Today we'll be looking at the
book of Isaiah chapter 57. Isaiah chapter 57, if you want
to follow along in your Bibles. I hope you will. I wish I could
get more people to take a serious look at God's Word, to truly
seek and search and study and read God's Word. True seekers,
those who truly want to know and learn the truth about God
of the Bible, what the Scripture says, they look into God's Word. They search as the noble Bereans
to see if these things are so. Isaiah, as well as every other
prophet, was a true spokesman for God, one whom God had chosen
and God had sent to speak for him, to declare his Word. as with every other prophet,
denounced the religion of his day. And they warned the people
who were just going through the motions, drawing near, as Isaiah
said, with their lips, their hearts far from him, who were
practicing any and all manner of so-called worship, but not
according to God's Word. They departed from the true God-ordained,
God-instituted worship of the living and true God. And they,
in other words, were doing whatever they felt like in the name of
God and calling it worship. But now the true God, the God
of the Bible, is known one way. He's known through His Word.
The true God, the God of the Bible, is worshiped one way. according to his word. God is
still worshipped the same way as when he told man how to worship
him in the beginning. He hasn't changed. Isaiah's God
is our God, the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Now, Isaiah
here in chapter 57, and we do not have time to cover the whole
chapter, but he speaks of the true God and the true people
of God. At first, he gives a blessed promise concerning
the righteous and merciful man in the first two verses that
he enters into peace and rest when he is taken. And then in
verses 3 through 14, he denounces the religion of his day. If you want to read it for yourself
sometime, I hope you will. But he calls the religion of
his day by a very forthright name, very frank, exactly what
John calls false religion and the false church in the book
of Revelation. Read it for yourself sometime.
But we are going to concern ourselves with verse 15, because this is
when he begins to declare the true God and the true people
of God. That's what we want to look at
this morning. The true God and the true people of God. You know
the people of God by the God of the people. You'll know the
true people of God by their God whom they worship. Is He truly
God? Is He the living and true God?
The God of the Bible? Same God. In verse 15, he declares
himself, God declares himself, and he declares who his true
people are. And let me read it for you. Isaiah 57, 15, For thus saith
the High and Lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name
is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place. with him also
that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit
of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."
So, God declares Himself here in verse 15, the God of the people. He says, I am high and lofty. Thus saith the High and Lofty. want, high and lofty, infinitely
above man in his character, in his power, in his wisdom, in
his ways. God says this of himself throughout
the Scripture. He said, as the heavens are higher
above the earth, so are God's ways, God's thoughts, higher
than our. is the high and lofty one. But
man, in our day, has brought God down to the place of a man,
has made him like unto a man in every way. But God said in
Psalm 50, verse 21, He said, Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee. In other words,
Man thinks God is like he is, acting and reacting, and hoping,
wishing, wanting, but unable to do whatever he wants to do
because other things prevent him from doing it. But the God
of the Bible, now God who is God, the Scripture says, worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. It's written
several times that God will work, and who will let it? Who will
prevent it? God says, I've spoken it. It will come to pass. I've
purposed it, He says. I'll do it. God's will will be
done. Whatever God wills will be done. I hear men say, God is not willing
then. Well, whatever He's not willing
to happen won't happen. Whatever He wills to happen will
happen. You can count on that. He worketh
all things unto the counsel of his own will, and none can stay
his hand, and say unto him, What doest thou? He is the potter,
we are the clay. God Almighty's purpose is all
wise. He giveth not an account of his
matters to man. He doesn't explain himself. The
Scripture says, His ways are past finding out. God is high
and lofty, but man has brought Him down to the place of a man. Well, not the God of the Bible.
You can't bring Him down. No matter what men say about
Him, it's false. He says about Himself, I'm high
and lofty. Thus saith the high and lofty
One that inhabiteth eternity. God says of Himself, listen to
me, people. He says he doesn't dwell in buildings
made with hands. God's not in a shrine, not in
a temple. He's not on a throne in Jerusalem. He didn't take the throne in
Jerusalem when he came here the first time. He's not going to
sit on it again. Where do men get that at? Scripture
says he sits on the circle of the earth. He inhabiteth eternity. People go on their pilgrimages
to various places, to the Holy Land or whatever they want to
call it, trying to find God. Scripture says we are in His
hands. Scripture says in Him we live
and move and have our being. God doesn't dwell in buildings
made in hands or in certain places. God inhabited eternity. The heavens cannot contain Him,
the Scripture says. How much less these houses we
build. We'll read on. He says, Thus saith the High
and Lofty One and Inhabitant of Eternity, whose name is Holy. His name is Holy. The thing that
causes me more anguish and anger than anything else in our day
is the way men and women and young people are using the holy
name of God, especially in religion. What they do in the name of God
is truly taking His name in vain, saying what He didn't say. You've
seen these billboards with God's name signed at the bottom of
them saying what He didn't say. How dare anyone write down and
quote something that they've made up which God did not say? His name is holy. Scripture says,
make mention that His name is exalted. God's name is holy. It's not to be used in a careless
fashion. It's not to be used in a familiar,
everyday fashion. It's not to be taken on our lips
and on our tongues in any way other than reverence and fear
and godly respect. Make mention, the Scripture says,
that His name is exalted. How dare human beings bring His
name down on the bumper sticker of their automobile, or a t-shirt,
or a bathroom wall, whose name is holy. He declared His name
unto them that fear Him. Those that truly fear God fear
to use His name. They fear taking it in vain. God's name is too high, too holy,
too lofty to be used by everybody in any way. From the mouth of
worms, The very third commandment, God declares, thou shalt not
take my name in vain. I will not hold him guiltless
who does. The Lord will soon destroy a planet full of people
desecrating the name of God. You will hear men, women, young
people today, the most common oath that they make out of their
mouths is, Oh God. His name is holy. That's the
God of the Bible. Well, who are His people? Who is the true worshiper of
God? The one who truly knows God?
Well, listen to what God says. Now, He's just declared Himself
the true God. Now He's going to declare the
true people of God. And you know the people of God
by the God they worship. True worshipers worship a God
who is worthy to be worshiped, holy, a God who is high, and
not a God who only can do what they allow Him to do. No, you
won't worship a God like that. Well, he says, I dwell in the
high and holy place with Him also that is of a contrite and
humble spirit. A contrite and humble spirit. The thing that characterizes
religion today, the thing that seems to characterize religious
people today more than anything else, is pride. Pride. Men are so proud. These signs and stickers that
men use, I love Jesus, I am a Christian, displaying all their religion
everywhere. They're not bragging on God.
They're bragging on themselves. They're bragging on their religion.
They're bragging on how religious they are. Well, he says, I dwell with a
contrite. Contrite and humble. The thing that truly characterizes
the people of God, the true people of God, more than anything else,
is humility. Brokenness. over sin, contrition
of heart and attitude, spirit. That is, they think themselves
to be nothing. They think themselves to be nothing
but sinners before a holy God. They have a brokenness over sin. Isaiah in chapter 6, read it
for yourself. He said, I saw the Lord and I
said, woe is me, I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips. That
is a man who has truly seen God, the true God. Broken in a contrite
heart, he said, I dwell with him of a contrite and humble
spirit. God, only sinners need the gospel. Only the guilty need the mercy
of God. Only sinners are humble and contrite
before God. Only sinners are broken and needy,
poor and needy, as David said of himself. Self-righteous people
are very proud of themselves and their religion. Well, God
says, I dwell with him that is broken of contract, heart and
spirit and mind, attitude, to revive the spirit of the humble,
to revive the heart of the contract one. God revives them, not through
some so-called Holy Ghost revival meeting, but by the plain, simple
declaration of the gospel of Christ, Savior of sinners, Christ. the righteousness of sinners,
Christ, the Savior of sinners, Christ the Lord of glory, to
revive them. The gospel revives. The gospel
comforts His people. Well, I hope you are one of these
contrite and humble ones who tremble tremble before the Lord. He said that in another place
in Isaiah. He said, He that trembleth at
my word, doesn't question it, doesn't argue with it, doesn't
say but, but, but, but, but, but bows to it. He that trembleth
at my word, broken and contrite, Isaiah 66.2. Well, I hope that's
you. And I hope you worship the true
God. Until next Sunday. Amen.