Isaiah 52. I'm entitling this
sermon, The Gospel Preacher's Message,
from the words found in verse 7, Isaiah 52 verse 7. What then, we're going to see
in a minute what the message is. But let me begin by asking
this question. What then is our message? What
then is the gospel preacher's message? Let me begin with a
negative. Let me tell you what it's not.
And then I'll tell you what it is. Sometimes it's good to know
what it's not, right? What then is our message? Well,
it's not, it's not that God loves everybody. That's not our message. It's not that God is in love
with everybody. If God loves everybody and yet
some perish in hell, then his love has nothing to do with our
salvation. Nothing. It has to do with something
else. God loves everybody and some
perish, then what's his love have to do with our salvation?
Nothing. Our message is not that Christ died to make an attempt
to save everybody or to make salvation a possibility. Our
message is not one of universal redemption. If the Lord Jesus
Christ died to save all men without exception, and some men perish
in hell anyway, what does that say about the death of Christ?
Then his death has nothing to do with our sin being put away,
does it? Think with me now. That's not
our message then. Our message is not that God is
trying to give God is trying and giving his best effort to
save everybody. I know these things of what's
been preached in our generation for years and years and it's
been preached and promoted such that people have begun to think
that well that's the truth. Well that's not the truth. God
doesn't love all men every worth that exception. The love of God
is in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
die for all the sins of all men. He died to save His elect. And
God is not trying and not giving His best effort to save everybody. If He's trying to save everybody
and call everybody and yet some men perish anyway, then His call
and His gospel has nothing to do with salvation, does it? It
has to do with something else. Those who preach those things
of universal love, universal atonement, and a God who wants
to and can't, now let me be clear. Those who preach those things
are false prophets. Those who believe those things
and embrace those things do not yet know the truth, have not
been set free. Now, listen to this. Wash your
ears out with this. If you don't hear anything else,
you hear this. God does not use the lies of men and half-truths
of false preachers to teach men gospel truth. That doesn't even
make good sense, does it? Does God use a lie to teach the
truth? Absolutely not! God uses truth,
doesn't He? To teach the truth. Now if you're
served an affidavit, or if you're served a summons rather, to appear
in court over here at the courthouse, and they bring you before the
witness, on the witness stand before the jury, and you swear
to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God,
and you are found to be a liar, what will they charge you with?
Perjury. That's right, you better tell
the truth. When preachers don't tell the whole truth of God's
salvation and promote the lives of men, they're not charged with
perjury, they're charged with high treason before the king,
which is an offense punishable by death. Treason. The traitor is hung, isn't he?
My friend, God's preachers are not traitors. They're determined
to tell the truth come flame, flood, hell, or high water. Now the Apostle Paul writing
to the believers at Rome and encouraging sinners to call upon
the name of the Lord. the name of the Lord declares
who he is for salvation quotes from this passage found in Isaiah
52-7 and applies it to gospel preachers in his day and relative
to our day. We place great importance upon
the preaching of the gospel of Christ and you know why? Because
God does. God places great importance upon
the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. His last charge to his
church before he ascended to glory, he said, go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes
that gospel shall be saved. He that believes not will be
damned. We place great importance upon
the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ because
it pleased God and God has ordained that as a means to call out his
people. The Apostle Paul when he was
about to be executed for preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ Wrote back to the young preacher Timothy in his last
words. He says this I charge you before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the word preach Christ
and hear them crucified. God help us to do so, to go and
to preach this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the Apostle
Paul in Romans 5 asked five important questions recorded for us, recorded for
our learning. You cannot call and believe upon
someone that you have not heard. That's impossible. You have to
hear the truth. That is why God has ordained
the preaching of the true gospel of Christ to the salvation of
His people, His covenant people. You must hear the true gospel
and believe the true gospel in order to know and believe the
truth. Our Lord said you shall know
the truth and that truth will set you free. It is therefore
necessary to hear the Word of God in order to know the true Gospel. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the Word of Truth, the Word of God, not the lies of men.
God has given ministers unto his people that they might hear
the truth, that God in the power of God the Holy Spirit will take
that truth and drive it home to your heart and convince you
that you're a sinner and the only hope of salvation is found
in Christ alone. So then what is our message we're
to preach? Well, let's see what it says
in the text here. Let's follow the words found
in this scripture and ask God the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. Isaiah 52 7. Let's look at it
carefully. I've got five things I want to
see from this one verse. The first thing we learn is about
the importance of the gospel preacher, the importance of the
gospel messenger. God says of them, how beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of them that publish, that bring
good tidings, that publish salvation. God says their feet are blessed.
Their feet are blessed. Now, how are they blessed? The feet of a person carries
the body to the place where he may preach the true gospel. They are sinners with a message
to other sinners about the gospel of Christ. Now, I want you to
find 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. How beautiful are the feet of
those. Those feet that carry God's servant
through the mountains of this world, preaching the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, if you will, 2 Corinthians
4. God uses sinners to tell other sinners where they found bread. 2 Corinthians 4, look at verse
5. But we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servant for Jesus'
sake. For God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen
vessels. We have this treasure of the
gospel in earthen vessels, dirt, clay, pots, that the excellency
of the power may be of God and not of us. One of the greatest blessings
God has ordained and one of the greatest blessings God gives
unto his covenant people is a faithful gospel preacher. who is not afraid
of the frowns of men. Nor does he preach to please
men, but rather is bold to declare unto all that will hear all the
counsel of God, keeping back nothing that is profitable unto
you. Determined to preach, as Paul
said, I'm determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. Declaring unto you the very testimony
of God. This testimony that has been
established of God, this witness that has been established of
God in the gospel of God. were determined the glory in
none other but the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. These are
the men who were sent of God with God's message. You remember
back, we have a text similar to this back in Isaiah 40. Turn
back over there. These are the men who were sent
of God with God's message. And what is their message? Look
at Isaiah 40 verse six. Then the voice said, cry. And
he said, what shall I cry? What shall I preach? All flesh
is grass. Yours, mine, all flesh is grass,
all sinful. And all the goodness thereof
is as the flower of the field. The grass withered, the flower
faded. Because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it, surely
the people is grass. The grass withered, the flower
faded. But the word of the Lord shall stand forever. O Zion,
that bringeth good tidings, get thee up into high mountain. O
Jerusalem, that bringeth good tidings, lift up thy voice with
strength. Lift it up and be not afraid. And say unto the cities
of Judah, Behold your God. God reigns. God reigns. God reigns. God uses sinful men
to declare the truth of God that he might get all the honor and
glory. The gospel preacher is a watchman, as it says in verse
8 of our text. The watchman is told to lift
up his voice. In ancient times, In ancient
times, back in those ancient cities, they were walled about
with stones. A city to be protected from the
invaders, they'd build a big, huge wall. And they'd put watchtowers
along that wall. And when the watchman was on
the wall watching for the approach of the enemy, what was he to
do? He would lift up his voice, Danger! Danger! The enemy approaches! What happened if he didn't? Well,
the city would be in peril. The city would be in trouble,
wouldn't it? The watchman that God has established in His church
are gospel preachers and they are to lift up the voice of God's
truth and to warn of dangers that lurk around us and point
sinners unto the Lord Jesus Christ and to behold Him. who is the
only refuge for sinners to run into. The messenger that God
has sent to you, and I've tried to warn you of the dangers around
us, and I've tried to tell you to flee from the wrath to come,
and I've tried to tell you to look to the Lord Jesus Christ,
in whom is found all of salvation. Now, that's the first point. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that brings a message. Thank God for faithful
gospel preachers sent with a message of God. How can they preach except
they be sent? The Apostle Paul asks. Now here's
the second point. Here's their message. They bring
good tidings of good things. You see that? They bring good
tidings. Then it says down below, they
bring good tidings of good. Good tidings, good news, good
news, good news. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ indeed is good news. But you know it's not good news
to all men. It's good news to the needy. I'm a poor and needy
sinner, David said, but the Lord thinks upon me. The gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed good news to guilty sinners. Look to the Savior of sinners.
He's called the friend of sinners. Look unto me, our Lord said,
and be ye saved all the ends of the earth. I am God and there
is no other. There is mercy for the miserable.
There is grace for the guilty. There is salvation for sinners
in Christ alone. This is a faithful saying. This
is worthy of all acceptation that the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save. Who? Who did he come to save? Sinners! How can I ever find
a sinner? I've got good news for him. The
Lord Jesus Christ died for the ungodly? You know the Son of
Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost? He's going
to save every lost sinner. It's a preacher. All men are
lost. No they're not. At least according to their own
opinion they're not. They're pretty good folk. I'm not like
that man over there. The Lord Jesus Christ You see,
God's gonna save every lost man. He's gonna make you to know that
in Adam you're lost, that all we like sheep have gone astray.
He's gonna make you to know that before he tells you that he's
the shepherd who has found the lost sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ
didn't come to call the righteous, did he? He came to call sinners
unto repentance. You see, the righteous don't
have, they have no need of a They have no need of repentance. The
Lord Jesus Christ didn't come to call the righteous. He came
to call sinners. Sinners unto repentance. So we declare the good news to
the guilty, to the miserable, to the lost, to the ungodly.
We declare the good news that God indeed is manifest in the
flesh. come to accomplish our salvation. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. We declare the good news
of God coming to save us by his grace. We declare unto you the
good news that the Lord Jesus Christ actually accomplished
salvation. when he died for the sin of his
covenant people, it wasn't an attempt to put away sin, it was
an atonement to put away sin, was it not? That's good news. If he just attempted to put away
my sin and I'm left to actually accomplish that fact, I'm in
big trouble. But thank God the Lord Jesus
Christ put away all the sin of God's covenant people. He accomplished
salvation. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. We declare
unto all who will hear the sinners the good news that the Lord Jesus
Christ justifies the ungodly totally by his grace and his
grace alone. justified freely by His grace.
We declare to sinners and all that will hear that salvation
is accomplished, righteousness is established and freely given
to whom God pleases. He justified the ungodly. God who spared not His own Son
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? We declare the message of good
news, glad tidings. That's good news to sinners.
We declare unto you that salvation is an everlasting gift of His
love and grace that will never be taken from us. He says, I
give unto you everlasting life and you shall never perish. Well
that's our message. It is indeed good news. I like
what old Scott Richardson said. He said, since I've heard the
good news I've not heard any bad news. And that's so, good
news, it's good news. Christ died for the ungodly.
He justified the ungodly. Good news, that's our message,
good news. Thirdly is this, gospel preachers declare and publish
peace. That publish peace, peace, peace. Reconciliation with God in Christ
Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that
God was in Christ reconciling the world, that is the world
of His elect unto Himself. Sin brought separation, didn't
it? Our sin has separated us from God. What brings reconciliation? What brings peace with God? How can holiness and sinfulness
meet together? Only in Christ. One God, one
mediator between God and man, that is the God-man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. From that passage of scripture
we read in Romans 10, the gospel is called there the gospel of
peace. We publish peace, peace, peace, peace, reconciliation
in Christ Jesus. Now, let me enlarge upon that
a little bit. The believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ has peace with God. Peace with God. It says in Romans
5.1, therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace with God is not something
that we do, not something that we make. Our peace with God is
made how? It says in Colossians chapter
1 that Christ made peace for us with his own blood. That's
how peace is made. Peace is made with God through
sin being put away in Christ Jesus. Peace made by the blood
of Christ. So we have peace with God. We
declare that message. Peace made by the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ, his conscience has been purged from dead work
to serve the living God through the blood atonement of Christ.
Therefore we have peace of conscience. Peace of conscience. Turn back here to Isaiah 32,
17. Peace of conscience. Isaiah 32, 17. This is one of
my favorite scriptures in Isaiah. Isaiah 32, 17, the work of righteousness. You see it, Isaiah 32, 17. You've
got this one marked, haven't you? If you don't, you need to
mark it now. And the work of righteousness
shall be peace. Now who's righteousness? Christ. The work of righteousness shall
be peace. And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. Peace of conscience, peace with
God, peace made with the blood of Christ. And I tell you what,
God's people, they have peace among themselves. They have peace
among themselves. As it says in the text there,
for they shall see eye to eye. They sing together. They rejoice
together. They worship together. They forgive
one another. They love one another. They really
do. A man who won't forgive is a
man who has not been forgiven. We look over the frailties and
faults of one another. Believers don't hold a grudge. Be ye merciful even as your Father
in heaven is merciful. Now make sure you understand
this. There is no peace with God apart from the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now I can make good on that.
Turn just a few pages, Isaiah 57. Isaiah 57, look at verse
19. I create the fruit of the lips,
peace, peace to him that is far off. We're made nigh by the blood
of Christ. Peace to him that is far off
and to him that is near, sayeth the Lord, I will heal him. It
says in the gospel that he healed all those that had need of healing. But the wicked are like the troubled
sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt,
there is no peace, saith my God to the wicked. To the unbeliever,
no peace, no peace. You cannot make peace with God
by your puny efforts at self-righteousness, self-doing. You know, we're plagued
in this day with a do-it-yourself salvation. Do-it-yourself. That is, God's done all He can
do, now the rest is up to you. We're plagued in this day with,
you know, you can buy a do-it-yourself kit. You can make a, you know,
Lowe's, they advertise that all the time. Do-it-yourself. Well,
as far as home improvement, there are some things you can do. But
in the realm of salvation, you can't do it yourself. You see,
that's the difference of our message between here and what's
preached elsewhere. What's preached elsewhere is,
sinner, you must do, do, do, do, do. Our message is not one
of do. You know what our message is?
D-O-N-E. Their message is two letters,
D-O. Our message is four letters,
D-O-N-E, done. Done. The Lord said it's finished. One is damning. Do, do, do, damning. Done, done, done, salvation.
That's the difference. You cannot make peace with God
by your puny efforts because you cannot satisfy what God demands. He demands perfection or damnation. Here's the fourth thing. God's
preachers publish salvation. You see the text there? They
publish salvation. I mean they're not They're not
backward about declaring salvation. They actually lift up their voice
and they say, as it says down here in the last part of verse
10, you see that? Salvation's of our God. Salvation's of the
Lord. They actually publish it. I mean,
they actually preach it. They actually declare this message
that salvation's all of God's doing. This is the Lord's doing
and it's marvelous in our eyes. They publish salvation through
the Lord Jesus Christ. They declare that salvation is
of the Lord. And they say, as Peter says in
Acts chapter 4, neither is there salvation in any other, for there
is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved. In that name, that name above
every name. God has highly exalted Him and
given Him a name above every name, that at that name every
knee will bow, every tongue will confess that He is Lord to the
glory of God the Father. We actually, by His grace, declare
that salvation's all of grace, all in Christ Jesus alone. You know the Lord Jesus Christ
is the Savior? You know He is what He's called. Call his name Jesus, he might
save his people from their sins. Why don't you call me Tom? That's
my name! The messenger from heaven said,
call him Jesus, he shall save his people. He is what he's called. He is the Savior who really saves. He is the Redeemer who really
redeems. He obtained, it says in the scripture,
He obtained eternal redemption for us with His own blood. Salvation is always by the free
and sovereign grace of God through the blood and righteousness of
Christ, determined by Him, accomplished by Him, dependent upon Him, and
applied by Him. We say, well, that shuts out
the creature. Exactly right. That shuts out any merit I have.
You don't have any. You're a dead dog sinner. If
God saves you, it'll have to be by grace, won't it? That's
how he saves us. That's what the apostles reminded
Timothy of. He said, don't be ashamed of
me, nor the testimony of God, for it's God who saved us, it's
God who called us with a holy calling, not according to our
work, but according to God's own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus, given us in Christ Jesus, given
in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world. Here's the last thing. God's preachers, they say unto
Zion. Zion here is a gospel church
established in Christ Jesus, both called out of darkness unto
God's marvelous light. They say unto God's people, you
know what? Somebody's in charge. Thy God,
He reigns supreme. God reigneth. Man doesn't reign. God reigns. God reigns over all
things. God is our God. God who is our
God is the absolute sovereign in heaven and earth. He does
according to His will in the army of heaven among the inhabitants
of this earth and none can stay His hand. None can say unto Him,
Lord God Almighty, what are you doing? We've studied this morning
from Revelation chapter 4 that the Lord Jesus Christ sits upon
a throne of dominion that's everlasting, unchangeable, that will never
have a rival by any. He's the absolute king. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be good news if He doesn't reign. Can it? The gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ cannot be good news unless He ever lives to execute
His purpose and grace given in Christ Jesus before the foundation
of the world. Unless He reigns supreme to execute
His purpose. Now we've plainly seen this all
the way through our studies in Isaiah. He said, I've spoken
it, I've purposed it, I'll bring it to pass, and you know what
he said? I'll do it. He worked all things after the
counsel of his own will. I like that. God reigns. You can't preach Him too high.
You can't preach man too low, nor God too high. Nor can you
give too much honor and glory unto the Lord Jesus Christ. You
should look at Revelation chapter 4 and chapter 5. It says over
and over and over again, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive all honor, glory, blessing, and power, both now and forever. And they said, Amen. It's so. It is so. Our God reigns. Now we mentioned three things.
Our God reigns in creation. All things were made by Him and
for Him and by Him all things consist. We read this morning
in our Bible study from Revelation 4 verse 11 where it talks about
all things were created for His pleasure. His pleasure. God reigns in creation. The sky
is blue. Why? Why is the sky blue? Why
is the grass green? Why do birds fly and men walk? Why don't we fly and they walk? God created all things by the
word of his power. He designed all things exactly
as he determined them to be. He reigns in creation. Any doubt
in your mind? Read through the record of the
Word of God. He reigns supreme in creation.
Secondly, He reigns supreme in providence. Providence. What is providence? That which
unfolds in time is what God has decreed from eternity. Known
unto God are all His works from the beginning. Now listen to
this scripture. God rules and reigns in providence. Things that happen in your life,
and in time, and in history, do so by the explicit decree
of God Almighty. Listen to this scripture, Romans
11, 36. Of him, for of him, of him, And through Him and to Him are
all things, not some things, no, all things to whom be glory
both now and forever. All things are of God. All things
are of God in creation. He rules and reigns supremely.
And in providence, He rules and reigns supremely. Whatsoever
the Lord please, that's what He did in heaven and earth, seas
and all deep places. And thirdly, make sure you get
this. What's the third one? I've preached
this for 25 years. God's sovereign in creation,
God's sovereign in providence, and He's sovereign in salvation,
isn't He? He's sovereign in salvation. Preacher, what do you mean by
that? What do you mean by He's sovereign in salvation? I mean
exactly what the Bible teaches. That God will have mercy on whom
He will. It's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but it's God that shows mercy. We're born again, not of the
will of flesh, not of the will of man, but we're born of God. We believe according to the work
of him, his mighty power. He will have mercy on whom he
will. He prayed in John 17, Father, you give me power over all flesh
that I should give eternal life, all power that I should give
eternal life to as many as you've given to me. Who are those people?
His covenant people, chosen and elected in Christ Jesus, given
unto the Lord Jesus Christ, of which He said in John 6, all
that the Father hath given to me, they will come to me, and
I will in no wise cast them out. My friend, God reigns. And the
Lord Jesus Christ is God our Savior, and He reigns as absolute
Redeemer, sovereign Redeemer, and He's the sovereign Savior. Now let me send you home with
one more thought. In verses 8 and 9. Now break
forth into singing. Break forth into joy and sing
together. You waste places. For the Lord
hath comforted his people. He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The
Lord hath made bare his holy arm. The eyes of all nations
shall see, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of our God. Look at verse eight, the watchman
shall lift up the voice, with the voice together shall they
sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring
again Zion. All believers see eye to eye. What do you mean, preacher? All
believers agree on the vital, critical issues of the gospel.
God is God, Christ is the Savior that is successful, man is totally
depraved, and salvation is of the Lord. All believers see eye
to eye on the vital gospel issues. The faith of God's elect acknowledges
the truth. Not only acknowledges the truth,
but you know what? They rejoice in the truth. They
sing together, they rejoice together, they are comforted with the good
news of the gospel. For He has truly redeemed His
elect, not one. Can one sheep of Christ be lost
for whom the Lord Jesus... Will He lose one sheep for whom
He died, for whom He... for whom were elected in eternity,
given to Christ? No, sir. No, sir. Hebrews 2 verse
14, I think it is. Our Lord said, he's not ashamed
to call them brethren. And he said, behold, I own the
children you've given to me. They're all here. I've not lost
one. You see, this is our message.
It's of a Savior who cannot fail. We study that in Isaiah 42. He
shall not fail, shall not be discouraged. Our message is one
of one of peace accomplished. Our message is one of salvation
accomplished. Our message is one that God reigns
and rules. That's our message. That's our message. And you know
what? Believers rejoice. They sing
together. They see eye to eye. And they
do say that salvation's of the Lord. They do say that salvation's
all of God's grace in Christ.