As you read through the scriptures,
particularly the Old Testament scriptures, do you sometimes
find them confusing? You just wonder, what's this
talking about? What's the purpose of this record?
If you're following our reading calendar, we're right now in
the midst of 2 Kings, and you look at those things. Why are
these things recorded? You read the words of the prophets,
and you wonder, what specifically is the prophet talking about?
And if you go to the local bookstore and try to find books, you'll
find all kinds of notions about what these things are about.
Let me help you a little. When you read the prophetic messages
of the Old Testament scriptures, when you read the history of
the Old Testament scriptures, always look for Christ. Always look for the person and
work of our Redeemer. Now, I give a word of caution.
I don't mean that we should take the Scriptures and say, well,
this is how I think this speaks of Christ. But look for how God
speaks and speaks of Christ in that portion of Scripture. And
when you understand that the message of the book of God, the
Old Testament as well as the New, is Jesus Christ and Him
crucified, It's not about facts and history and doctrine and
creed. It's about him who loved us and
gave himself for us. The book of God pops with life
before us. Nowhere is that fact more evident
than in the prophecy of Isaiah. If you'll turn to Isaiah chapter
1, tonight I want to begin a series of messages from the book of
Isaiah. In this first message, I'll simply
give you a survey of these 66 chapters showing that the message
of Isaiah's prophecy is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Christ
crucified is all the counsel of God. Everything in the Word
of God speaks of, points to, and shuts us up to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Everything in the book Recorded
to teach us something about the person and work of our Redeemer
in the saving of our souls Here in Isaiah chapter 1 we see the
Prophet of God speaking. He says the vision of Isaiah
The vision Paul said I come now to visions and revelations Isaiah
is talking about something that God gave him a revelation God
gave him the vision of Isaiah the son of Amos and which he
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Isaiah's name means salvation
is of the Lord or Jehovah will save. His prophecy is preeminently
placed at the beginning of the prophetic books of the Old Testament. He's often called the prophet
of redemption. Isaiah's message might be summarized
in the words that he gives in verse 4 of chapter 42 that we
looked at just a while back. He shall not fail. Isaiah is talking about Jesus
Christ, God's servant, our Savior. And he says that which he came
to do, he will surely accomplish. He shall not fail. But Pastor, this is talking about
God's word concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Yes, indeed. Judah
and Jerusalem, God's church and God's people. The scriptures
are addressed to you and I. This book was written for us,
for our learning, for our admonition. It has to do with our lives and
our relationship with God through the mediator, Christ Jesus, the
Lord. This man, Isaiah, delivered this
message during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. But it's given to us for this
gospel age and speaks of God's church throughout this gospel
age. Isaiah was God's prophet. God's
prophet. What a name. A prophet is one
who receives a message from God. faithfully delivers it. A prophet
is one who receives a message from God and faithfully delivers
it. Yes, he studies. Yes, he works
at the business of preaching, but he receives a message from
God and delivers the message God gives faithfully. Now, there
are no prophets in the official sense of the word, and there
are no apostles in the official sense of the word this day. But
in this regard, every man called, gifted, and sent of God as a
gospel preacher is a prophet. He is a man who seeks, and God
has given him a message that must be delivered, and he delivers
it. Not now and then, not here and
there, but wherever he goes, he comes with God's message for
this hour to this people. Isaiah speaks here as God's prophet,
and he faithfully served his generation as God's messenger
to his generation, as God's messenger specifically to his people for
50 years. For 50 years. from the reign of Uzziah to that
of Hezekiah. And in the midst of those years,
he faced the most discouraging circumstances and dealt with
the most idolatrous, abominable practices imaginable. The life
and work of God's prophets has never been easy and never will
be. It has never been easy. and never
will be. The faithful servant of God must
not allow himself to be hindered or discouraged or turned back
by the corruption of the world, the opposition he meets with
his message, the abounding heresy and idolatry of his age, or even
with the behavior of those to whom he ministers and those whose
souls he seeks to serve. Now, having said all that, I've
not come here merely to give you a survey of Isaiah's words. I have a message to deliver.
And the message I had to deliver is the very same message that
Isaiah delivered. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. And
in all the affairs of the world, in all the affairs of time, God
is working the salvation of his people. The Lord Jesus Christ,
we see throughout these 66 chapters, is presented as the sinner's
substitute, our Redeemer and our Savior. He is the one of
whom Isaiah speaks. And our Lord tells us that plainly
in John chapter 12. Look at Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah
6. Here is Isaiah's first picture
of our Redeemer. He tells us what he saw when
God saved him. He tells us what you will see
when God saves you. He tells us what we have seen
who've been saved by God's grace. Isaiah chapter six, verse one.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting
upon a throne, high and lifted up. I saw the Son of God in human
flesh, exalted, having finished his work, having accomplished
redemption, having conquered death, hell in the grave, having
crushed the serpent said, I saw him high and lifted up seated
on his throne. Isaiah said, I saw the accomplishment
of redemption by God's dear son. And our Lord Jesus speaks specifically
of this passage of scripture and said, Isaiah spoke of me.
He was talking about me. So we don't have to guess about
this. I saw him high and lifted up and his train filled the temple
Above it stood the seraphims each one had six wings and with
twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet
and with twain he did fly and One cried unto another and said
holy Holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full
of his glory What a strange statement What a strange statement. The
whole earth is full of his glory? Well, it's going to be. That's
not what he says, is it? He says the whole earth is full
of his glory. But didn't you read the newspapers
today, Isaiah? How can you say this when you
see men sitting on the throne burning their children on an
altar to Baal? How can you say that? How can
you say that when you see the open promotion of every form
of profligacy of this degenerate age? The whole earth is full
of His glory. God is working His purpose for
the saving of His people everywhere in this world. The whole earth
is full of His glory. Oh my God, teach me to view everything
in this light. God is accomplishing his purpose,
read on. And the post of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. I reckon so. Then said I, woe is me, for I
am undone because I'm a man of unclean lips. And everybody around
me is just like I am. I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. Mine eyes have seen the king,
the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims
unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken
with tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth
and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips. Thine iniquity is taken
away, and thy sin is purged." With those words, Isaiah gives
us his testimony. He tells us what God had done
for him. When Christ is revealed in a
sinner's heart by the grace and power of God, the Holy Ghost,
the very first thing he recognizes is he's dealing with God on his
throne. God on his throne in his glorious
holiness, who found sin on his son. So holy and just as he that
we found sin on his son. He withheld none of the fury
of his wrath Isaiah said I recognize I'm a vile sinner and if ever
you see Christ Revealed in you you will recognize and confess
before God. You're nothing but corruption
Nothing but sin just a vile sinner And when you acknowledge and
confess your depravity, your corruption, your sin, your helplessness,
then the sin-atoning blood of Christ is effectually applied
to the heart by the power and grace of God the Spirit through
the preaching of the gospel. And God declares in your conscience,
your sin is taken away. Your iniquity is purged. Now throughout this prophecy,
Isaiah speaks as a man who has seen Christ in the fullness of
his redemptive, saving grace and glory. These 66 chapters
are full of our Redeemer. Every time you read these pages
in the future, I want you to see Christ leaping through every
line. The first four chapters, the
first five chapters of Isaiah actually, are really sort of
a preface to the book. In chapter one, Isaiah shows
us our need of Christ as our Redeemer. He causes us to see
that we must have him to make us holy. We must have him to
make us righteous. We must have him to make us accepted
with God. And he begins his prophecy with
a declaration of man's depravity and the utter impossibility of
man saving himself. In the ninth verse, He tells
us there is an elect remnant. An elect remnant in this world
who must and shall be saved. Except the Lord of hosts had
left unto us a very small remnant. We should have been as Sodom
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. He tells us that
this is the fallen state we're in. We're just like the Sodomites. just like the inhabitants of
Gomorrah, utterly depraved, utterly corrupt. Oh, but I've never done
those things. There's nothing any human beings
ever done that's not in your heart and mind. And if ever you
meet God, you'll know it. If ever you meet the Redeemer,
you'll know it and you'll confess it. But then in verse 18, sinners who should have been, if left
to themselves as Sodom and Gomorrah, are called by God. Called by God to the obedience
of faith in Christ. Listen to this. Come now, let
us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool. Then we're assured of the certainty
and efficacy of our Savior's redeeming work. Look at verse
25 I'll skip down to verse 26 latter part of it thou shalt
be called the city of righteousness the faithful city Zion shall
be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness
in the second chapter of Isaiah tells us that the church and
kingdom of our God shall be established exactly according to God's purpose.
Look at verse two, chapter two. And it shall come to pass in
the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be
established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted
above the hills and all nations shall flow into it. God shall
at last set his holy hill of Zion above all the nations of
the earth. And God setting his church up
above all the nations of the earth causes sinners from the
four corners of the earth to flow under Zion. Look at verse
three. And many people shall go and
say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. to the
house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways
and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth
the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem and he shall judge
among the nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning
hooks nations shall not lift up sword against nation neither
shall they learn war anymore House of Jacob come ye and let
us walk in the light of the Lord. Oh That's talking about that
glorious utopian day when Christ is going to reign in Jerusalem
for a thousand years and everybody get along for a thousand years
and then everything gonna be messed up again What nonsense? What
nonsense? Oh, no, this is talking about
something spiritual not something carnal. Oh This is talking about
a spiritual kingdom, not a carnal kingdom. It's talking about something
heavenly, not something earthly. What happens when God saves a
sinner? He causes the lion and the lamb
to lie down together. He takes those who are natural
enemies, those who naturally oppose one another and causes
them to live together in peace in his holy kingdom. This is
the work of God in his church. By his grace, he sends the word
out of Zion into all the corners of the earth and men here. And
God gathers in his elect. I had a call just this week of
Saturday and then Talked to the fellow yesterday, a man out in
Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He'd been involved in a heretical,
abominable, Pentecostal religious group for years. He's 72 years
old. And God taught him the gospel.
And want us to know he'd been hearing the word. Oh, what a
wonder of grace. Preacher of the abominable things
of this world saved by God's marvelous grace Why because God
said I will Establish Zion. Oh my holy hill above all nations
and the nations shall flow into it in chapter 3 Here's this word
of promise and assurance from God verse 10 say ye then to the
righteous in the light of these things It shall be well with
him. It shall be well with him. Everywhere, all the time, in
all circumstances, it's well with the righteous. For they
shall eat the fruit of their doings. That's one of the most
blessed and most remarkable statements in all this book. Is it going
to be well with you? Because you're going to receive
from God the fruit of what you've done. That's exactly what he
says. Well, that can't be preacher.
I've never done nothing but saying, oh, but in the substitute, in
the redeemer, you have fully obeyed God and fully satisfied
God. And it is well with you as the
fruit of your doings in your mediator in chapter four. We find a declaration of the
result of all that this will be the exaltation and the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the everlasting perfection and
righteousness of God's elect. Look at verse two, chapter four. In that day shall the branch
of the Lord be beautiful and glorious. In that day, when God
makes himself known to you, Christ is made beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them
that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass that
he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall
be called holy, even every one that is written among the living
in Jerusalem, holy. We don't use the word. We've
been, uh, we've been pushed, let herself be pushed aside by
papers to talk about saints. You know, after you've been in
the grave for so long and you've done so many good work before you
die. And some fellow dressed in drag announces that you've
now become a saint that those that we can't say that. Let me
tell you something. Right. John is at St. Bobby Estes
as St. Shelby Fort. Holy. All who live with God in Christ,
holy, holy, holy. I don't know why there's so much
confusion, and I do know why. Because men love works. A friend
of mine wrote, somebody's kind of reproving him, having heard
something I preached in England, and they're talking about progressive
holiness. My friend wrote to me and said,
is there such a thing? As we're talking about progressive
holiness, it's kind of talking about progressive virginity.
Either you are or you're not. There's no in-between ground.
Either you're holy or you're unholy. Either you're righteous
or you're unrighteous. There's no in-between ground.
Either perfectly holy or utterly unholy. Either perfectly righteous
or utterly unrighteous. When the Lord, verse 4, shall
have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall
have purged the blood of Jerusalem. Washed away all the filth of
our lives and our doing. But more than that, purged away
the blood corruption of the bloodline we received from our father Adam,
the blood of Jerusalem. from the midst thereof by the
spirit of judgment, of justice and righteousness, and by the
spirit of burning. Now, let's look in the rest of
this chapter at some of the pictures Isaiah gives us of our Lord Jesus
Christ. All I can do is just skip along
the surfaces. So you follow with me. If you
have a notepad, I suggest that you take notes. In chapter 5
and verse 1, our Savior is called by one of the most precious names
given him in scripture. Now will I sing to my well beloved
a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. I'm going to sing
to my beloved and I'm going to sing to my beloved a song that
concerns his church. his bride, his wife, his people,
his children, his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard
in a very fruitful hill. Oh, what a suitable name for
our Savior. He is indeed our beloved, our
well-beloved. The daughters of Jerusalem, as
the Shulamite tell me, Why do you talk like this about your
beloved? What is your beloved above another beloved? And in
chapter 5, the song with Solomon, she said, I'm glad you asked.
Let me tell you about him. My beloved is altogether lovely. He is that one altogether lovely
to the triune God, altogether lovely to our needy souls. And
I and my beloved are one. My beloved is mine and I'm his. We are accepted in the beloved. Look in chapter 6, verse 1 again. Here we see the Lord Jesus, our
beloved, sitting on the throne, high and lifted up. What does
that mean? He who is my well-beloved. He who is the beloved of my soul. He who loved me and gave himself
for me and loves me with such love that his love compels me
to love him in return. He sits on the throne of the
universe. Everything is in his hands. Do you know how easy and comfortable
and peaceful and delightful and undisturbed and restful life
would be for that pretty lady sitting there if I had that kind
of power. But she would never, she'd never
dream that anything could go wrong. She'd never dream that
she would ever lack anything. She'd never dream that somehow
she might be injured by something. Oh no, no, my husband's on the
throne. Oh, my soul, he who is the husband
of our soul sits upon the throne of the universe. Be at ease,
rest, be comfortable, rejoice. Christ is king. Then in chapter
seven, the prophet describes our savior, this one who is our
king, our beloved as the virgin born incarnate God. Verse 14. Therefore, the Lord
himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. This one who
is our savior, our mediator, our king, he is God in our nature. God in human flesh, this is the
one of whom God spoke in Genesis 3, 15. He's born of a virgin.
He's come to crush the serpent's head. He's come to undo all that
Satan has done. Then in chapter 8, our Savior
is described as the sanctuary of salvation to all who believe. And he's described here as a
stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to the self-righteous
and unbelieving. Verse 14, Isaiah 8, he shall
be for a sanctuary, a place of protection and safety, a sanctuary
to everybody who flees to him, to everybody who trusts him.
But for most people, he's a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense
to both the houses of Israel for a gin and a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble
and fall and be broken and snared and taken. What's that talking
about? We preach the gospel of God's
grace and God's people rejoice. They rejoice. And then some folks
sit there and see. They may not say anything, but
they just seethe. Just seethe. I remember when
Betty Jo came to me and told me how God had dealt with her.
She came to talk to me. She said, I sat here because
Bobby wanted me to come. And I sat here and listened to
you. And I hated you. I hated you. I understand that. She never said a word. She was
just as nice to me as she could be. But all the time, just fighting
nails. How come? Because as long as
you think you're good, as long as you think you're righteous,
as long as you think you need no savior, you will despise and
stumble over this foundation stone that is a sanctuary for
our souls. Look at chapter 9, verse 2. Here
our Lord Jesus is described as the light of the world. He is
the light that shines in darkness, the light of life, the one who
is the light of the glory of God. Jesus Christ crucified is
the only light there is in this dark, dark world. The people
that sat in darkness have seen great light. They that dwell
in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined. The Lord God said to his son,
I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles. And we sat in
darkness until Christ came and gave us light. Look at chapter
11. The Lord Jesus is portrayed as
the root and branch of David. the ensign, the banner to whom
chosen sinners must be gathered. He is that one by whom we have
both the Spirit of God and the glorious rest of faith and salvation. Our Savior's name is Jehovah
Nissi, the Lord, our banner. Look at verse one, Isaiah 11.
There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and
a branch shall grow out of his roots and the Spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon him. the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the
fear of the Lord, verse 10. And in that day, there shall
be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an incense, a banner
of the people. To it, to this banner shall the
Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. His rest shall be
his glory, verse 12. And he shall set up an incense
for the nations, And shall assemble the outcast of Israel and gather
together to disperse the Judah from where from all throughout
the world Among all the nations of the world from the four corners
of the earth Now look at chapter 12 Our God and our salvation is
Jesus Christ the Lord He is our God, our Savior, and our salvation,
the Holy One of Israel in the midst of us. Verse 2. Behold,
God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid,
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also has become
my salvation. Verse 6. Cry out and shout, thou
inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in
the midst of thee. God is with you, my people. God is with you, children of
God. God is with you, church of the
living God, wherever you are, in all circumstances, in the
midst of you, in the midst of you, incant about you, as a fire
round about you, and yet God in the midst of you. I said before
I couldn't possibly give you everything that Isaiah gives,
but Just move along. In chapter 13 through 21, it
is Christ, our Redeemer, who is the breaker of Babylon. Men
are held captive in Babylon until Christ comes and sets them free.
He is the Lord of Lucifer. He's the master of Moab. He's
the destroyer of Damascus, the executioner of Egypt. And he
is the watchman's judge. Now, look at chapter 22, Isaiah
22. Verse 22. Here, the prophet of
God describes Christ as the sovereign king of the universe. His rule
and dominion. To those who know him. Is. One of the most blessed things
to contemplate in all scripture. It is a nail in a sure place. A nail in a sure place. Oh, hang
everything on this. Christ is King. Look at verse
22. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his
shoulder. He's the king. So he shall open
and none shall shut. He shall shut and none shall
open. And I will fasten him as a nail
in a sure place. And he shall be for a glorious
throne to his father's house. Now watch this. And they shall
hang upon him all the glory of his father's house. Christ, the
incarnate God, our Redeemer, shall have all preeminence in
his house. And wherever Christ is known,
God's people hang on him All the glory, all the glory of his
house in chapter 28, chapter 28, verse 5. The Lord Jesus is
the crown of glory and the diadem of beauty of all his people.
In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory
and for a diadem of beauty under the residue of his people. You
became comely, he said. through my comeliness that I
put upon you. I made you beautiful through
my beauty that I gave to you. And that one who is our beauty,
he is the crown of glory. He is the crown of beauty for
his elect to the chapter. Twenty eight. Verse 14. Our savior is the foundation
stone laid in Zion upon which we are built and upon which you
must be built. Wherefore hear the word of the
Lord you scornful men That rule this people which is in Jerusalem
Because you have said We made a covenant with death and with
hell are we at agreement? When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through it shall not come unto us Don't but don't
bother with me about substitution and redemption and righteousness
and sacrifice and atonement. Don't bother me about the intercession
of another. I'm all right. I've made my peace
with God. Nothing's going to happen to
me. I'll be all right. For we have made lies our refuge. And under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone. a trident stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation, he that believeth shall not make
haste. Oh, come to Christ, build upon
Christ, rest your soul upon Christ, and all is well. But if you find
for yourself a refuge of lies, God says judgment will I lay
to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, and hell shall
sweep away the refuge of lies. And the water shall overflow
the hiding place, and your covenant with death shall be disannulled,
and your agreement with hell shall not stand. When the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, then shall you be trodden down by
it. Christ is the only foundation
upon which to build. He alone is a refuge for your
soul. This foundation is a tried and
sure foundation, a precious foundation. He that believes, he that believes
on this foundation, he who rests his soul on Jesus Christ shall
not make haste. He shall not be confounded. He
shall not be confused. He shall not be put to confusion. Look at chapter 32, Isaiah 32.
The Lord Jesus is the only safe refuge and sure
hiding place for our souls. Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness and princes shall rule in judgment and a man, a
man, a man who is God, that incarnate God man we read about in chapter
seven, a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind. and to cover
it from the tempest. This man, Christ Jesus, is a
hiding place from the tempest of God's wrath, and a hiding
place from the tempest of every trial and temptation that comes
your way, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. Chapter 35, verse 4. The Lord Jesus, this one who
is our refuge and hiding place. He is the giver of all grace.
He is that one in whom chosen redeemed sinners are made to
see and experience the glory and the excellency of our God. Verse four. Say to them that
are of a fearful heart, you, you are fearful. Be strong. Fear not. Behold, your God will
come, now watch this, with vengeance. Even God with a recompense. Well, that doesn't sound comforting.
Hang on, hang on. He comes having utterly satisfied
His vengeance in the sacrifice of His Son. Comes to recompense
you with all the fullness of his grace because of the obedience
and death of his son Oh, you can't that's not what it means
read the next line and see He will come and save you He will
come and save you then the eyes of the blind shall be open the
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped and Then shall the lame man leap
as in heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched
ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.
Is this talking about a time when the desert's gonna turn
into a flower garden? No, something better than that. Talking about the desert of your
soul. He said, you believe, oh man, Out of your belly shall
flow rivers of living water. Bubbling up in your soul fruit
and bounty in the place where there was nothing but desertion
and emptiness. In the habitation of dragons
where each lay shall be grass with reeds and with rushes. Chapter
35. The Lord Jesus is the way. the only way to God look at verse
8 and highway shall be there and The way and it shall be called
the way of holiness The unclean shall not pass over But wait
a minute I thought brother Don Christ was made for the unclean.
Yeah, but before you walk in this way, you gotta be made clean
You see the the cleanness doesn't come by you getting in the way.
I The cleanness came long before you were born by the doing and
dying of the Son of God. The unclean shall not pass over
it. But it shall be for those the wayfaring men, the fools,
shall not err therein. And in this way no lion shall
be there, nor any ravenous beast shall
go up thereof. It shall not be found there."
What's that mean? What's that mean? Shortly after I came here, God
saved by the moral heart and baptized, and that's been a long
time ago. All these days now, there's been anything to hurt
you. No line, no ravenous beast, nothing in the way to harm you.
No, not in this way, not in this way. Read up. The redeemed of
the Lord shall walk there. Walk peacefully in Christ the
way. Walk with confidence and the
ransom to the Lord every sinner purchased by Christ blood ransomed
by Christ atonement Shall return everyone of them and shall come
design with songs and with everlasting joy upon their heads They shall
obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away in
the chapter 40 Verse 11 And you see Christ, our good
shepherd, this one who is the king, who rules the world and
disposes of the world. He does so as the shepherd of
the sheep, specifically for one purpose, to save his people from
their sins, to gather his sheep from the four corners of the
earth. Isaiah 40 verse 11, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm. He'll gather them, but that's not all he does. He'll
carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young.
The Lord Jesus, the good shepherd, goes out and seeks his sheep
that was lost. And when he's found it, he brings
it to himself and he lays it on his shoulders. He carries
it in his bosom. All the way home. And he gets
home with his sheep and he says, rejoice with me. Rejoice with
me. Look at chapter 41. The Son of
God is our great Redeemer. Isaiah 41 verse 14. Now listen
carefully. Listen carefully. We believe
and preach and insist upon the teaching of Holy Scripture with
regard to limited atonement, effectual redemption, For the
notion of universal atonement, the notion of universal redemption,
destroys every basis of hope and comfort for anybody in this
world. Our whole basis of comfort and
hope is Christ redeem me. Christ redeem me. Let's see if
that's not what he says. Fear not thou worm, Jacob, and
ye men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord,
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Oh, I've redeemed
you. You don't have anything to worry
about. I've redeemed you. I'll help you. I've redeemed
you. I've redeemed you. Nobody's going to bother you. I know you're
just to worry, but I've redeemed you. Look at chapter 42. The
Lord Jesus, we've seen just recently in this portion of Scripture,
is Jehovah's servant. His righteous servant, in verse
4, that one who shall not fail. He who redeemed us. He gathers
his sheep, he carries them in his bosom, and he helps them.
And it doesn't matter how Satan roars against them. It doesn't
matter how hell assaults them. It doesn't matter who opposes
them. All is well, for the Lord Jesus shall not fail. Chapter 43. This unfailing God, our Savior,
is the ever-present God and protector of his elect. But now thus saith
the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel.
He said to Jacob and Israel, I created you for myself. I formed
you for my glory. Fear not, for I have redeemed
thee. I called thee by thy name, thou
art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I'll be with you. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Cebu for thee." Well, what's that? Those are
just nations. Those are just people. People. God sacrifices for the saving
of his people. What will God not do for you? That's what I say. I gave Egypt
for you. I gave Ethiopia for you because
you're precious in my sight, because you've been honorable
and I've loved you. Therefore, will I give men for
thee and people for thy life? Fear not. For I am with thee. Oh, what a word of grace. Look at chapter 45. This one
who is our God, our great king, he's a just God and a savior,
and he bids us look to him, to him alone, trust him and him
alone and find salvation in him. Tell you, verse 21, And bring
them near, yea, let them take counsel together, who hath declared
this ancient time. Who hath told it from that time,
have not I the Lord? And beside there is, beside me
there is no God, no God else beside me, a just God and a Savior. There's none beside me. Look
unto me and be ye saved. Look to me, trust me, and you'll
find salvation in me. Without question, this is talking
about That blessed initial experience of grace. Look to Christ. Find God's salvation. And Jonathan
is talking about every circumstance of life where you find yourself
in trouble. Look to me. Not the trouble. Look to me and be you saved.
Chapter 53. Isaiah speaks of the son of God. and tells us the basis of all
this great, great gospel we preach is the great sin atoning sacrifice
of our substitute by whose stripes we are healed. It pleased the
Lord to bruise him. Verse 10, he hath put him to
grief. He made his soul an offering
for sin and he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. One more passage, look at Isaiah
65. The Lord Jesus, our great Redeemer,
is set before us here as that one who makes all things new.
Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former
things shall not be remembered nor come to mind. but be ye glad
and rejoice forever in that which I create for behold I create
Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy and I will rejoice
in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying this is the consummation of God's
salvation. And as Isaiah put it, salvation
is of the Lord. This is God's work from beginning
to end. Did you ever notice? When you read the first chapter
of Genesis. On the first six days of creation. At the end
of the creation each day, God says the evening and the morning
were the first day. Why do you reckon he didn't say
the morning and the evening were the first day? When I think about
things, I think about day before I think about night, don't you?
I think about morning before I think about evening, don't
you? Well, why is that? God never does things the way
we think. Because we are now in the evening. There's a morning coming when
God our Savior says, Behold, I make all things new. And so he shall. Amen.