Would you open your Bibles with
me to Isaiah chapter 11? Tonight we're going
to look at this great subject, Christ, an ensign for the nations. As Brother Aaron read that, when
he said ensign, he said banner. And that's what that is. An ensign
is a banner. We're going to look at that.
But this whole chapter of Isaiah 11, is the story of a Redeemer,
the Redeemer, and the redeemed. The first half of it concerns
our Redeemer, who He is, what He's going to accomplish, and
why He was going to do it. And then the second half that
we're going to major on tonight concerns the redeemed of the
Lord, God's elect. And it's the story of a spiritual
nation. Now, one of our hymns that we
sing tonight, In hymn number 186, the church is one foundation. And it goes like this. I chose
it for this reason because it fits so well with this story
here, this prophecy of Christ and his church. It says the church
is one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. He is the foundation. He's the rock. on which the church
is built. He told Peter and the apostles,
upon this rock I will build my church. Not talking about Peter
and the apostles, but himself. And that's the glory of his person
and the power of his finished work. Because it goes on in this
hymn. I love these hymns when they
are just seriously and meticulously true to the teachings of scripture. And it says, she is his new creation. That's what the church is. Christ
created the church. You say, and he's the church
is the redeemed of the Lord. The word church means called
out ones. Now they are called out by the
spirit, but they have life from Christ applied by the spirit.
And they're called out by the spirit called out of the world
unto him. And that's what this second half
of this chapter is about. The church called out of the
world unto Christ. And they're called out of every
nation. That's why you have nations listed here. Nations that at
times, some of these people at this time never even heard of,
but some of them they have. Most of them enemies of Israel.
And then it says, by water and the word. Now there's some argument
about what water means, but I believe he's talking about the power
of the spirit in application of the word. You must be born
again. But that second verse, it says,
elect from every nation. And I believe that means literally
from every nation. God has a people out of every
nation. Yet one o'er all the earth. They're one in Christ.
One church. And it says, her charter of salvation. Now listen to this. It says,
one Lord. Well, now the first half of this
passage here in Isaiah 11, verses one, actually down through verse
Verse 5 describes our one Lord. There's not two Lords, there's
one Lord. There's one God and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus. And He's the God-man. He's the
Savior of His people. He's the Redeemer. And then it
says, not only one Lord, but one faith. Now, the one faith
is basically described in verse 10, and I'll get to that in just
a minute. But what it says there, it's in that phrase, His rest
shall be glorious. His rest shall be glorious. Now
that's a summary of what we believe. And I'll show you that in just
a moment. And then it says one birth. Now that's the new birth
by the Spirit of God. It's the work, it's the operation
of God. It's not by the will of man.
It's not by the will of the flesh. But it's by the will of God.
It's by the power of God. By the Spirit of God. By the
Word of God. to bring a sinner unto Christ. Now, you remember back last Wednesday,
I dealt with the first half of this. First of all, we dealt
with the promise of the Messiah. That's what verse 1 is about.
There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and
a branch shall grow out of his roots. That's a prophecy of Christ.
Jesse was David's grandfather. And it was said that Christ,
the Messiah, according to his humanity, his sinless humanity,
he would be born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
The eternality, the continuation of David's throne is not found
in an earthly kingdom, in an earthly geographical place called
Palestine. The eternality and the continuation
of David's throne, and to use David's throne as just a type,
is the eternal throne of Christ. the Son of God. Verse 2, that
with the power of the Messiah, that sevenfold Spirit which shows
the completeness of His deity, His humanity, everything that
He has, the Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him. Wisdom, understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, that's power, knowledge. The
fear of the Lord, He obeyed His Father. Verses 3-5 speaks of
the perfect work of the Messiah. He will come and redeem his people
from their sins. He will die for our sins. He
will obey the law. He will bring forth righteousness.
Daniel 9, verse 24 says it. He will make an end of sin. He
will finish the transgression. He will bring in everlasting
righteousness. He will redeem his people. And
he will bring them salvation. And then verses six through nine,
you remember those are those symbolic verses. Many people
cast this off into the future and talk about a change in the
natural order of things after Christ comes the second time.
That is not what this verse is speaking of. This verse is using
symbolism. It's using metaphors that speak
of those who are by nature enemies will be brought together. And
we're going to see that in these verses tonight. beginning at
verse 10. Now, let me show you these two
glorious truths here. Now, number one, let's keep in
mind what the Scripture teaches. And that's this, that God has
a chosen people which He chose in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Now, men may deny that, they
may not like it, they may argue against it, but it doesn't matter.
That's what this book teaches. God has a people that He chose
before the foundation of the world. And there are people all
over this world, out of every tribe, kindred, tongue and nation,
Jew and Gentile. There's not one segment or one
society or one race or one geographical location that God has favored
over another as far as eternal salvation now. Now, there are
nations on this earth that are more blessed than others physically,
temporally, you see. Not eternally. God's people all
over the earth, saved out of every nation, they're one people.
They are one nation. It's a spiritual nation. Remember
I said this is a story of a spiritual nation here. And so God has a
people. And here's the second glorious
truth. They shall be saved. They shall be saved. God chose
them. Christ redeemed them. You see,
just because God chose them, that means that Christ had to
redeem them. Christ had to pay the redemption
price. Who were they? They were sinners,
in bondage to sin and to Satan, under the curse of the law, fallen
in Adam. We talked about it this morning.
They didn't deserve salvation. They didn't earn salvation. In
fact, they were enemies. That's what we are by nature.
But Christ redeemed us out of that bondage of sin. And then
the Holy Spirit will bring them under the gospel, and he will
give them life, spiritual life, and that's something that's really
a mystery to us, that's why we only know it by its evidences,
and he will bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ and him crucified. He'll show us our sins. He'll
show us the disease. You've all been to the doctor
and been diagnosed with a disease, haven't you, in your life? Maybe
it might have been a disease you didn't know you had. That's
right. I know a fella who was in his
fifties who started getting a little weak and his appetite left him. Went to the doctor, they did
some tests and he found out that he had a full-blown stage of
liver cancer. And that's unusual because usually
it attacks somewhere else before it gets there and it was already
too late for him. He didn't even know he had it.
He knew he was getting a little tired. But see, that's it. That's what the Holy Spirit does
when he brings us under the Word of God, under the law and the
gospel. He shows us the disease, a spiritual disease, that we're
spiritually dead and in need of salvation by grace. And that spiritual death and
that curse touches even the best efforts that we can put forth
to keep the law, so that none shall be saved by their works.
For by grace are you saved, or have you been saved? That not
of yourselves, it's not of works, it's the gift of God, it's not
of works, lest any man should boast. By deeds of law shall
no flesh be justified in God's sight." That's how far that disease
runs. And it reaches to the heart,
it reaches to the mind, it reaches to the affections, it reaches
to the will, it reaches to the conscience. It can make the conscience
guilty. And it can set the person upon
religion and reformation and all of that, but it cannot turn
a person to Christ except that which the Holy Spirit brings
in bringing him to conviction. And that's how you enter that
spiritual nation by experience. They're going to be born again.
Now, they're identified in the Bible as God's elect remnant.
In Romans 11, verse 5, Paul said it was a remnant according to
the election of grace. In Isaiah 62, verse 12, Isaiah
calls them the redeemed of the Lord. He bought them, he paid
for them, he will have them. The church, which are the called
out ones, Christ calls them his sheep. He said, the Good Shepherd
gives his life for the sheep. He said, I lay my life down for
the sheep. He said, my sheep will hear my
voice, and they'll follow me. Now what did he say? He also
made this statement before that in John chapter 10 when he was
speaking to the Jews. He had some sheep among the Jews.
But he said, other sheep I have which are not of this foe, this
Jewish foe, them also I must bring. That's the Gentiles. Christ
has sheep all over this world. They're called His bride. The
bride of Christ is the church. And they're also called Israel.
Now sometimes in the Bible when you see the word Israel, it's
referring to the physical nation of Israel, the physical descendants
of Abraham. But other times it's referring
to God's elect remnant. the remnant according to the
election of grace, and it's a spiritual nation. What is a spiritual Israelite? Before we get into this, go with
me to Romans chapter 2. Many of you know this. You've
studied it. I preached it. But here's just a good primer
for you. If you haven't heard it, I pray that the Lord will
teach it to you tonight. He gives us some clues here about
this spiritual nation. Verse 28 of Romans chapter 2.
Now he was talking about the Jews who claim to keep the law
and who judge others by that claim. And what he tells them
in Romans chapter 2, he says, now you think you're keeping
the law because you're so religious and you're so zealous and you're
outwardly moral and people look at you and you look like a shining
example of of morality and religion and zeal, and you claim to be
saved based upon your efforts to keep the law, and then you'll
look at other people who are sinners and you'll say, they're
lost, they're not as good as I am. And he says, basically,
you've just condemned yourself. And remember, I've told you this,
now listen to me. The moment you look at any other
person, I don't care who they are, How good you think they
are, how bad they are. The moment you look at any other
person and say, that person is lost because they are a sinner,
you have just condemned yourself. And I'm going to tell you why.
Because you're a sinner too. Isn't that right? I'm a sinner
too. You see, when we talk about salvation,
we better be talking about God's grace in Christ. Better not be
talking about how I compare to you or how you compare to me.
Because that's not going to get it. And that's what he says here
in Romans 2. So he speaks of this language.
Look at verse 28. He says, For he is not a Jew
which is one outwardly. Well, what is he talking about?
He says, Neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh.
He says, But he is a Jew which is one inwardly. And circumcision
is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter,
whose praise is not of men, but of God." What's he talking about?
He's talking about spiritual circumcision. What is spiritual
circumcision? It's the new birth. It's the
work of the Spirit on the heart. And he's speaking of a spiritual
Jew here, not a national Jew. Now, who are spiritual Jews?
Everyone that's been born of God. Every sinner. Doesn't matter where you're from,
what color your skin is, doesn't matter what your economic status
is, doesn't matter how bad you've been or how good you plan to
be. A spiritual Jew is one who is born of God. And how do we
know you've been born of God? Because you're resting in Christ. You're looking to Him. Now look
at Romans chapter 9. In Romans chapter 9, he gives
us some further information on this. This spiritual nation that
Isaiah is prophesying of in Isaiah 11. He says in verse 6, now back
in the book of Isaiah, and you can go to other scriptures in
the Old Testament prophecies, where it plainly says that Israel
shall be saved. And it means all Israel. In fact,
Paul is spoken in Isaiah chapter 45, and Paul quotes it in Romans
11, saying, all Israel shall be saved. And yet, if you look
at the history of Israel, the nation, the physical nation Israel,
as recorded in the scripture, it's clear there that all Israel,
all the nation Israel, was not saved. In fact, it's clear not
only that they're all not saved, but that the vast majority of
them died in unbelief, rejecting God's way of salvation. Now,
that doesn't mean the Gentiles are any better, because by nature
we're the same. And by nature, if God leaves
us to ourselves, we'll die in unbelief too. But the plain fact
of the matter is, is that the majority of physical Israel rejected
Christ. Well, he says, well, does that
mean now? Now God promised to save all
Israel. Now does that mean that God didn't make good on his promise?
Was he unfaithful to his promise? Was he not powerful enough to
fulfill his promise? Well, Paul answers the question
right here. Look at verse 6 of Romans 9. He said, no, it's not
as though the word of God had taken none effect. Wasn't God's
word true? Well, sure it's true. He said
earlier in Romans 3, let God be true and every man a liar.
I may make a promise I can't keep, but God never makes a promise
he can't keep and doesn't keep. He always keeps his promises.
So it's not as though the word of God had taken none effect.
Look at this now. For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel. That sounds kind of strange.
What was he talking about? Verse 7, neither because they
are the seed of Abraham, that is, physically, are they all
children, that is, children of God. But in Isaac shall thy seed
be called. You know the story of Isaac.
And Isaac was the child of promise that was born late in Abraham
and Sarah's life when they were way past the age of childbearing.
But you see, it was through Isaac that God was going to send the
Messiah. So this is a prophecy of Christ.
In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Not talking about Isaac personally,
it's talking about the descendant of Isaac. It's talking about
the promise of salvation that would come through Isaac in the
Messiah. And he says in verse 7, that
is, they which are the children of the flesh, those who are of
the flesh, children of Abraham. These are not the children of
God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. The children of the promise.
Now, who are the children of the promise? Believers. What
is the promise? God promises to save any and
every sinner who comes to him through Christ. That's the promise. You say, well, I'm too bad. God
can't save me. You don't know God. And really,
you don't know yourself. You think you do. There's no
sinner that God cannot save, and any sinner who comes to God
seeking mercy at the mercy seat. Now, who is the mercy seat? Christ
is. The mercy seat in the old tabernacle
was covered with blood, the blood of the Lamb. Christ is the Lamb
of God. He shed His blood. Come to Him
as a sinner, not trying to get what you think you deserve or
what you think you've earned. Well, that ought to count for
something. Let me tell you what it counts for. Philippians chapter
3. It's all dung. That's what the Scripture calls
it. Anything you come before God seeking salvation based upon
it, if it's anything less than Christ and Him crucified, His
blood and His righteousness alone, it's dung in the sight of God. That's what it is. And not even
man would accept that, let alone God who is holy. But you come
pleading for mercy, begging mercy, be a mercy beggar, looking unto
Christ, saying, Lord, I'm a sinner. I have no hope of acceptance. I have no hope of salvation,
of blessing, but in Christ and what he accomplished on Calvary
for my sins. Now, go back to Isaiah 11 with
that in mind. That's what he's talking about
here. Now, you know, national, physical Israel was a chosen
nation that God used to accomplish his purpose in providence here
on earth, to bring the Messiah through. And the majority of
national Israel died in unbelief and perish. But spiritual Israel
is a chosen nation that God saves by his grace in Christ. And they
shall be saved. And they shall come to faith
in Christ, and they shall never perish. That's what he's talking
about. Now, here's what ought to be
on our minds as we go through these verses. Here's what ought
to be on your mind and my mind. Am I a citizen of spiritual Israel? Somebody says, well, you know,
you talk about God's elect. Well, I talk about it because
the Bible does. But the Bible gives you no warrant to sit around
looking at yourself, looking at other people, and saying,
well, who is God's elect? That has nothing to... Listen,
you seek the Lord. That's what the Scripture commands
you to do. I'll tell you something, I know Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, and I know I'm a sinner. I know you're
a sinner. I know you need salvation. But
listen to what he says here. Look at verse 10 now. He says,
and in that day, now this is the same day of the Lord. This
is speaking of the day of Christ in that day, the day of salvation. When God, that, that, that time
that God appointed before the foundation of the world in the
fullness of the time, God sent forth his son made of a woman
made under the law that day. And he said, there shall be a
root of Jesse. That's speaking of Christ. speaking
of the descendant of David according to the flesh in his humanity.
And he says, this root of Jesse, this Messiah, which shall stand
for an ensign or a banner of the people. Christ is the saved
sinner's ensign. He is our banner. This is the
day that God will redeem his people by the blood of Christ.
This is the day that he'll recover the remnant of his people by
the right hand of his power and his grace. Messiah will come. That's what Isaiah is telling
Judah, his nation, Jerusalem. We see the Messiah has come. He's already come. We're looking
back on what Isaiah and the people back then looked forward to.
And he will come and he will perform his perfect work in power. He will establish the ground
of peace between God and His people, and the gospel will go
out to both Jew and Gentile, and all Israel shall be saved. That's why Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and
the salvation to everyone that believeth. To the Jew first,
it came to the Jew first. That was God's purpose. But also
to the Greek or the Gentile. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins." And this passage
is an inspired prophecy of the person and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ, our great Savior. Paul quoted this very passage
in Romans chapter 15. Let me just read that to you.
And here he's talking about salvation, talking about how God saves his
people from their sins. And in Romans chapter 15. He's
talking about in verse 12, and again, Isaiah said, there shall
be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the
Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. So Paul uses it to show
the fulfillment of the prophecy even back then, that God has
a people out of the Gentile nation. Now, everybody in this building
ought to be glad of that. You ought to say, praise the
Lord, as Aaron said when he read. Praise the Lord that God has
a people out of the Gentiles. And Christ, he says back here
in Isaiah 11, shall stand for an ensign for the people. You
know, an ensign is a sign, it's a banner, and usually it was
used for the gathering of soldiers to battle or gathering the assembly
of the people for preparation and encouragement or for worship.
Well, Christ is our ensign, our banner. You remember, some of
you, when we studied through the book of Exodus, back in Exodus
chapter 17, God, through Moses, named a place Jehovah Nisi, N-I-S-S-I. That means Jehovah, our banner. Christ, our banner. And you lift
up that banner. Well, let me show you three ways
that Christ must be lifted up. Turn to John chapter 12. Number
one, Christ is our ensign now. Christ must be lifted up on the
cross to redeem his people. On the cross, he was and is our
banner. Now, he's not on that cross now.
He came down. He died, he was buried, and he
arose again the third day. So his resurrection is lifting
him up because of his cross work. But he said it this way, look
at John chapter 12, and look at verse 24. He says, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone. You take a seed of wheat, you
just hold it in your hand, there's not going to be anything grow
from it. But if you put it in the ground, it's going to essentially
die, but from that death is going to come life. And he says, But
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Now, what's he talking
about? Well, look down Look down at verse 31. He says, ìNow is
the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out.î Heís talking about Satan there. What heís
talking about is this. Satan brought in the ground of
condemnation when he deceived Eve, and Adam followed. And when
Adam fell, he brought the whole human race under condemnation,
the sentence of death. By one man, sin entered into
the world. and death by sin, for that all sin, the scripture
says, Adam was your representative in the garden. You say, well,
I didn't vote for him. Well, you didn't have a vote.
God had the vote. It was kind of like you were
talking about how you'd let your students in the classroom vote
sometimes, and they'd all vote for what they wanted, and then
you'd hold up your hand and say, well, I win, because this isn't
a democracy. This classroom is not a democracy.
You see, my vote counts more. Well, God's the only one who
counts here. He set it up this way for His
glory and the redemption of His people. And so He set it up that
way. Well, Satan brought in the ground
of condemnation. He brought in the sentence of
death. But Christ on the cross removed that sentence of death
for His people. He removed the ground of condemnation
and established the ground of justification. They were justified
by the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore all
the charges that were against them have been totally removed.
They were laid on Christ. They were put to his account.
That's what it means when the Bible says he was made sin. That
means all the charges that were against his people, his church,
his sheep, were put upon him. He willingly took those charges
upon himself. He willingly suffered and bled
and died for sins that were not his own by commission or by corruption. But he took them upon himself
and he died for them. They became his own by an accounting,
an imputation. God the Father made him sin. that Christ who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. And so when he
did that, he judged Satan. The prince of this world was
cast out in essence concerning his people. Satan will bring
his charges, but it's like this, if somebody would come up to
you tomorrow on the streets of Aspen and say, I accuse you of
murder. You murdered oh so and so down
the road here. Well, that's an empty charge
if you didn't do it. Isn't it? And that's the way
Satan is now. He'll charge God's people. He'll
throw his arrows. He'll shoot his arrows. But they're
empty charges because we've already been judged in Christ. Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who can condemn us? All right.
Look at verse 32 now of John 12. Now listen to what he says.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto
me. If Christ is lifted up from the
earth on that cross, and He does that work of casting out the
prince of this world, of bringing in the ground of justification,
removing the ground of condemnation, what's going to come from that
great powerful work? Life. His people are going to
come to Him. So He must be lifted up on the
cross. Now this is the same one who
suffered, who bled, and who died. But he was buried, he rose again
the third day. Life came from him. Life came
from him. Christ and him crucified is the
banner of victory. The enemy's been defeated. There's
no war going on between Christ and Satan. Now listen to him.
Satan's already defeated. He has not ultimately been put
where he's going to be put for eternity. But he's defeated. Now there's a warfare going on
within us. There's no big warfare going on now. It's not, you know,
this thing that people are trying to look for and all that, you
know, that's war on earth. That's not. No, sir. Christ,
He's the victor. Didn't He say to His disciples?
He said, you're going to have problems, persecution, and trouble
in the world. But He said, be of good cheer,
for I have what? Overcome the world. He didn't say, I'm going to do
it. He said, I have done it. Now, God's people have been justified,
redeemed, and they shall be called invincibly, and Christ in Him
crucified is the banner of redemption accomplished. He's our ensign.
Here's the second thing. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
1. Christ must be lifted up in the
preaching of the gospel. In fact, that's what preaching
is. That's what true gospel preaching is. It's just lifting up Christ,
bragging on Him, singing His praises. Applauding him praising
him Not praising the sinner or the preacher the weak vessel
not praising men Everybody likes to hear their name called and
praised, but that's not what gospel preaching is It's preaching
Christ and him crucified and he must be lifted up Look what
he said in verse 17 now 1st Corinthians 1 for Christ sent me not to baptize
But to preach the gospel. I'm not in this just to see how
many people I can get in the water Racking up numbers like notches
on a pistol? I mean this, he said, to preach
the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God, the preaching of Christ, and Him crucified.
He says in verse 2 of chapter 2, For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. John the Baptist Said it as plainly
as anyone could say it. If you want to know what the
commission and the goal of every true preacher of God is, listen
to the words of John the Baptist. He said in John 1, as recorded
in John 1 15, here's what John the Baptist said. He says, he
that cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me. Who's he talking about? Christ. John was born physically into
the world first. Christ and his humanity came
after him. John's ministry started first. Christ and his earthly
ministry started after me. Here's what John said, though
I came on the scene first, the one that comes after me is preferred
before me. That's preaching Christ. He's
preferred. John said this, he said, this
man whose shoe latchet I am not worthy to unloose. I'm not even
fit and worthy to untie his shoes." Now, the same man who made that
statement of himself, you know what Christ said about him? He
said he's the greatest of the prophets. None greater born of
woman, he said. But John said of himself, I'm
not even worthy to untie his shoes. I'm not here to promote
myself, that's what he means. John said, as recorded in John
1.29, Behold! How eloquent I am. No. Behold, how many follow me. Behold,
how many I've baptized. Behold, how much I've given up.
I'm out here eating wild locusts and honey. Now, where's sackcloth?
Animal skins. No, he said, Behold, the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. Look to Him.
Don't look to me, John. And then, I think, is the shining,
the top stone on John's preaching. As recorded in John chapter 3
and verse 30, he said, Christ must increase, I must decrease. One old preacher said that the
true preacher's job is to preach Christ and then get out of the
way. Preach Christ, point to Christ,
and then get out of the way. He must be lifted up in the glory
of his person, and he must be lifted up in the power of his
redemptive work. Here's the third thing. Christ
must be lifted up in the hearts of his people by the power of
the Spirit. Look back at Isaiah chapter 11,
verse 10. And in that day there shall be
a root of Jesse, which shall stand as an instant for the people,
of the people, he is our banner. To it the Gentiles seek, and
his rest shall be glorious, or glory." Now, he says, to it the Gentiles
seek. God has a people out of the Gentile
nations. He has a people out of the Jews,
out of the Gentiles. They're going to seek Him. We
know that no sinner by nature will seek Him. Do you know that?
He said that in Romans chapter 3, in verse 10, there's none
righteous, no, not one. There's none that seeketh after
God. They seek a God, a God who's like themselves, a God of their
own imagination, but not the true and living God. He said
this. He said, no man can come to me
except the Father which has sent me draw him, and I will raise
him up at the last day, John 6, verse 44. But here's a people who are going
to seek Him, and they're going to find Him because they're going
to find rest in Him. And His rest shall be glorious. Now, what is His rest? Well,
the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, speaks of that. It speaks
of the work that Christ did in his obedience to the law and
his suffering unto death. And the Bible portrays it this
way, that after Christ, as the high priest and the substitute
and the sin-bearing sacrifice of his people, went to the cross
and finished his work, and he said it in John 19, verse 30,
he said, it is finished, it is accomplished, After it was finished,
it says, he sat down on the right hand of the father, something
that no priest had ever done before. There was no chairs in
that tabernacle or in the temple because their work was continual.
Their work was inadequate. Their work only pictured and
typified the true work. So there was no place for the
high priest to sit down. But this man, after he had offered
one offering for sin, he obtained eternal redemption for his people,
and he sat down because his work was finished. He rested from
his work. Now turn to Hebrews chapter 4
with me. He rested from his work. And you know what that's called
in the Bible? The believer's Sabbath. Our Sabbath's not a
day. Our Sabbath is a person who finished
a work. We rest in Him. Look at it. Verse 8. Speaking of Joshua,
the name Jesus there is Joshua. And he's talking about Joshua
taking the children of Israel over into the Promised Land.
And he says, and that was a picture of rest. That was a type of the
rest that believers have in Christ. And he says, for if Joshua had
given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of
another day. There was a Sabbath day under
the old covenant. But he says in verse 9, now listen,
there remaineth therefore a rest, which is literally a Sabbath
to the people of God. And then he says in verse 10,
for he that is entered into his rest, that's Christ. He also
ceased from his own works as God did from his. When God created
the world, it says on the seventh day he rested. That doesn't mean
he got tired and had to quit. It means he finished his work.
The work was done. And he said just as the Godhead
finished that work of creation, Christ, God the Son incarnate,
finished the work of redemption and he entered into his own rest.
He finished it. Now look at verse 11. Let us
labor therefore to enter that rest. What does that mean? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
look to Him, quit trying to save yourself by your works, and rest
in the finished work of Christ. Quit trying to redeem yourself. You don't have enough to pay.
You're in the lost column on that one. I am too. But Christ
has paid the full redemption price. Enter into His rest. Quit trying to make yourself
righteous. You can't do it. You're in the
lost column on that. So am I. Receive His righteousness. Rest in His righteousness. For
Christ is the end of the law, the finishing of the law. For
righteousness to everyone that believeth. Believe in Him. Rest
in Him. labor to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. This is the rest that Christ
obtained. This is the rest that He gives. This is the rest that He alone
promises and gives. And that is what Isaiah means
here in verse 10. The Gentiles shall seek, and
His rest shall be His rest, Christ's rest, Christ's finished work
of what He accomplished and the rest that He has entered shall
be their glory. Paul said it this way in Galatians
6.14, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to rest in Him. Christ
told them, He said, come unto Me, all you that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will what? Give you rest. He'll give it. You see, His rest is a gift of
grace. Isn't that right? We spend our lives trying to
work it out, trying to fight it out, trying to eke it out,
but it won't work. Let His rest be your glory. What
is your glory? What is your boast? What is your
assurance? What is your comfort? It's Christ
and Him crucified. Now, that's the spiritual nation.
If that's your claim, you're part of that spiritual nation.
I'll show you that next time we go back to Isaiah. But let's
sing hymn number 309, Beneath the Cross of Jesus. That'll be
our closing hymn.