With the believer, this is always
true. Weeping may endure for a night. And indeed it does. But joy cometh
in the morning. No matter what we're going through,
we know that tomorrow is a brighter day, don't we? You know, you can get through
anything if you know it's going to be better tomorrow, can't
you? Despair is having no hope that things will ever be better.
And what a miserable feeling that is. I suppose the worst
feeling as far as feelings that I've ever had was a feeling of
despair. Feeling things are not going
to get better. That is such a horrible feeling. But the believer knows it will
be better. It will be better. The Lord has
promised this. I love this last statement in
Isaiah chapter 60, verse 22. I, the Lord, will hasten it in
his time. Now, as I've already stated,
this entire chapter is a prophecy concerning the future. Over 50
times in this one chapter, God speaks of what shall take place. Did you notice how often that
word popped up in that passage of Scripture? He said this will
take place. And as I've already said, when
God says something will take place, it's a whole lot different
than when I say something will take place or when you say something
will take place. When God says it will take place,
it's already taken place. Now, I can't explain that, but
I know if God said it, it's done. It's not something we're hoping
for. It's something that is already
done. Now, how many times have you
counted on something some man said would take place and you've
been disappointed? How many times? That's happened more times than
any of us could count. It didn't take place. And perhaps
you've learned to not much count on what man says. Now, I'm not
saying that's a good thing. It ought to be that we can trust
each other. But perhaps you've learned in your experience that
you can't much count on what man says. He says things, but
he Man proposes, but God disposes. Men may have plans and agendas,
but they don't necessarily come to pass. But when God wills something,
it must take place. It's more than absolutely certain
whatever God wills already is. The future already is. Now, this prophecy is about the
future of Christ and His Church. Now, some have looked upon this
as referring only to Christ. Others have looked upon this
as referring only to the church. But here is an instance when
both are right. You cannot separate Jesus Christ
the Lord from any of His sheep. There is, always has been, and
always will be a union. I don't know of anything that
gives me more joy than to think of being united to Christ. One with Christ. When you multiply one times one,
what do you come up with? One. When you divide one by one,
what do you come up with? One. One with Christ. I want to show you a few scriptures.
Would you turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2? Because we have to
keep this in mind in order to understand this prophecy. Hebrews
chapter 2. Verse 11. For both he that sanctifyeth,
who's that? The Lord. And they who are sanctified,
who's that? Every believer. Both he that
sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all of one. One with Christ. Not one and
a half. One. That means who He is. I am. Where He is right now, that's
where I'm at. What He is, I am. We looked at that passage of
Scripture this morning in 1 John 4, verse 17, where it says, As
He is, so are we right now in this world. Well, how's He? That's
how I am in this world right now. This is the heritage of
every believer. Now, turn with me for a moment to John chapter
17. If you would ask me personally what is, and I believe this,
don't get me wrong, I don't want this to sound wrong, but if you
would ask me what the most difficult statement in all the word of
God to believe is, this is the passage of scripture that I would
turn to. Now, I believe it. But it's hard to believe this.
Not hard because God's not trustworthy, but just the awesomeness of what
is being said here is just hard for me to get hold of. Look here
in John chapter 17, verse 23. John 17, verse 23, I in them
and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that
thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." Now, can anybody here get a hold
of that? Paul Wamsley, can you believe
that God the Father loves you with the exact same love He loved
Jesus Christ with? Now, that's hard to believe.
I mean, you look and you say, I can understand him loving you
that way. But me, me. Thou hast loved them as thou
hast loved me. Now, I want you to think about
this. Same love. Because we're one. That's the
only way this can be understood. Was there ever a time when God
the Father began to love His Son? There never was a time when that
love began, was there? It's always been. Was there ever
a time when God the Father began to love me? Now, obviously, I
don't understand this. I can't comprehend it, but I
sure believe it. Does the Father's love ever wane
toward the Son? Does the Father's love ever grow
cool and ever grow indifferent toward the Son? No, the Father's
love is always so powerful toward the Son. It's the same way with
the believer. Thou has loved them as thou has
loved me. Does the father ever see Jesus
Christ the Lord as anything less than altogether beautiful and
lovely? He never sees him in any way
like that, does he? And in the same way, the father
sees every one of his people. This is the heritage of every
believer. Now, you take that and you write
your name down there. As the Father loved Christ, that's
how He loves every believer. This is not just some select
few. This is the heritage of every single believer. Now, how
can that be understood? There's only one way. Union with
Christ. One with Christ. Who He is, I
am. Where He is, That's where I'm
at, too. What he did, that's what I've
done. Union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
So when we look at this passage of scripture together, we can
see how it's spoken both of Christ and the believer. And really,
when you speak of Christ, you speak of the believer. That's
hard to get hold of, isn't it? And when you speak of the believer,
you speak of Christ. That's how vital and real this
union is. one with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, back to our text. Let's
read the chapter again with those things in mind. Isaiah chapter
60. Arise, shine, for thy light has
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Now, I hear
the Father say this to the Son on resurrection morning. Arise,
shine, Thy light has come. But I just as clearly hear him
say this to every believer. Rise! Right now! Shine! For your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Verse 2, For
behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness
the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee. and his glory
shall be seen upon thee. Is that not precisely what happened
when the Lord was hanging on the cross? Gross darkness covered
the world while he was hanging on the cross? And that is a continual
reminder to me that no matter what we say concerning the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter how much clear light we
have, we're still in the dark. I mean, we see glimpses, and
we believe the glimpses we see, and we see glory in it, but we're
still... How much do we really understand about what was going
on on the cross? Can you enter into that? What
was happening between the Father and the Son? That was a transaction
between the Father and the Son, and darkness covered to let us
know that we really don't much understand what was taking place.
One of these days we'll see more clearly, but not yet. But gross
darkness covered the earth while He was on the cross. But when
the Lord raised him from the dead, his glory was seen upon
him, the glory of his resurrection. And this also speaks of the darkness
of the world around us, but the light of the gospel, which we
enjoy. I love the way the children of
Israel, remember when God sent gross darkness upon Israel, darkness,
the scripture says it could be felt, but light was in the houses
of the children of Israel. And every believer has the light
of how God can love them, how God can accept them, how God
can receive them through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we were once in the dark, but the Lord's light shined upon
us, and this will happen to every believer. He says in verse 3,
and the Gentiles shall come to thy light. and kings to the brightness
of thy rising. And surely this refers to the
Lord Jesus Christ and the glory of His resurrection. What brightness
we see in that. Kings will come to Him. But this
also speaks of the church Every time the Lord saves somebody,
they become a true church member. I'm not talking about a church
member like a church member of the Todd's Road Grace Church
or some other church. I'm talking about a church member
of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the company of God's
elect, the spirit of just men made perfect. Every time somebody,
God saves somebody, oh, what life they're given as they become
a part of this church. Verse four, lift up thine eyes
round about and see. All they gather themselves together,
they come to thee. Thy sons shall come from far,
and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side." Now, again, we
see this speaks of the Lord's people coming to Him because
of His death, because of His resurrection. His people are
going to come to Him, every single one of them. But this also speaks
of men and women coming into his church and hearing his gospel
and being fed from the milk of the word in him. You see where
this refers to both. Verse five, then thou shalt see
and flow together and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged because
the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee and the
forces of the Gentiles shall come to thee. Now, you remember
that passage of scripture there in Hebrews chapter 12. where
it says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before Him. Now, get this,
the joy that was set before Him. Now, He's going to the cross.
He's going to suffer untold agony, agony that I can't possibly describe. He's going to be forsaken by
His Father. He's going to bear the wrath
of God. He's going to suffer physical
pain that you and I will never know anything about. And that's
the least of his, quote, problems. And yet the Scripture says, who
for the joy that was set before him. Do you know when Christ
Jesus was hanging on that cross, I don't understand how this could
be, but he thought of a person that was going to be born September
9th, 1959, And you put your birth date in
there if you're a believer. Who for the joy that was set
before him. The joy of first doing his father's
will, yes. The joy of obedience to his father. But the joy of saving somebody
like me. Now, because of His resurrection,
the Scripture says His heart's going to be enlarged. How can
His great heart, that heart of all hearts, be enlarged? I don't
know, but it is. His heart is enlarged in seeing
sinners brought to Himself. And let me ask you this. Isn't
your heart enlarged when you see someone bow the knee to Christ?
Don't you rejoice when you see someone actually come to trust
the Lord Jesus Christ as their everything in salvation? It does
something for your heart, doesn't it? It enlarges your heart. Verses 6 and 7, the multitude
of camels shall cover thee. The dromedaries of Midian, camels,
and ephah, all they from Sheba shall come. They shall bring
gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the
Lord. All the flocks of Keter shall be gathered together unto
thee. The rams of Neboth shall minister unto thee. They shall
come up with acceptance on thine altar, and I will glorify the
house of my glory." Now, all the wealth that he's speaking
of is going to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything belongs
to Him. Thou hast given Him power over
all flesh, and everything belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. This
world You know, people think they have their lands and their
stocks and their bonds and all the money they have and all the
security of that. It all belongs to the Lord. Every bit of it. You don't have a thing. But if
you're a believer, you know what? It all belongs to you too. Every
bit of it. I am looking at some people who
would make Bill Gates look like a pauper. All things are yours. And you
are Christ and Christ. Christ is God. Now, isn't that
a glorious thing? All these things belong to the
believer. We're joint heirs with Christ.
Yes, they all come to him. And they all come to the believer.
Verse 8. Who are these? Now this is the
church speaking. Who are these that fly as a cloud
and as the doves to their windows? The church speaks as surprised
and amazed at the people coming to her as a cloud signifying
the multitude and as a dove signifying the character of the people.
Now understand this. The church. Now this is a little group right
here. A little group. We don't even count in the world's
eyes. A little group. But do you know the church is
a big church. Now, the local gatherings are
generally not very big, but the Lord's Church is a huge church. Ten thousand times ten thousand
and thousands and thousands, and the church Who are these,
these great multitudes that come to the Lord Jesus Christ? And
they do. And how we rejoice in this and how we glory in it.
I'm so thankful the church is big. It may not appear to be
that big now, but it is. Verse 9, Surely the isles shall
wait for me. And the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them,
under the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel,
because He hath glorified thee. Everything belongs to Him, and
everything comes to Him. Verse 10, And the sons of strangers
shall build up thy walls. The Lord's using everybody to
build His kingdom. You know there's not anything
outside of His sovereign control. You think of the stuff going
on, you think the Lord doesn't even think about it. He's using
it. Everything. Everything that happens to you
tomorrow, the Lord uses it. He's building up the walls of
His kingdom. Now, go on reading. The sons of strangers shall build
up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee. For
in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy
on thee. Now, what's the first application
of that? Now, you know that's talking
about the Lord on the cross. In my wrath, He said, I smote
thee. Now, when Christ was on the cross, He had no mercy from
his father. He had nothing but the wrath
and judgment of God against him. God forsook him. God turned his
back on him. The reason God had wrath on him
is because sin was found on him. The sins of his people became
his. And God's wrath came upon him. And he said, In my wrath
I smote thee, but in my mercy I've had favor upon thee. Oh,
the mercy we experienced because God's wrath smote him. And this
is true of every believer. You know, when Christ was smitten
by the wrath of God, you know who else was? I was. Every believer in his wrath,
he smoked us. But oh, what mercy, what glorious
mercy we experience as a result of that. Verse 11, therefore,
thy gates shall be open continually because of the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, this means I'm always welcome
to come to Christ. Now, how often Do you feel like you can't get
to Him? You feel like your sins have
separated you? And you feel like if you called
upon His name, He wouldn't hear? You feel, as far as the way you
feel, like you feel like your prayers don't get any further
than that ceiling. That's the way you feel. Feelings come,
feelings go. Feelings are deceiving. Do you
know every believer is always welcome? Now, believe this because
God says it, not because I said it, but because the gates are
continually open. We always have access. We're always welcome because
of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, because of union with
Christ. We're always welcome. And this
also refers to the message of the church. You know what our
message is? Come! Come and welcome! Come to the
Lord Jesus Christ. The message of the gospel, understand
this, the message of the gospel is not an exclusive message. It's an inclusive message. Now, the message of the gospel
does exclude folks who try to come by their own works. There's
no doubt about that. It shuts out anybody who tries
to come any other way than God's prescribed way. But the gospel
is not an exclusive message. It's not holding people back.
It's not keeping people from being saved who would have been
saved. It's taking people who would
have been damned and saving them. That's the message. The spirit
and the bride say what? Come. And let him that hears
say what? Come, and whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely." Come and welcome. All things
are prepared. All things are ready. God's not keeping you from coming
to His Son. Come and welcome. The gates are
always open. Isn't that wonderful? It's amazing
to me. I look at my own experience.
I don't know how many times I have sinned on my conscience, and
I think, well, I need to wait until I feel a little bit better,
more spiritual, and then I can come into the Lord's presence.
Then I can pray. It doesn't work that way. You come right now,
and you're welcome because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, this is what is so amazing. Christ's blood is always powerful
to the Father. It's just as if He were just
slain. It's not some old musty doctrine. Oh, it's always so powerful before
the Father. Come and welcome. The gates are
open. Therefore, thy gates shall be
open continually. Do you see that? Continually.
Not every now and then. Not just when you do this or
do that, but they're open continually. They shall not be shut, day nor
night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles,
and that their kings may be brought. For the nations and kingdoms
that will not serve thee shall perish. Yea, those nations shall
be utterly wasted." Here is the end of those who do not come.
They will be utterly wasted. Verse 13, the glory of Lebanon. shall come unto thee, the fir
tree, the pine tree, and the box together to beautify the
place of my sanctuary, and I'll make the place of my feet glorious."
Now, this speaks of the beauty of his sanctuary, and the place
of his feet is his church. We stand at his feet, and what
a glorious place that is. Now, obviously, I've been thinking
more than usual about death. Can't help it. I mean, you know,
I've got this surgery going. I probably ought to be thinking
about it all the time. I realize it, but I'm I'm thinking more about death
than I generally think. I think about it every day. First
thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, it's just
on my mind all the time. And I was thinking if the Lord
took me. And this was what was in my mind,
I can't I don't know how to say this, but I almost almost can't
imagine looking at the Lord in the face. I have a hard time
thinking about that. But I could imagine being on
my face at his feet. And I thought, what a glorious
place to be. Bowing at his feet. Who'd want
to stay here? Who'd want to? Oh, the place
of His feet. That's where Mary sat and heard
His Word. The place of His feet. Oh, not
looking at Him dead in the eye, but down at His feet. The place of mercy. The place
where He dispenses His grace. The place of His feet. That place
is glorious, isn't it? Oh, what a glorious Savior He
is. And oh, the place of His feet. Those dear feet. Can you imagine
seeing those feet and seeing the scars on His feet? What a glorious place that is. Verse 14, Thy Son, the Son also
of them that afflicted thee, shall come bending unto thee,
And all they that despise thee shall bow themselves down at
the soles of thy feet. And they shall call thee the
city of the Lord, the Zion, the Holy One of Israel." Now, this
answers to Philippians 2, 9, first of all, and it's talking
about everybody bowing at his feet. You know, every knee is
going to bow at the name of Jesus. At the name of Jesus, every knee
is going to bow, some willingly, some unwillingly, but they don't
have any choice. Every tongue is going to confess
that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Everybody's
going to do it. But do you know this is spoken
also of the believer? One with Christ? Do you know
if you're a believer? If you're a believer, and I'm
your enemy, you know who else I'm an enemy to? The Lord Himself. Remember when he said to Saul,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Now, the Lord was sitting
at the right hand of the Father, and Saul couldn't lay a finger
on the Lord Jesus Christ. But when he touched one of his
people, he said, you're persecuting me. Inasmuch as you've done it
to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it to me. Once again,
union with Christ. So this is a prophecy true concerning
the Lord and His people. Verse 15, Whereas thou hast been
forsaken, and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will
make thee an eternal excellence, a joy
of many generations." Now, nobody saw beauty in the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's so amazing to think of that passage of Scripture.
It says there's no beauty in Him, and when we see Him, there's
no form nor comeliness nor beauty that we should desire Him. When
men saw the Lord Jesus Christ, they didn't see anything glorious. I do want people, I want to glorify
God, I want to glorify Him by my conduct. I want to glorify
Him by my attitude. I want to glorify God. And when
I say this, I'm not saying this facetiously. I want people to
see Christ in me. And I do. And you do, too. But
remember, they didn't see Christ in Christ, did they? I mean,
your brothers and sisters didn't get it. God grew up in their
house, and they didn't get it. Thou hast been forsaken and hated,
the Lord, his people, so that no man went through thee. They
saw no need to come to the Father by thee. He says, I'll make thee
an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. And that
prophecy is already taking place right now. He's the joy of many
generations, isn't he? He is the eternal excellency. He's my way of approaching the
Father. But you know what else this means? Every believer in
the mind and eye of God really is an eternal excellency. What language, an eternal excellency? Always have been an excellency
in Christ? Always will be an excellency
in Christ. Reckon yourself now. Here's a
command Romans chapter 6 verse 11. This is a command to every
believer. You better obey it Reckon yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin. Sin has nothing to say to me.
I'm an eternal excellent sin Would God tell you to reckon
yourself to be dead to sin if you weren't? Now would he? No,
he only speaks that which is true The reason he says for the
believer to reckon yourself to be dead indeed in sin is because
you are dead to sin You are an eternal excellency. And Christ
is the joy of many generations. Verse 16. Thou shalt also suck the milk
of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings. Everything
is going to benefit you. And thou shalt know that I, the
Lord, and thy Savior, and thy Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob,
All of the world has this one purpose, the glory of Christ
and His Church. As we see, the world was made
for our benefit, and we'll know who our Savior is. Now, when
we see everything, when the Lord gives us grace to see that everything
works together for our good and His glory, everything, everything,
you know what we know? We know the Lord's our Redeemer. We don't give ourself any credit,
do we? Verse 17, he says, For brass
I bring gold. And for iron, I'll bring silver. And for wood, brass. And for
stones, iron. I will also make thy officers
peace and thine exactors righteousness." Now this speaks of the superiority
of grace to works. This speaks of the superiority
of the gospel to the law. You bring wood, I'll bring brass. You bring stones, I give iron. You bring iron, I give stone. Whatever you give, what I give
is infinitely better. Infinitely better. I'll make
you to be what you were not. That's the promise of the gospel.
I will make thy officers peace and thine exactors righteousness. Peace and righteousness. Those
are our bosses. Peace and righteousness. Those are our rulers. Peace and
righteousness. That peace that is derived, that
comes only from seeing Him as my righteousness before God. What peace there is in really
believing that my righteousness, my personal righteousness, right
now is seated at the right hand of the Father. That's my righteousness. You know what I feel from that?
Peace. And this is our leader. This is our exactor. This is
our ruler. Let me tell you what this means
from the New Testament. Hold your finger there and turn to
2 Corinthians 10. Verse 3. For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3. For
the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge
of God. And we bring into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ. Now, for many years, I read that
verse and thought, I need to bring every thought into obedience
to Christ. And I do. I ought to do that.
I'm not saying anything against that, but is that what that verse
says? It doesn't say we're to bring every thought into captivity
in obedience to Christ, but every thought is to be brought into
captivity is to bow to the obedience of Christ. Jesus Christ is my
righteousness. His obedience is my obedience. And every thought, there's my
boss. There's my ruler. There's my
exactor. And every thought is to be brought
into submission to this glorious truth. His obedience is mine. That's our boss. That's our exactor. That's our ruler. Back to our
text. Verse 18. Violence shall no more
be heard. Isaiah 60. Violence shall no
more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders,
but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise."
Now, don't lose the meaning of the imagery here in the language.
What are walls for? Well, walls, one thing walls
do, they keep people in. And what else walls do? They keep stuff out. That's simple enough, isn't it?
Thy walls. Thy walls. Salvation. Salvation keeps me
in Christ. And it keeps all my sins out.
Now that's salvation, isn't it? Your gates. What are gates for?
Gates are doors. They let people in. They let
people out. This is talking about liberty.
This is talking about freedom. I have freedom. I'm always welcome
to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, I can pour my heart
out to Him at all times. And I'm welcome. And gates set
me free. And our gates are called praise.
Praise the Lord for the liberty and the freeness of the salvation
that's in Christ. He says in verse 19, the sun
shall be no more thy light by day. Neither for brightness shall
the moon give light unto thee. We don't need created light,
but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy
God thy glory. The sun shall no more go down,
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be
thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall
be ended." Now, this is a prophecy, but it's something we have right
now. We don't need created light. I love that passage of Scripture
in Revelation, is it 21? The Lamb is the light thereof. There's no need of the sun nor
the moon, but the Lamb. Now, the Lamb, that's not just
words, filler words that mean something. The Lamb in a sacrificial
character is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the
world. I have light. I have real light. as to how
a holy God can actually love and embrace me and have fellowship
with me and view me as fit for fellowship with Him and actually
call me and every believer His friend, the friend of God, a
son of God. How's that? The Lamb is the life
thereof. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
is why all of that is. The time is coming, true, when
there'll be no more withdrawing. The sun shall go down no more.
The moon shall withdraw itself. For the Lord shall be thine everlasting
light. The days of thy mourning shall
be ended. A better day is coming, isn't it? A better day is coming
when I will not sin anymore. I'll never have a thought of
unbelief. I'll never have a thought of doubt. I'll never have an
evil thought, a jealous thought. I'll be perfectly conformed to
the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what verse 21 says, Thy
people also shall be all righteous. Every single one of them. Righteous. Christ's righteousness is my
righteousness, and I'm righteous before God. Every one of God's
people, thy people shall all be righteous, every one of them
without exception. They shall inherit the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may
be glorified. Question. If you're brought into glory,
let's just forget everybody else. Let's talk about you. If you're
brought into glory and if you're brought into that great glorious
place and see the Lord Jesus face to face, will it be all
God's work? When I stand before thy throne,
dressed in beauty, not my own, When I see thee as thou art,
love thee with unsinning heart, then, Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I owe." We'll know then, won't we? And
who gets the glory in this? That I may be glorified, that
God may be glorified. Every believer that is righteous
will be seen to be the branch of his planting, the work of
his hands. Verse 22. A little one shall become a thousand. And a small one, a strong nation,
the weaker made small or strong, the smaller made big through
the gospel. And the Lord guarantees us that
this will take place in His time. A little one shall become a thousand,
and a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in
His time. And let me remind you, when God
says this shall take place, it already is. Everything I've said in Christ,
it already is. Near, so near to God, nearer
I cannot be. In the person of His dear Son,
I am as near to God as He. Dear, so dear to God, dearer
I cannot be. In the person of His dear Son,
I am as dear to God as He. Let's pray together.