I asked Maggie this evening if
she's going to sing for us. She said she was. She said it's
going to be a repeat. Maggie, you can repeat that anytime
you want. Anytime. I love that song. The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain
in his day. And there may I, so vile as he,
wash all my sins away. I've never heard better news,
ever. All right, if you would, open
your Bibles again to Isaiah chapter 8. The title of the message this
evening is taken from verse 16. Bind up the testimony. Now, we make much of God's Word
around here. In every service, we read at
least two portions of God's Word before the preaching service.
The men meet back in the study before the evening services,
and we read a portion of God's Word. When we come out here,
we preach God's Word, almost always verse by verse, so that
people will be taught what God says. Not what men have to think
or man's commentary on God's Word, but so that men will know
what God's Word teaches. We're not teaching the theology
of a denomination. We're teaching God's Word. Man
told me recently, he heard me preach for the first time and
he told me, I would classify you as a teacher preacher. And
he hoped I would not take offense at that. And I told him not at
all. That's my goal. So when I preach
God's word, people will be taught the word of God. I don't much
care if you remember me or, you know, my outline or anything
like that, but what I want desperately for you is to be taught God's
Word, for God to put His Word in your heart. Because if God
teaches us the message of this book, we will look to Christ
and we'll be saved. So that's why we preach verse
by verse through God's Word. And that's what God tells His
prophet in our text this evening, to faithfully teach God's Word. And if we do that, we faithfully
preach God's Word, there are four results that we'll see in
God's people. Actually, I think there's three.
I think I changed my outline. There's three. Three results
we see in God's people. Let's look here at the beginning
of verse 16. Bind up the testimony. Seal the
law among my disciples. Look over in 2 Timothy chapter
1. this testimony that our Lord is referring to here, it's all
of God's Word. It's the gospel, the gospel that's
concerning God's Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Paul
writes to Timothy about this testimony that we're to bind
up. In verse 8 of 2 Timothy chapter 1, Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor me his but be thou partaker
of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God."
Now this is the testimony of God who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing
of our Savior Jesus Christ who has abolished death and has brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel. whereunto
I am appointed a preacher and an apostle for a teacher of the
Gentiles." This is the gospel that we preach. It's the gospel
that Paul was appointed to preach. It's the gospel that we're appointed
to preach today. It's the exact same testimony,
the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our text, God's commandment
to his prophet is, bind up the testimony. Now that phrase, bind
up, It has several meanings, and the first one is this. It
means to wrap it up in a package, like you would wrap up something
that was precious. Bind it up as it is. Don't add anything to it. Don't
take anything away from it. Bind it up as it is. Wrap it up. It's precious. Wrap
it up carefully so you don't lose a single drop. Wrap it up. The whole counsel of God. Don't
leave any of it out. Don't skip over parts of it because
you're afraid of it. Deal honestly with God's word. Preach the whole counsel of God.
And preach the gospel clearly. So that it is understood. At
least in the head, people ought to be able to understand the
gospel that we preach. Make it understandable. And God's
preacher will do just that. He'll bind up the testimony.
He will preach God's word no matter the cost. In all seasons,
He'll be instant. In season, out of season. Preach
the Word. This Gospel, we're to bind up.
It's a precious treasure. Bind it up so you don't lose
any of it now. Doesn't that Gospel, that precious Gospel, it must
be entrusted to faithful men. The men that God has made faithful. You parents, suppose you're going
to go out of town for a couple of days. Who are you going to
trust those babies with? They're your most prized possession.
It's going to be somebody faithful, I can tell you that. What do
you think God's done with the gospel, the testimony of His
Son? He's going to give it and trust it to men that He's made
faithful and they'll preach it, no matter the cost. We must bind
up the testimony, preach the whole counsel of God, because
there are many truths. about salvation. There's many
truths about the character of God and the way God saves sinners
that you cannot find anywhere except in God's Word. If you
trust the thoughts and theology of men, you'll miss these truths. I'm going to give you just a
few of them, but there are many. The first one is this. Find up
the testimony. The only place you'll hear man
is totally depraved is in God's Word. Everybody else will tell
you, well, you know, it's okay. They act that way because somebody
was mean to them when they were a child. No. They act that way
because they're totally depraved. You won't find that anywhere
but in God's Word. Man cannot do anything except
sin. Everything we've ever said, everything
we've ever done, everything we've ever thought is sin. Because
we have Adam's sin nature. When Adam sinned in the garden,
all men were made guilty in Adam, and all men received Adam's sin
nature. So no sinner can ever be saved
through any actions of our own, because all of our actions are
sin. All of our actions can do nothing
but add to our condemnation. But look in Romans chapter 5.
There is a way that a sinner can be made righteous. And the
only way a sinner can ever be made righteous is in Christ the
second Adam. We are made guilty in the first
Adam, and sinners are made righteous in the second Adam. Romans 5
verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man's sin entered into the world,
and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all sinned,
all have sinned, all sinned in Adam. If we died, that's where
we received our sin nature. But now look at verse 17. For
if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more, they
which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, if by the
offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
even so, by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon
all men and the justification of life. For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous." Man is totally depraved and the only
way sinful man can ever be made righteous is in Christ. The only
place you'll ever find that is in God's Word. The only place.
And the many that Paul refers to here that are made righteous
in Christ, those many are God's elect. God has an elect people. The only place you'll ever hear
that's in God's Word. God's Word plainly declares Christ
did not die for all men. He didn't die to make salvation
possible. Christ died only for the sins
of God's elect. And God's elect are justified
because of the sacrifice of Christ, their substitute. Look in John
chapter 17. Let's see what our Lord says. About who did he die for? Who
is this sacrifice for? Look in verse 2. And thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to whom? As many as thou hast given him. Look in verse 6. I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word."
Look at verse 9. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. All mine are thine, and all thine
are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more
in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name, those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one
as we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition,
that the scripture might be fulfilled." Five times in just that short
prayer, our Lord referred to those whom thou hast given me.
God has an elect people. They were given to Christ. Christ
died for them. And His sacrifice justified them,
put their sin away forever. If God does not choose us, we
will never choose Him first. But all those that He chose,
He justified in His Son. Now, this is what that means.
The Lord Jesus Christ saves us by Himself, or we're going to
go to hell. That's only two choices. Salvation
is either by my righteousness or Christ's righteousness. It's
either by my obedience or Christ's obedience. It's either by my
works or Christ's works. And if salvation is based upon
anything that I do, if I have to do one good thing in order
to obtain salvation, I'm here to tell you I'm going to go to
hell because I can't do one good thing. Salvation is either by
grace or by works, not a mixture of the two. And I'm thankful
salvation is by grace. saved his people from their sins.
The only place you ever find that is in God's Word. Now look
in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Here's something else. You only
hear this in God's Word. God sovereignly and irresistibly
calls his elect to Christ. And he does it through the preaching
of the gospel. God has this elect people. Christ came to die for
them. How are they going to come to Christ? How are they going
to find out? God is going to irresistibly draw them to Christ
through the preaching of the gospel. Look in 2 Thessalonians
2 verse 13. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you
by our gospel to the attaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. God chose a people and God calls
those people through the preaching of the gospel. Anytime God raises
up a local church in any community, I can tell you what He's going
to do. He's going to send them a preacher. He's going to send
them somebody to preach the gospel because it's pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them to believe. Now, here's
something else. You only hear this in God's Word.
When God's elect, hear the gospel. Now, they're born just like your
brother's son of Adam, dead in sins. But when they hear the
gospel, they believe because God gives them faith to believe.
Look in Ephesians chapter 1. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. Paul said it's belief of the
truth. The truth is the word of God.
Look at Ephesians 1 verse 13. In whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. You heard the gospel and you
trusted in Christ. You didn't trust in a set of
doctrines, did you? You trusted in Christ. In whom you trusted.
Why did you trust Christ? Because God gave you faith. He
gives faith to all of his elect. Now, salvation, the salvation
of our souls, is in Christ. And that salvation is ours by
faith in Christ. Now, we either have eternal life
through faith in Christ, or we're dead in our sin. That's only
two options. Look back at John chapter 3. John 3, verse 36. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Now that
makes it pretty plain. Salvation is by faith, and without
faith it's impossible to please God. If we don't believe the
Son, the wrath of God abides on us. You only find that out
in God's Word. Man will tell you, oh God's not
mad. God loves everybody. That's not
what God's Word says, is it? Here's something else. You only
find this out from God's Word. When God saves a sinner, God
the Holy Spirit causes that sinner to be born again. Our Lord told
Nicodemus, marvel not that I said unto thee, you must be born again.
You must be born again because flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God. We can't go into the presence
of God in this sinful flesh. We can't do it. So we must be
born again. Isn't that obvious? I mean, if
we're dead in sins, if we died in Adam, if we're going to live,
we've got to be born again. And when a sinner is born again,
there's a new man born who never existed before. Bob Boyd was
born again. I still only see the same Bob
Boyd I ever saw. How can that be? There's a new man born that's
never existed before. Born inside of us, a new nature.
The flesh is unchanged by the new birth. The flesh is flesh
and will always be nothing but sinful flesh because it's born
from Adam's sinful seed. But that new man, born in a believer,
he's holy. He's righteous. He cannot sin. Because he's born from the incorruptible
seed, the sinless seed, the Word of God. The flesh is still flesh,
but that new man, he's born of God, born of the Spirit of Christ. And those two natures are going
to war against each other. They're going to fight and fuss
and feud and lust the one against the other until the flesh is
put in the ground and that new man is finally set free to go
be with the Lord. When a sinner is born again,
The Spirit of Christ dwells in that sinner. A sinner saved by
grace is the temple of God. God the Holy Spirit dwells in
you. And that sinner dwells in Christ. You in Christ, Christ in you.
That's a vital union. And we have that union through
faith. Now, either we're born again or we're dead in our sins. Either we're born again or we'll
never see heaven. I mean, we won't see heaven,
much less dwell with Christ there. That's why our Lord told Nicodemus,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Now look in 1 John chapter 4. Here John explains to us in no
uncertain terms this union of the believer and Christ. 1 John 4. Verse 15, Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because, as he is, So are we in this world. How vital is that
union? As he is, so are we in this world. What's so vital? If any man had
not the Spirit of Christ, he'd none of his. That's what Paul
said in Romans chapter 8. You'll only find that out from
reading God's Word. No man will ever devise something
so wonderful. You only hear that from God's
Word. Here's another one. You only find this out from God's
Word. You'll never find this out from
the logic of man. The way a believer confesses
Christ is believer's baptism. Now, baptism is believer's baptism. Baptism is not for babies. Baptism
doesn't make anybody saved. There's no point in baptizing
a baby. They can't believe anything. They can't confess anything.
And baptizing them does not put them in the covenant. Baptism
does not save. Christ saves, but baptism is
the way that our Lord has commanded. This is not something that he
asked. It's not something that he recommended. This is what
he commanded. That this is the way his people publicly confess
him in believer's baptism. And God's Word is plain. Baptism
is not sprinkling. Baptism is by immersion under
the pool of water. In baptism, we're confessing
something. We're confessing that our salvation
is in the death and the burial and the resurrection of Christ.
Well, you can't do that sprinkling water on somebody. You've got
to immerse them. You've got to dunk them under
the water to show the death and the burial of Christ. And then
you don't hold them down there forever. You bring them back
up. Because Christ was raised again. That's our salvation. This is the way Christ saved
me. And when he died, I died in him. When he is buried, I
was buried in him. And when he arose, He gave me
life. I had life in Him. Now that's
binding up the testimony. And we could go on and on and
on and on, but now that's binding up the testimony. That's the
gospel. And someone might say, Frank,
you're awful narrow on this thing. You're right, I am. Very narrow.
The gospel is narrow. You know, back in our text, one
of the definitions of this phrase, bind up, is narrow. The gospel is narrow. The gospel
has one narrow, exact point. Christ. That's the point. Christ
and him crucified. Now you search the scriptures
and see if these things be so. I'm telling you, that's binding
up the testimony. Search the scriptures. In our
text, we read, bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. Now we're to preach the gospel
to all men everywhere. This is the commandment of our
Lord, going to all the world and preach the gospel. And we
do that. We support missionaries. We go
places. When God opens doors, we go preaching. Here in two
weeks, John Chapman's going up into Pennsylvania, this little
group. They don't have a pastor. They're desperate for somebody
to preach. John's going clear to Pennsylvania to preach to
them. We go into all the world and preach the gospel. But you
know the only people who are going to hear the gospel? The
only people who are going to believe and cling to and treasure
this gospel treasure is God's elect. They're going to hear
and they're going to become disciples. They're going to be followers
of Christ. And Isaiah here gives us three
results that you see in every believer when the gospel is bound
up to them. And each of these results you'll
see has to do with Christ because the gospel is Christ. Here's
the first result. When the gospel treasure is bound
up, a believer is shut up to Christ. Look at verse 17 back
in our text, Isaiah 8. And I will wait upon the Lord
to hide up his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look
for him. Now when a sinner has truly heard
the gospel, when they've got this gospel treasure bound up,
that person will be shut up to Christ. They'll have no other
hope No other option. They won't look for any other
hope. They won't look for any other Savior except Christ. They'll be shut up to Him. And
since Christ is their only hope, they'll wait on Him. They'll
sit at His feet and wait upon Him. They'll wait on Christ to
save them. And they won't try to help out.
They won't bargain with Him. They won't try to help out. They'll
wait on Him, the Savior, to save. They'll wait on Christ to reveal
Himself to them. If God ever shows you that you
don't know Christ, you know what you'll do? Every time these doors
are open, you'll be right here because God's going to let you
know this is the only place he's going to reveal himself to you
through the preaching of the gospel. You'll be shut up to
Christ and you'll seek him and he'll reveal himself to you through
the preaching of the gospel. You'll wait on Christ to lead
you to the green pastures of his word. You'll wait on him. Just like those Old Testament
believers, they longed for, they waited for the coming of the
Messiah. New Testament believers do the same thing. We're just
waiting on Him to come again. We long for Him to return again
more than anything else. What I want is to be with Christ. And I will when He returns. We
say with David, my soul waited for the Lord. Because I'm shut
up to Him. A believer will wait on the Lord,
and a believer will look for the Lord. If we're honest, every believer
will tell you this. There are times your heart is
cold, and it's hard, and it's dead. And you think, have I heard
anything? And you just feel like you're
in despair. But in those times, the believer
will look for the Lord. You'll search diligently for
Him. And you'll find Him. Look in
Jeremiah 29. You'll search diligently for
the Savior. And you will find your soul's
delight. Jeremiah 29, verse 11. This is God speaking. He says,
For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the
Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected
end. But I don't know that. Here I am. I don't know. I don't know what God's eternal
purpose is. Look at verse 12. Then shall
you call upon me and you shall go and pray unto me and I will
hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find
me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart, and I
will be found of you, saith the Lord." The believer that has
the gospel bound up to them, they're waiting on Christ. They're
looking for Him and they'll find Him. They'll find Him. He's promised. You'll find Him because He finds
you. The shepherd's coming to you. Secondly, when the gospel
treasure is bound up, A believer will trust Christ for all of
this salvation. Look at verse 18 in our text,
Isaiah 8. Behold, I and the children whom
the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel
from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion. Now look
over in Hebrews chapter 2. The writer to the Hebrews is
binding up the testimony here in this chapter. He's explaining
salvation through the death of Christ. Because Christ died for
his people, because he offered the sacrifice for the sins of
his people, those people shall be saved. They're going to be
preserved throughout their earthly walk and time here on this earth,
and they will awake in glory in the likeness of Christ. And
all that's because of their union with their substitute, their
union with their representative. Hebrews 2, look at verse 11.
For both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all
of one. For which cause he is not ashamed
to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto
my brethren in the midst of the church while I sing praise unto
thee, and again I will put my trust in him, and again behold
I and the children which God hath given me. For as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy
him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil. and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore, in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
Now when Christ suffered and He died for the sins of His people,
He made reconciliation for the sins of his people. Now, here's
the question. Christ took the blood into the
throne room of God before the father. Is the father going to
accept that sacrifice? Is he going to say that blood
is sufficient to make reconciliation? Is God going to look at that
blood and say, I'm reconciled? Is there any chance that anyone
for whom Christ died will be lost and end up in hell? Is there
any chance? No, emphatically, no, there's
not a chance. What kind of savior is going
to lose some that he died for? What kind of savior would that
be? That's not God's son. That's not God's lamb. He saves
his people from their sins. And when time is no more, the
angels will come and scripture says, gather all God's elect
together. And Lord Jesus Christ is going
to step in front of them. before the Father. Father, here's every one of my
people that you gave to me in the covenant of grace. You count
them. Not one's missing. I redeemed
them all. I brought them all here to inhabit
the place that I have prepared for them. And they'll all be
there. There will not be one empty seat.
So, the writer says, I want to put my trust in him. He's trustworthy. Christ is trustworthy. He'll
not lose one that the Father gave him. Put your trust in him. Now, Christ, he talks here in
this verse about signs and wonders. We looked at this a couple of
weeks ago. Christ is the sign. Christ is the wonder in Israel.
Remember, Ahaz wouldn't ask for a sign from God. God said, I'm
going to deliver you. You ask me a sign. Ask anything.
And I'll give it to you. I'll give you that sign." And
they had said, I'm not going to ask for a sign. God said,
I'm going to give you one anyway. Aren't you thankful God's purpose
is not dependent on you and me? God says, I'm going to give you
one anyway. And the sign is going to be the virgin birth. The Lord
Jesus Christ is going to be born of a virgin. So Christ is the
sign. Yet it says here His people are signs and wonders. How's
that? by union with Christ. As He is,
we just read it, so are we in this world. Here are some wonders and some
miracles that you see in believers everywhere. It's a miracle we
believe this testimony. It's a miracle that God's Word
is a blessing to you. It's a miracle that in these
pages, black and white, you find green pastures. That's a miracle.
If that happened, we must be born again. Must have been. Because
the natural man won't receive the things of God. It's a miracle
we've been born again. It's a miracle. Sinners like
us have been made objects of God's grace. Just like that dying
thief. What a miracle. I'll tell you
what a miracle it is. Angels desire to look into these
things that you love. What a miracle. It's a miracle. that those who are born enemies
of God, whose carnal mind is enmity against God, now love
God. How'd that happen? It's a miracle. God gave you new nature, a nature
that loves Him. It's a miracle that we understand
how God saves sinners. If we understand that, the Son
of God must have come and given us an understanding because we
don't have that understanding by nature. Now, if you'd like
a sign, That we ought to keep preaching this gospel. That we
ought to keep binding up this testimony in one sign. Look around
you. God still saves sinners. And
he does it by the preaching of the gospel. I'm looking at a
bunch of signs and wonders. People saved by God's grace.
See, I believe we'll keep preaching it, don't you? I think we will.
Here's the third reaction. When the gospel treasure is bound
up, a believer is protected from error. So they won't follow anything
except Christ. Look at verse 19 in our text.
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter, should
not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead?
Now man by nature has fallen in Adam, but he's religious.
I mean, people are religious. And if God doesn't do something
for us, if he doesn't, in a miracle of grace, do something for us,
you know what we'll do? We're religious. We know we've
got to do something. We're going to look for somebody
who's just like us. That's who we're going to look
for. And that's the biggest mistake that a natural man could ever
make. To look for a preacher who's
just like him. That's a big mistake. Because
that preacher, Lost in Adam, just like we are, is going to
tell us what we want to hear. That's seeking a familiar spirit. Seeking somebody that's going
to tell me what I already think. But God's thoughts are not our
thoughts. So we don't need to hear from
that familiar spirit. We need to hear from God. We need to
hear a man who's bold enough to proclaim God's Word. Isaiah
talks about wizards and these are false prophets. They peep
and mutter. Now, there are several meanings
of this, but all of those meanings describe the way a false prophet
preaches. He peeps and mutters. It means
to whisper and to growl and to mutter. So you can't tell exactly
what somebody's saying. You know, you're growling. Chance
is I can't understand you. You're growling. That's the way
a false prophet growls and whispers and mutters. They mislead people
on purpose. Now listen, they sound charming. They're not just, you know, in
a red suit, the long red tail and horns and pitchfork. They
sound charming, but they're not clear on purpose. We got birds
around our house, in the mornings especially. Boy, they chirp.
I mean, man, they sound very pretty. I mean, they're just,
man, they're charming. I don't have the slightest clue
what they're saying. You know, they might be saying, let's gang
up when this guy comes out and I'll fly and take his eyes out.
And I think it sounds charming. That's a false prophet. That
peeping and muttering sounds charming. But on purpose, he's
deceiving you so you don't know what he's saying. They won't
be clear because they don't want to offend anybody. They want
to have people that believe completely opposite things both be happy
sitting there so they don't lose anybody. crowd and they keep
money and all this stuff, you know, they peep and mutter. I'll
tell you how you can tell, God's servant. He will be very bold
and he will be very clear. He'll actually have a desire
to offend that old man because his desire is to see God Almighty
slay that old man and cause new man to be born in you. That's
exactly what's going to be his desire. But a false prophet,
he peeps and mutters. And the second meaning of that
is this. to devise, to plot, and to imagine. The message of
a false prophet is not found in God's Word. It's something
he imagined. I told you earlier, you check
out what I'm telling you from God's Word. I hope you would.
I pray that you would. Check me out from God's Word.
A false prophet would get mad if you do that to him. You back
him into a corner with God's Word, You're going to make him
mad. He's going to say the only defense he will be able to come
up with is why don't mean that to me. Truth is truth, no matter what
I think of it. Truth is truth. You can't get
his message from God's word. A false prophet devises and plots. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter
2. A false prophet devises and he
plots. He tries to manufacture results
from his message. But God's servant binds up the
testimony, and he preaches God's message clearly, boldly, faithfully,
and leaves the result to God. Look at 1 Corinthians 2 verse
1. And I was with you in weakness
and in fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom." Paul said, I didn't
peep and mutter, I didn't try to impress you with my command
of the language, but it was in demonstration of the Spirit and
of power. And this is why, that your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And if God gives you a man who
will do just that, God, and he binds up that treasure of the
gospel in your heart, you'll be protected from that uncertain
sound of the peeping and the muttering of a false prophet.
You'll think, there's no wisdom in that. I listened to that message. There's no awe in that message.
He can't be preaching Christ the wisdom of God. There's no
awe in that message. You'll think, There's no life
in this message. It's dead. It's dead doctrine.
He can't be preaching Christ to life. You'll be protected
from it. And when you think that, get
out. I mean, get out of town. Because
you will never find Christ. You will never find eternal life
in a dead message. Ever. If God's revealed His Son
in you, I'll tell you what you'll say. You'll say with the Apostle
Peter, I'm not going away. You can't run me off. To whom
shall I go? I believe and I'm sure thou art
to Christ, the son of the living God. If you've been made alive
in Christ, you cannot follow false doctrine anymore. You can't
do it. And I'll tell you how serious
a warning this is about false prophets. It's not just that
they're mistaken. It's not just that they don't
know God, although they don't. Here's the problem. They hate
God. Look at verse 20 in our text.
To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to
this word, it's because there's no light in them. The reason
a man does not bind up this testimony, the reason a man does not bind
up and clearly preach this gospel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ
straight from the word of God is because he hates God. He hates
God because he doesn't know God. You don't lie about somebody
that you love. Christ, the light of the world,
is not in him, so he doesn't preach the light. And you'll
never find light to see Christ, you'll never find light to understand
Christ, unless the message is Christ the light. If the message
is not Christ, then the message is darkness. It's not dimness,
it's darkness. And it's darkness that damns
the souls of men and women. I don't want to get too wound
up about this, but this is why I'm wound up. It damns the souls
of men and women. I don't have the ear of all the
tri-state area tonight, but I've got yours. It would break my heart if you
went to hell because you didn't hear the truth. If you got pulled
off into error by some A false picture. I can't think of anything worse.
Not anything. And that's exactly what the Pharisees
were. In our Lord's day, they were
blind leaders of the blind. And they were blind because they
didn't have any light in them. They didn't have Christ. And
that man who doesn't have the light will never lead you to
the light. He's trapped in the darkness
of ignorance and unbelief himself. He can't lead you to the light.
But thankfully, You will recognize them if you have the gospel treasure
bound up in your heart. If God brought you out of darkness
into Christ the light, you can't go back into darkness anymore.
Can't do it. Shouldn't a sinner who's under
the guilt of sin, shouldn't he seek God who freely pardons sin,
who forgives sin in the blood of his son? Shouldn't a sinner
who's dead and trespasses in sins, Shouldn't that sinner seek
Christ who's the life giver? Shouldn't he seek life through
the death of Christ? Shouldn't a weary people seek
rest in Christ? Shouldn't the people who are
in bondage, shouldn't they seek Christ the great Deliverer? If
you're locked in a prison of darkness and unbelief, shouldn't
you seek Him who opens the prison to them who are bound and sit
in darkness? Should you? Then seek Him. Then seek Him. And you will, if the testimony
is bound up to you. You will. Alright, let's bow
in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, how we thank
You for Your Word. How we thank You for the gift,
the unspeakable gift of Your Son. That You'd send Your Son
to put away the sin of Your people, to make reconciliation for sin.
And that You've given this group of dead dog sinners, the place
where the Gospels preached, that you sent your mercy and your
grace, you revealed yourself to people in this place, in this
town. Father, we're thankful. And we
beg of Thee that You'd make us faithful to bind up the testimony,
to continue clearly, plainly, simply, boldly preaching Christ
and Him crucified. We pray, Father, that in your
mercy and your grace you continue to reveal yourself to your people
in this place through the preaching of the gospel. All these things
we do give thanks, and we ask in that name which is above every
name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.