Turn to Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63. I appreciate the hospitality that
I enjoyed last night at Stan and Cherry's home. It's good to be able to get together,
even with Stan. Okay. I had to say that with
a yawn. I titled this message, Who is
this? Who is this? If you look back in Chapter 62,
in the closing verses of that chapter, There's a declaration, a proclamation that goes forth to Zion, to the
church. It says in verse eleven, Behold,
give great attention to this. Something important, very important,
is about to be said. The Lord hath proclaimed unto
the end of the world Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold
thy salvation cometh, cometh. It is a real salvation. It is a full salvation. I have no doubt that we are going
to stand amazed one day how full and complete salvation really
is. We have a good ideal of it right now. The Lord has given
us a revelation of it in his word. But when we stand in his
presence, in full reality and full experience of salvation,
we are going to truly stand amazed. And amazing grace is really going
to mean something. I mean, it means something now. But we haven't even began to
touch the strings and the note that we're going to sing in his
presence when we realize this full salvation
that we have in this glorious person, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a real salvation, and listen,
it's a real salvation from sin. Most people, most people want
to be saved from hell. A few want to be saved from sin. There's a few people who truly
want to be saved from sin, from themselves. And this salvation that's coming,
he says, that salvation cometh, it comes through a For it says here, His reward.
Behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold, then it speaks of a person,
doesn't it? His reward is with Him, eternal
life. And His work, His work of redemption,
is before Him. And it leads to holiness. says in verse twelve, and they
shall call them the holy people. I'm looking, although you don't
feel it. I know you don't feel it. I'm
looking at a holy people. In Christ, we are made the righteousness
of God in Him. We are a holy people in His Son. And it is a salvation by redemption. Israel looked most of those Israel,
they were looking for a savior to come in with a on a white
Steve with a sword just go. It wasn't looking for someone
to die. We need someone to die in our
place. If we are to live, someone needs
to die. Is the salvation by redemption
the redeemed of the Lord? We are redeemed. You are a purchased
people. To say that Christ died for everyone
and some of them will perish, that's foolishness. They are
a purchased people. He's going to have everyone whom
he purchased, wouldn't you? I promise you. If I buy something,
I'm going to have it. He's going to have everyone whom
he purchased. They are a purchased people,
and it is a complete salvation. And thou shalt be called sought
out, a city not forsaken." Oh, we
are a city, we are sought out people in a city not forsaken. And then in chapter sixty-three, he starts out with this question,
who is this? Who is this person? Let us first
know who this person is, who is this mighty conqueror. We will not make any progress in salvation until
we come to know this person. I had jotted down in my notes,
until we come to know about this person, no, until we come to
know him. I had erased that, I marked through
that. As I wrote my notes, I thought, no. Paul said, oh, that I might
know him, not know just about him. And we do know about him. That's so. But we know him. We know him. And we will not
make any progress in salvation until we know him. Many saw him. Many heard him
speak. They didn't know him. Many are
going to stand in judgment and say, we preached in your name.
We've cast out devils in your name. And he's going to say,
depart from me. I never knew you. And you didn't know me. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. Not everybody can tell you what
they believe. A few can tell you whom they believe. Now, who is this glorious person
coming up out of Edom, the land of Bosphorus, the city of Bosphorus? Well, I'll tell you who it is.
You know who it is. You know who I'm going to talk
about, and you know who this is talking about. This is Emmanuel. This is God with us. That's who
it is. This is God. He's no ordinary
man. He's God. This is the captain
of our salvation. That's who this is. That's who
this glorious person is. This glorious person, spoken
of here back in Isaiah's day, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
given a sight of the Lord Jesus Christ and his redemptive work,
and this is him. Who is this that cometh from
Edom with dyed garments from Basra? Who is this glorious person
coming out of the land of our enemies? Edomites, you know who they were? They were the descendants of
Esau. They were the enemies of Israel. They always sided up
with Israel's enemies. That's who they were. And Basra
was the capital city of Edom. So who is this glorious person
coming out of the land of our enemies, right out of the capital
city? That's what he said. Boy, you
just got to get a picture of this. This whole world, now listen,
this whole world is Edom. This whole world is the land
of our enemies. And Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, came into this world. Who is this? It's the Lord Jesus
Christ. Who is this lone person? Not, who are they? The prophet
didn't look and say, who are they? You know, when Cyrus, when
Cyrus came to Babylon, Because the book of Isaiah is foretelling
the captivity of Israel and going into Babylon, to Babylon. And
when Cyrus, he's the one who set them free. When Cyrus came
and set Israel free, he came with a host. He came with a huge
army and overtook that place. When the Son of God came, he
came by himself. He didn't come with a host, he
came by himself. He came into this world by Himself.
I read that to you over in Hebrews chapter 1. He by Himself purged
us from our sins. He didn't need an army. We would
have been a hindrance. We would have run around like
a bunch of sissies crying, what to do next? He got us out of
the way. He did it by Himself. Oh, who is this lone person coming
from there? Our Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world of sin, this land of Edom, to redeem us, as that
song we just sang, to redeem us and take us safely home. That's what he's doing. That's
what he did, and that's what he's doing. And notice here, it says, with
dyed garments. Dyed red with the blood of his
enemies is what it's portraying here. His garments are just blood
patterns. This picture is a conqueror.
This picture is a great warrior in a great battle with blood
all over. Close battle now. Not standing
off like we do today. You can stand a hundred miles
away and shoot somebody. No, this is hand-to-hand combat. This is right face-to-face. This
is right in the gore of it. This is right in the gore of
the battle. His garments, it says, are dyed
red with the blood of his enemies. He was in a great battle for
our souls. We have we known part. I don't think we can yet begin
to comprehend the battle that took place for our souls. Satan
is not going to let you go. The law of God says, you're going
to die. You're not going anywhere. You're
going to die. He was in a great battle for
our souls. We have many enemies. We have
more enemies than we think. You think you've got one or two?
You know, you have a lot more enemies than you think. A whole
lot more enemies. And he came to get his redeemed
and save them from their sins and take them home. That's what
he's doing. Who is this glorious person? Glorious, he says, in
his apparel. When the prophet looks at him,
and this could be the church speaking also, but when the prophet
looks at him, he sees him glorious in his apparel. That's the way
the church sees him, glorious in his apparel, whether it's
with a crown on his head or a vesture dipped in blood. He's glorious. He's always glorious to us. Always
glorious. The world didn't see him that
way. Who is this? This is just a Nazareth. Has anything good
ever come out of that place? Has anything good ever come out
of Nazareth? Yes. God. God did. The prophet sees him coming,
and as he gets closer, he notices his apparel, even in his battle
garments. stained with the blood of his
enemies. He's glorious. But I think he's also saying
this. Who is this? Stately in his goings. Stately. He sees this one coming
and he's not dragging up the road from a battle. This one is coming. He's coming
stately. A victorious Lord. That's who
we're going to see. Victorious. I'm going to see someone who
barely got the job done. Victorious is what we're going
to see. This is a spiritual battle that we are looking at here,
written in language you and I can understand. And notice here it says, traveling in the greatness of His strength. Jesus Christ, and I want to say
this to the whole world, is no weak, defeated Savior. He was not a weak person. Don't
mistake meekness for weakness. Those who do wind up in hell.
He was meek and lowly, but He was not weak. Traveling in the
greatness of His strength, as I said, He didn't barely get
the job done. And He's not weary. from the
battle. He's not weary from the battle.
He led captivity captive, and he set the captive free. Listen, when our Lord walked
on this earth, He came into this world. Israel looked at Him,
and they saw a root out of dry ground. They looked at Him and
said, There's no beauty that we should desire. They look at
him and they despise him. He is despised and rejected.
Who is this one who calls himself God? They despise his birth. They despise his education. They
thought nothing of him. They made nothing of him. Who is this man? Who does he
think he is? What does he think he can accomplish
by himself? What can he accomplish? He doesn't
have an army with him. He's just a poor carpenter. What
can he accomplish? Well, my soul, he's traveling
in the greatness of his strength, and you can't see it. Well, just
because you're blind doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Look at
him in the wilderness. There he is, 40 days and 40 nights
with no food and no water. Satan comes at him. That is,
what we would think is his weakest point, and he tries to get him
to turn stone into bread. He doesn't do it. He tries to
get him to worship him. He says, I will, if you fall
down and worship me, I'll give you the kingdoms of the world. What do you see? He doesn't do
it. He doesn't do it. Why? Because he's traveling in
the greatness of his strength. Look at him in Gethsemane, on
his knees, praying, sweating red drops of blood. You know
what he's doing? He's praising the greatness of
his God. Look at him as he's nailed to
that tree. They looked at that tree, and
he's nailed there, and they thought, we've got you. We've got you
now. Nailed to that tree. He's traveling
in the greatness of his strength. He's the mighty God. He is the
mighty God. Jesus Christ defeated all principalities
and powers. Not one of them. Not one of them
left that he did not defeat. He defeated all of them. And
he did it in the greatness of his strength. Oh, my soul, he's able to save
to the uttermost in the coming of God. Who is this? He tells us. He speaks himself. I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. Who is this? The Word of God. Turn over to Revelation 19. Look in verse 11 of Revelation
19. And I saw heaven opened, and
behold, a white horse. He that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True. And in righteousness he doth
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew, but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. I that speak in righteousness."
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white
horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword. And with it he should smite the
nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. He treaded
the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of God Almighty. And
he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King
of Kings and Lord of Lords. Who is this? It's the Word of
God made flesh. That's who it is. Mighty to save. It doesn't say mighty to destroy,
does it? Although we know he is. But I want to know this. I know God can destroy me. Can
he save me? Can this one save me? And he
says, mighty to save. There's no weakness in him in
saving you. Oh, not at all. Mighty to save. Then he says,
wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like
him that treadeth in the wine-fat? Why is thy garments dyed in red? Red is not your color. Red is not your color. That's
the color of earth. That's the color of Esau. That's the color of Adam. Adam
was made from the red earth. His color is white. You read
that through the scriptures. He's white, holy, righteous. But now listen. In order for
him to redeem us, He must become red. He must get into that wine fat. He must become a man. He must clothe himself in flesh,
although it is a spiritual battle. He must step into the wine fat
as a servant. Behold, my servant, God said
in Isaiah 42, my servant shall not fail. And he must, as a servant,
the Son of God, come into this world, take upon himself flesh,
and become a servant to God, and step into the wine vat. You
know, the masters of the house, the owners back in those days,
they had, the way they made wine, their servants would step into
the wine vat and stomp out, or stomp those grapes, and that's
how they made the wine. They'd just stomp around in there
and make the wine. And they would get that all over them. Christ,
the servant of God, came into this world, stepped into the
wine vat, and He stomped out our enemies. He stomped out Satan. He stomped out sin in the greatness of His strength.
It was not a challenge to His power. Is there anything easier
to stomp out than a greatness? He stepped into that wine vat
and stomped out our enemies. He must enter the battlefield
himself and defeat our foes. He's got to do it now, not us. Now the captain speaks. In
verse three, he said, I have trodden the winepress alone and of the people that was with
me. He entered the battle alone.
There were none who were able to assist him in this battle.
We could not assist him. Salvation is of the Lord. This battle for your soul, my
soul, is on his shoulders. He says that he entered alone. You know, one of the very things
he had to conquer is us. We were in Atlanta and we were
shooting at him too. But he entered this battle to
take care of our enemies. And notice, I want you to notice
something here. It talks about his vesture dipped in blood.
It talks about being stained with the blood of his enemies.
But now listen. His blood had to be shed. He stained with his
own blood. His own blood had to be shed
in this battle in order to save his people. Who would have thought? Who would have thought? When
they, when Israel looked at him, they saw this poor carpenter,
who would have thought that his greatest weapon was flowing through
his veins? They would have never thought
it. Only God, Christ the wisdom of God. that his greatest weapon was his own life. That was it. If our blood is shed, we die. If his blood is shed, we live. But he says here in verse 3 and
4, I will tread them in mine anger and trample them in my fury,
and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will
stain all my arraignments with my enemies and the enemy of my
people. There is a day coming. Here is
what he is saying in verse three and four. He says in verse four,
For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my
redeeming has come. There is a day of judgment coming.
Now the world can laugh at it. Men can make light of it. They can do those things. But
I'm telling you, judgment is coming on this world. There's
a day coming, and the wrath of the Lamb is going to take place. And men are going to cry to the
rocks and mountains, hide us from the wrath, from the face
of the Lamb, from the wrath of the Lamb. They are going to weep
and wail over their torments. But yet, listen, there's good
news. The year of my redeeming has come. It's vengeance that
says it's in his heart. The day of vengeance is in my
heart. It's going to happen. It's purposed.
But until then, there's good news. There's salvation for sinners.
I say to every sinner, kiss the sun. Kiss the sun, lest it be
angry. And his wrath be kindled by what?
A little. And you perish out of the way. Today, here's what it's saying,
today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Harden
not your hearts. But like all other years, this
one has an end too. We stand here preaching the gospel.
The gospel is being preached throughout the world today. But
there will come a time when that will stop. And as all of the years, this
year has an end also. But until then, we are going
to preach the gospel. And we are going to call sinners
to the Master's feet. He says here in verse 5, And
I looked, and there was none to help. Not that he needed any,
but it's a revelation of us. There was none of us to help. None. No one stepped forward.
He was forsaken by all when the battle began. When they came
to get him that night, Peter, you know, those of us, I'll not
deny you, I'll stand, I'll fight, I'll die for you. They go running
like a bunch of cowards. Took off and left him. Scared to death. He said, and
I looked, and there was none there. They
all left him. and all ran off. Therefore my
own arm, my own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury, my zeal,
the scripture speaks of his zeal, zeal of thine house has eaten
me up. My zeal, it upheld me. My meat is to do with the zeal
of him that sent me. By his own power he went forth
to battle, and his zeal, his zeal for the glory of his And
his zeal to have you carried him through the battle. Oh, it carried him through the
battle. He said there in verse six, I'm going to make a complete
destruction of all enemies. One day, one day, there will
not be a trace of sin found anywhere. He'll annihilate this earth and
everything that has to do with sin. There will not be a trace
of it found. And you know what? That is loving
kindness to us. Look in verse 7. I will mention
the loving kindness of the Lord. The destruction of our enemies is a loving kindness to us. It's
a loving kindness. You wouldn't think by looking
at him coming up the road. battered with blood in this great
battle and the destruction of Edom, the destruction of the
capital of Edom, Basra, our enemies. He destroyed them all. You wouldn't
think that such a person would be so loving, so loving. You wouldn't think such a person
would be so humble, would you? You would think that such a great
stately person would come along that you wouldn't even be welcome
in his presence. Yet it says he's meek and lowly. The Pharisees got mad at him
because they said, this man receives sinners and he eats with them. He can eat with people like us. But he eats with sinners. This
man receiveth sinners. This glorious person, this This
glorious warrior, this battle, the captain of our salvation,
receives people like me and you. Welcome in his presence. Sinners
are the only ones welcome in his presence. Nobody else wants
him. That's loving kindness to us. If a mad dog came in this building, It would be a real act of loving
kindness and mercy if I would shoot that dog to you. You wouldn't not shoot a mad
dog and say, well, son, I don't have the heart to shoot it. No, you emptied your gun on it.
And someday, someday, God is going to cast all things that offend, all the
wicked into hell, and you and I are going to shout hallelujah
when he does it. When he casts a great hole into
hell, the whole host of heaven is going to shout hallelujah.
That's right. And all of this is for his great
goodness to us. My soul. This battle, this defeating
of the enemies, this great war that has gone on, is because
of God's great goodness to us in Christ. For He said, Surely they are
My people, children that will not lie. And He was their Savior. He was their Savior. He's our
Savior. world, religion, the Jews back
in that day, and even to this day, they were ashamed of. We
are not ashamed of Him. The Church is not ashamed of
Him. This is our Savior, and this is how He has saved us,
through His blood and righteousness. In all their afflictions He was
afflicted. Oh, we have a high priest that
can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And the angel
of His presence saved them. In His love and in His pity,
He redeemed them. And listen, I love this verse.
He bared them and carried them all the days of old. We go through trials. We think we're struggling through
them. We don't realize He's carrying us all the way through. All the
days of old. And one day we're going to realize,
I don't know what we're going to be able to do when we stand
in His presence, If we're able to look back, if we're able to
do that, we're going to realize he carried us all the way, all
the way home. He did. In his love and in his
pity, he says he redeemed him. He shed the blood of his enemies
in anger, the wrath of God. There's no love in that. There's
no love in the wrath of God. But at the same time, He shed
his own blood to redeem us, and he did it in love and pity. Glad to do it. Glad to die. Glad to suffer. Glad to redeem. He was glad to
do it. A mighty fortress is our God A bulwark never failing, Our
helper He amid the flood. Of mortal ills prevailing For
still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe His craft and
power are great And armed with cruel hate On earth is not his
equal That word above all earthly power,
No thanks to them provided. The Spirit and the gifts are
ours, Through Him who with us sided. Then goods and kindred
go, This mortal life also, the body they may kill, God's truth
the Midas tells, His kingdom is forever. you