing more than
a pit bull on a chain. And where is the fury
of the oppressor? The captive exile, hasteneth
that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit,
and that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord, thy God. If you're not an idol sitting
on a shelf, I'm the Lord thy God that divided the sea whose
waves roared, the Lord of hosts of many is his name. And I put my words in thy mouth
and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand that I may
plant the heavens and lay the foundation of the earth and say
unto Zion, thou are my people. We have a bright future. Let
us pray. Our Father, thank you for your
word that we have just read. Help us to find real encouragement
this morning. Help us to set our affection
on things above, where Christ sits at thy right hand. Help
us to give unto you the glory and the honor that's due unto
your name. Help us to truly worship you
in spirit and in truth this morning. Thank you for your mercies. Lord,
there are too many to reckon up in order. Thank you for Jesus
Christ, the one in whom we are complete. Thank you for him.
Thank you for salvation. Lord, thank you for not leaving
us alone. Help me to preach. Lord, make your word to go forth
in power. Make me a blessing to these people
this morning. Help me to rightly divide the word of truth. In
the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, and amen. As we read, the Lord had been speaking words of comfort
to his people in the first eight verses. In verse 9, the church
prays for God to awake and to help her as he had done in times
past. It says in verse 9, awake, awake!
Now God's not asleep. We know that. We know that. But there are times that our
situation We know to be urgent and we ask
God to rise up and deliver, to help us. We know that the God
of Israel never slumbers or sleeps. We know that. He never grows
weary like we do. He's ever present with his people.
We are not always able to detect His presence, but God is ever
present with her this morning. Christ in you? Can you be any
more present than that? Could He be any more present
than being in you? The scripture says this in Psalms,
He is in the midst of her. He shall help her. And that right
early. And that right early. Now I want you to notice, they
recognized his help and power on past generations. They never delivered themselves.
And they recognized that. There was never a time that Israel
looked back and said, look what we did. They always look back
and say, the Lord delivered us there. The Lord delivered us
there. In Psalm 107, every time they
cry, they get in trouble. Every time they cry unto the
Lord, you read that Psalm, and it says, He delivered. He delivered. And it's good to recognize God's
help in times past. in the troubles I'm in now, or
whatever trial I may be going through now, it's good to remember
my past and all the mercies that God has had on me in the past.
Because as He has done, so shall He do. He never changes. His mercies
are new every morning. He's faithful, they're new every
morning. His mercies are. And they recognize that The past
generations that he had helped, and that gave them courage. And
it gave them power in their prayer. Even someone who is with us,
he is our strength. He is our help in time of trouble. in every time of trouble, every
time. They recognized him as the God
who cut off Rahab, or Egypt, and wounded, they said, the head
of the dragon. He said to Pharaoh, I raised him up to show my power,
demonstrate my power in him. Pharaoh said, who is the Lord
that I should obey him? Well, he found out, didn't he?
He found out. Let us never recognize anyone, listen now, let us never recognize
anyone or anything as our Deliverer, God is. God is. Here's what I'm saying. God is
a God of means, is He not? Let's not get caught up with
the means. and forget the one who really is the one who delivers,
God. God. Don't be caught up with
the means that God uses. God is my deliverer. That's what
they're saying. So let's never recognize anyone
but God as our true deliverer. He is the one who has delivered
us from the power of sin. I could not overcome sin. Brethren,
if you understand what sin is, you know you can't overcome it
by yourself. You can't do it. He's the one
who has delivered us from the power of Satan, the power of
darkness. That's what it says on Colossians
1, I read it this morning. In translated lesson to the kingdom
of his dear son, he delivered us from the power of darkness.
and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. He's delivered
us from death. I don't have to fear death. You
don't have to fear death. You believe God, you don't have
to fear death. Death has no power over you. Has no power. He is our true deliverer. And here's the voice of faith
in verse 10. Are you not the one who dried the sea? See how they're looking back?
They're looking back on the power of God, the deliverance of God.
Are you not the one who dried the sea? The waters of the great
deep. The waters of the great deep.
Faith looks to the same God who changes not. The very God who
parted the sea. is my God. Same one, same power. He's not any weaker. Time has
no effect on the power of God. It has effect on me, but not
on Him. Not on Him. Faith looks to the
same God who changes not. In every generation, in every
generation, He's the same. In every generation, He's the
one who delivers. I have two grandchildren, 10 and 12. If they're ever going
to be saved, the same God that saved me will have to save them.
And when generations have come and gone, everyone whom God saves
will be saved by the same one in the same way, the same gospel.
It will not change. It will not change. God did for them the impossible.
And this is another thing they're saying. Are you not the one who
dried the sea? The waters of the great deep?
Are you not the one that did that? You know what they're saying? You're the one that did the impossible. Unheard of. Unheard of. You split the sea and you dried
up the sea. Are you not the same one? Are
you not the one that dried up the great deep? This has always
been a mark that they look back to for assurance. That their
God is able. Our God is able. He's able to
deliver. But here's the point. Here's
the point. He did the impossible. Can sin be put away? Who can
do that? Can sin be put away? Can God be a just God and save
a wretch like me? Can God do the impossible? It's
impossible for you and me to put away sin. I can't put it
away. All the repentance, all the weeping
in the world that I could do for sin won't put one sin away. Repentance has never put away
sin. Faith does not put away sin. Can God put away my sin? Can
God still be a just God and save a wretch like me? If a man dies,
shall he live again? Can God raise me from the dead
and take me to glory? Can He do the impossible? Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. That which is impossible
with men is what? It's impossible with God. It's
impossible. You remember that woman who had
the issue of blood? She went and seen all these physicians
and said she spent all her money and was not any better. But rather,
it said, but rather grew worse. Rather grew worse. And this,
she heard of Him. She heard of him, and she said,
if I can but touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole.
And she touched the hem of his garment, and what happened? She
was made whole. She was made whole. He said, it's hard for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And the disciples, he said it's
as hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven as it was
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. And you know what he did next,
the very next chapter, you know what he did? He saved a rich
man. Nicodemus. He saved a rich man. Or Zacchaeus,
I think it was. Zacchaeus. He saved a rich man. What's impossible with men is
possible with God. It's possible with God this morning
to save any man, any woman, any young person in this congregation,
if He so will. If He says live, I guarantee
you will live! Just like that child in Ezekiel. Can God be a just God and a Savior? Absolutely. Through the blood
and the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God can save me. God can do that. God can raise the spiritually
dead. Nobody can do that. Nobody but
God can do that. God can do the impossible, so
don't be afraid to ask Him to. Brother, we ought to ask great
things of God. Our God is great. Our God is
great. And our prayers ought to be great. Listen, we ought to, generally,
we ought to expect great things of God, shouldn't we? God is
great. God's grace is great. He can save the vilest of men. Look here at what he did in verse
10. He says here, to finish out this verse, "...that hath made
the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over." No one thought about that. Israel
comes up against the Red Sea. You got Pharaoh's army behind
him. It looks like you're trapped. Pharaoh, I'm sure Pharaoh was
excited. You big dummies, you get up against
the sea. Don't you know how to fight?
Don't you know how to maneuver? God put them in that position
to make them see His glory, His power to save, and to completely
trust Him. To completely trust Him for deliverance. A way, listen, a way that no
man thought of. Moses didn't think of that. Moses
didn't come up to the Red Sea and say, alright, Lord, part
the sea. Well, he didn't think of that. He was concerned about
what was going on behind him as the rest of the people were. No, he didn't think of that.
Just as God thought and purposed to make Christ the way for the
ransom to pass over. Jesus Christ is the way to God. Now, who would have thought of
that? Who would have thought of that? He is the way from sin
to holiness. He is the way from banishment
to acceptance. He is the way from death to life. Who would have thought that God
would part the sea and the ransomed Israel, God's elect, would pass
over safely. And Pharaoh thought, well I'll
just take that same path and get him. What happened? He drowned
that whole army. You know that's what my sins
are like? They're just like that army, gone. Cast into the depths
of the sea. Gone. Who would have thought that God
would become a man? Who would have thought that God
would take upon Him flesh and bone, go to the cross, die on
the cross. See, Israel didn't expect that. They weren't expecting that.
They didn't expect God to become a man. They didn't expect God
to come into this world as a babe in a manger. Over in Isaiah 53,
he grew up as a tender plant, a babe. They didn't expect that. He said one place, I'll bring
them by way that they knew not. They didn't expect that. Who would have thought that God
would send his son into this world take upon Him our sins,
go to the cross, put them away, and He, God Himself, David said
this, God has become my salvation. God Himself has become the way
for the ransom to pass over. Who would have thought? Who would
have thought it? Therefore, Therefore, because
of who their God is, and His power to save them, the redeemed
of the world shall return. He knows where these people are.
They're going to return from the east, the west, the north,
the south, all over this globe. All over this globe. They shall return out of captivity.
Sin, we have this promise, sin shall not have dominion over
them. It won't have dominion over you. You're not under the
law, you're under grace. The law has been satisfied. You're not under it no more.
They shall return from destruction to restoration. And how shall
they return? How are these people going to
return? Look at verse 11. They're going to come with singing
and desiring. That's how they're going to return. And everlasting joy shall be
upon their forehead. They shall be a happy people.
A happy people. I know that we have our times
of sorrow. I know that. I know that in this
life we have, especially as you get older, you have more of those
times. You have more of those times. But joy is our lot. He's promised
us joy is our lot. Everlasting joy shall be ours
in the end. Not everlasting punishment. Everlasting
joy. In sorrow and mourning, he says,
shall flee away. Whatever it is right now that's
causing me to mourn and to cry and break my heart, In a little
while, all of that's gone. It's all gone. It may not feel like it's ever
going to leave, but God assures us that someday, that someday
it's going to leave and there's going to be everlasting joy and
that's all that's going to remain. It's hard to grasp, isn't it?
It's hard to grasp in this life. Eternal happiness. There's coming
a day when we will never know sadness. Never know it. I can't imagine that. I can't
imagine that. There's coming a day when I'll
never know sorrow again. It will not be in our vocabulary. It won't be in our vocabulary. You'll not find things like sin
and sadness and sorrow and heartaches and war. You won't find any of
them. You won't find that. We have
a bright future coming. He says in verse 12, you say,
how's that? I, even I, am He that comforts
you. I'm giving you my word on this.
Comfort you one another with these words, says over in Thessalonians. I, even I, am he that comforts
you. Don't look for comfort from this world. And Colossians just says, set
your mind on things above. If you'd be risen with Christ,
set your mind, your affection on things above, where Christ
sits, in God's right hand, and you won't be disappointed. You
will not be disappointed. But brethren, if you and I set
our hearts on this world, it's going to end in disappointment.
It's going to end in that way. Christ said, come to me, all
you laboring, heavy laden, I'll give you rest. He's our rest
from all the turmoil and stuff that's going on. He's the rest
of all the turmoil that goes on inside of me over sin. And
He's my rest from all the turmoil that goes on in this world. He's
my rest. He's my captain. He's the captain
of our salvation. And He's Lord over all. Over all. He's given us the gospel that
comforts us. His Spirit, the Spirit that comforts
us, called the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and He's called
the God of all comfort. I, even I am He that comforts
thee. Who art thou? Who art thou that
thou shouldst be afraid of a man, that he shall die? Think about
this. He said, who are you that you
should be afraid of a man that shall die and of the Son of Man
which shall be made as grass? Now I believe this. I can't perfect it. I can't make
it happen. But I believe it. And I keep
coming back to it. I have never, I never have a
reason to be afraid. How many times does he say in
Isaiah, fear not, fear not. How many times does he say to
his disciples, why are you so fearful? Why are you so fearful? We have no reason to be afraid
of a mortal man. You know the Lord said one time,
don't fear them who can kill the body, I tell you who to fear. Fear Him who can cast both bodies
soul into hell. I was talking to a man one time
years ago. Talking about the gospel. And
I asked him, I said, what are you afraid of? What are you afraid
of? He said, I don't want to go to hell. He said, I don't want to go to hell.
I said, well you fear the wrong thing. You're afraid of the wrong
thing. You fear the wrong thing. I said, if you find favor with
the judge, you don't have to be afraid of the prison, do you? I said, that's what our meaning
is. It has you going to a place. It has salvation to do with the
place. Missing hell and going to heaven. Salvation has nothing
to do with the place. It has everything to do with
the person. It has everything to do with being made one with
God in Christ again. It's not trying to miss a place
and go to a place. It has to do with being made
one with God in Christ. I pray, Father, that they be
one as we are one. I didn't say I pray that they
miss hell and go to heaven. No, that they be with me in what?
Behold my glory, the glory I had with you before the world was.
That's what salvation is. I want to be saved from my sins. I'm not concerned about a place.
I'm concerned about my relationship to God. That's what I'm concerned
about. Satan is so subtle, he has our
mind on a prison house. We have no reason to be afraid
of a man. Solomon said this, the fear of
man, now listen, the fear of man bringeth a snare. The fear
of man will cause you to compromise the gospel. It will cause you
to compromise the gospel. If we fear the lesser, then everything
else will scare us to death. It will. You'll be scared to
death all the time. Every time you turn the news on. But if
you have a right fear of God, you can turn the news off. I
don't need to listen to that. It doesn't matter. I know what's
going on. I live on this earth. I know what's going on. And I
know who's running it. I know who's ultimately running
it. And I live, I live that. And I want to live under that.
I want to live, listen, I want to live God conscious. Always conscious of Him who's
on the throne. Notice how God points out the
frailty of man here. He shall die. He shall die. He'll be made like grass. You
know what we do with grass? You just mow it. You just mow
it. The beginning of wisdom, the
scripture says, is the fear of God. I'll tell you this, the
end of wisdom is when you fear anything less than God. Anything. He says in Psalm 56.3, this is
one of my favorite Psalms that I often remember. What time I
am afraid, I will trust in thee. Even when I'm afraid of God.
Job said that. Job said when I consider him,
I'm afraid. He just went through losing all
his kids. He went through losing everything he had. And he said,
the Lord giveth. He didn't say Satan takes it
away. He didn't say the Lord gives and Satan takes it away.
He said the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. And sometimes the taking is very
painful. Sometimes it is. And he says here, you're afraid
of me and you forget the Lord thy maker. I'll wind this down. You forget the Lord thy maker?
When we fear men, it's evident we've forgotten God. What an
indictment. You have forgotten me? Listen,
you forget the Lord thy maker that has stretched forth the
heavens? The next time you're afraid, stretched forth the heavens
and laid the foundation of the earth, the next time you're afraid,
walk outside and look up into heaven. My God made that. My God keeps it as He keeps it. By Him all things exist, all
things are sustained. In Colossians chapter 1, I've often thought about this.
I've often, when I'm going through some trouble, I look into the
heavens. I look into the vast universe. The millions and millions
of galaxies and stars and they're all in their place and they stay
in that place. That sun comes up every day and
races across the sky, goes down, comes up. There's the moon. And
my little problems scare me. That God can't handle it. that God can't handle it. That's
why it says, and forget it's the Lord thy maker that has stretched
forth the heavens. Who else? You know anybody else
can do that? You know anybody else can do
it? And laid the foundations of the earth? Next time they show you see the
earth on television from outer space, if they show the earth,
see if there are any strings holding it. It's just there. It's hanging there by the word
of God. By the word of His power. I'm not afraid of a meteorite
slamming into this earth. If it does whatever it does,
He's already a purpose to do so. Here's what He's saying. Have
you forgotten my power? Have you forgotten who I am? Have you forgotten that the earth
is the Lord's, the fullest thereof, and they that dwell therein?
And you have feared continually because of the fury of the oppressor,
as if he were ready to destroy, as if he were on his own? Is
the devil running out there loose? I told you, he's on a chain.
We used to, when I was a kid, we'd take a Junebug and tie a
string to its leg and it would fly. It would just fly. We used
to let that thing wear itself plum out until it falls to the
ground. I'm telling you, I'm telling
you, Satan is like that. Whenever he came before God,
Satan, God said, where you been? It's not that he didn't know.
He was just making him accountable. He was making him accountable.
He said, I've been going to and fro up and down the earth. And
we know he does that to seek whom he may devour. And God,
I want you to know, God brought up Job. Satan didn't bring him
up. God brought him up. God said,
have you considered my servant Job? And he says, well, I can't do
anything. You got a hedge about him. There is a hedge about you
just like there was about Job. And he absolutely has to have
permission to even look your way. Have you feared continually every
day, oh, this is going to happen, well,
this is going to happen, if this one gets in, if this one don't
get in, you know, we're going to be a mess. We're a mess anyway. What are you talking about? We're a mess anyway. I tell you, set your affection
on things above, where Christ sits at God's right hand. He's the one orchestrating all
this. This is no way to live in fear. There's no way for a
believer to live in fear at all. Not at all. I am just as safe,
listen, if I were standing on the battlefield
and bullets flying all around, I'm just as safe as I am standing
here. Now, I would advise me to duck, but I'm telling you
the truth, I'm just as safe. Use wisdom. You use the wisdom that God gives
you. You don't just stand up and say,
well, I'm a child of God and nothing's going to happen. Well, I would
advise you to duck. But I know this, I'm just as
safe there as I am here. Just as safe. Because someone said this one
time, we aren't immortal until God makes us mortal to take us
home. There are two ways to deal with
reality. Two or three ways, two or three ways to deal with reality.
One is just drug yourself up. Just dope yourself up and don't
deal with it. Another one is just lie to yourself. This ain't
real. Just lie to yourself, this is
not happening. Like the ostrich, stick your head in the sand.
Or the other one is just believe God. Be still, know that I'm
God. That's what he said, isn't it? So he said, be still, know that
I'm God. I'm doing this, trust me. I've said that to my boys
before. I said, what the hell are you
doing? I said, just trust me. I know what I'm doing, just trust
me. That's what I'm, be still, know
that I'm God, just trust me. He said, I'm the Lord that dried
up the sea. The Lord of hosts is his name.
Look to me for help. I'm the one. Look to me for salvation. I'm the one. I've put my words
in thy mouth. These are the words of God, what
we have this morning. We've read, I've read to you,
read to you through our Colossians out of Isaiah 51. These are the
words of God that I've been reading to you. I've covered thee in the shadow
of my hand. I've kept you, I'll protect you,
I'll keep you. I'll keep you like the apple
of my eye. I will keep thee under the shadow
of my hand. Listen, that's protection, under
the shadow of his hand, watching over me. I'll keep thee there until I
plant the new heaven, new earth, and say to Zion, you're my people. Now I'm going to finish by reading
Revelation chapter 21. And I'll finish. I've gone a
little too long. Revelation chapter 21. Here's our future. Here's our
future. I'm going to read it to you. And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, where the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the
holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great
voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his God, and
God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he
said unto me, Write, write this down. These words are true and
faithful. Stick that on your refrigerator.
These words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done.
It's done. With God all this, you know,
with God it's all done. It's already done. You and I
just got to experience it. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Brother, that's our future. I'm telling you we have a bright
future. We have a bright future. Outside of Christ, that's bad news. Bad news. Okay. Together.