Isaiah 3, verse 10. I want us to read this text,
two verses, carefully, prayerfully, and pray that the Spirit of God
will be pleased to give the pastor liberty on these two verses.
They're very important. Isaiah 3, verse 10. that it shall be well with him,
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the
wicked, or say ye to the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for
the reward of his hands shall be given or done to him. Now God speaks to the believer
and to the unbeliever by his prophets. If you'll turn to the
book of 2 Samuel, chapter 12, when David had this young man
killed, Uriah, to cover his own sin The people knew about it. Joab, the captain of the forces,
knew about it. For David sent Uriah to Joab
with a sealed note telling Joab to put him, Uriah, in the hottest
part of the battle and then retreat and leave him alone so that he'd
be killed. The people knew about this. Joab
knew about it. I'm sure some of the officers
in the army knew about it, but nobody was ordered by God to
deal with David except the prophet, the preacher. It says in 2 Samuel
12, and the Lord sent Nathan unto David. The Lord sent Nathan
unto David. God spoke to David by his prophet,
by his preacher. And then Moses had a message
for Pharaoh. The people of Israel were in
captivity in Egypt. They'd been there a long time.
And I'm sure that self-spouse prophets rose up from the ranks
of Israel and went before the judges and went before Pharaoh
and went before various committees and complained about their treatment.
But God honored Moses' visit. God sent Moses to Pharaoh. God sent Moses to speak. to Pharaoh
and to tell him to let my people go. When Eli's sons offered strange
fire in the worship of the Lord, the people saw it. Some of their
friends knew about it, I'm sure. A lot of people said, that's
not right, they shouldn't do that. I'm sure that some of the
people came to Eli and said, Eli, you ought not permit your
sons to live like that and to minister about the tabernacle
in that fashion. But it wasn't until Samuel came
with the message that God acted. Samuel came because God sent
Samuel to Eli. God appeared to Samuel and he
said, say to Eli, shall be slain for their actions in the worship
of the Lord." Daniel delivered God's message to Belshazzar.
John the Baptist came, John the Baptist spoke to Israel, and
John the Baptist had a word for Herod. Herod was confronted with
the word of God from the lips of John the Baptist. Turn to
2 Corinthians chapter 2. Now this is an important scripture
here. The prophet of God. There's something special about
the message delivered by the prophet of God. There's something
special about the message delivered by the God appointed, God anointed,
God sent man. There was a man sent from God
whose name was John. John came bearing God's message.
Paul, God said, is a chosen vessel. He's a special vessel. I'm sure
a lot of people knew what Paul knew. They could have said what
Paul said, but God didn't send them. God sent Paul. God sent
Philip to the eunuchs. Here in 2 Corinthians 2, it says
in verse 14, which always causeth us to triumph
in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by
us in every place." Read on now. There's something special about
the man God anoints for a particular hour, for a particular time,
for a particular people. You may hear the Word of God
read and the Word of God exhorted and the Word of God taught, by
many mouths and by many voices. But there is a time, there is
a place, there is a particular messenger whom God sends to deliver
his ultimatum. When David had Uriah killed,
a long time passed between that action and the time that Nathan
came and spoke to 400 years of oppression and affliction passed
in Egypt upon Israel till God sent one man, Moses. And he sent
Moses with his message. He confronted Pharaoh with an
ultimatum. And John the Baptist, Herod,
had stolen his brother's wife. He'd lived with her a long time,
but it wasn't until John came, a special particular man, that
God spoke to Herod and drew the line. And here it says in verse
15 of 2 Corinthians 2, we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ,
a sweet smell, a sweet incense in them that are saved and in
them that perish. We've got a message for both
of them. Here's what he's saying in simple language. He says we're
ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Paul said, I am. Barnabas is. Silas is. Mark is. Peter is,
James, John, we're special ambassadors. We've got a message. We've got
a message from God. We're confronting the saved and
those that perish. Now, verse 16. To one, we're
the saver of death unto death. We've got a message to those
who are dying. Dying in sin, dying in rebellion, dying in
unbelief. Death covers them. Death is about
them. And we come to add to their condemnation. Read on. And to the other, we're
the saver of life unto life. The life of God is there, and
we've come to bring more beauty and more power and more mercy
and more understanding. Now look at the next line. Who
is sufficient for these things? I'm not. No man taketh this office
upon himself, but he who is designated, and he who is called, and he
who is sent. No man taketh this office upon
himself. He just can't do it. God chooses
who shall speak for him. He chooses to whom they'll speak,
and He chooses the time they'll speak, and He chooses the message.
And if God's man, if God's prophet, if God's preacher comes to you
and crosses your path, that's God dealing with you. And to
those who live, it's a savor of life unto life, and to those
that perish, well, they've turned down God's message. They've turned
down God's message. They've refused God's warning.
Now, one of the dangers of the day in which we're living is
there's too many voices claiming to speak for God. There's a clamor
and a rattling all about us of voices that are claiming to speak
for God, and the people are in confusion. And we're going to
have to be careful to try the spirits and determine who's speaking. Is the man speaking for God?
Is this God being with me? Is this God's message? We're
going to have to be careful and prayerful. Lord, don't let me
turn a deaf ear, get in the habit of turning a deaf ear to preachers
and turn a deaf ear to your preacher. Don't get me in the habit and
in the in the custom of just turning off anything religious
and find myself turning off thy message when it comes. Now the matters with which the
prophets are dealing are eternal. Turn to Luke chapter 12. There's
no question about it. God said to Isaiah, you say to
the righteous, Isaiah, not just anybody say to the righteous,
Isaiah, you say it. David doubted the man, but there
was only one man who could deliver that message and mean anything,
and that was Nathan. Let my people go. Why, he should
have let the people go years ago, but there was just one man
who could come with that message and it be effectual, and that
was Moses. And here in Luke chapter 12,
the things that the prophet of God is dealing with, the thing
that he is dealing with is not natural, it's eternal. Look at Luke chapter 12 now,
beginning with verse 13. And one of the company said unto
him, Master, this talking to the Lord Jesus, speak to my brother
that he divide the inheritance with me. And Christ said to him,
Man, who hath made me a judge, a material judge or a divider
over you? And he said unto him, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in
the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a
parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? I have no room where to bestow
my fruits. He said, This will I do. I'll
pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow
my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, So,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease,
eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. And then who
shall these things be which thou hast provided? So is he that
layeth up pleasure for himself, and is not rich for God." We're
not talking about material things. We're not dealing in material
things. God's prophet, God's messenger is dealing with your
soul, your relationship with God Almighty. What shall it profit
a man if he gained the whole world and lose his soul? So there's a messenger, and there
is a God-sent prophet, whom I believe will cross the path of those
for whom God's got a message. There'll be a lot of voices,
there'll be a lot of pleas, there'll be a lot of calls, there'll be
a lot of commands, but there'll be a time, like the woman at
the well when Christ crossed her path, like Zachary Keyes
up a tree when God crossed his path. like the Ethiopian eunuch
riding in the chariot when God crossed his path, like David
sitting on his throne thinking all is well till God crossed
his path. There is a time, there is a place,
there is a prophet, there is a preacher sent from God who
will bring you God's message, and this is God's message. Turn
to Isaiah 3, my text. This is God's message generally. In Isaiah 3, verse 10, you say,
to the righteous. This is your message to the righteous.
You say to the righteous that it shall be well with them. Now to whom are we speaking?
To the righteous. Well, they're not righteous in
themselves. Paul wrote in Romans 3.10, there's
none righteous. No, not one. There's none good,
no, not one. Here's a scripture you need to
read for yourself, Isaiah 64. You need to read this carefully.
Say to the righteous, who are the righteous? They're not righteous
in themselves. Look at Isaiah 64, verse 6. We're all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are filthy rags. Even our righteousnesses
are filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities,
like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah cried himself when
he saw the holiness of God, Woe is me! I am undone, I am a man
of unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. David said, My sin is ever before me. They're not righteous
in themselves, God says to the prophets, say ye to the righteous.
Well, Lord, there's none righteous. There's none good. Say ye to
the righteous, but Lord, our righteousness is our filthy rag. Say ye to the righteous, but
my sin is ever before me. To whom is this message directed? I'll tell you, turn to Romans
chapter 10. Here it is right here, Romans
the tenth chapter. Paul is speaking here of Israel,
and he says, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is that they might be saved. But I bear them record,
they have a zeal of God, but it's not according to knowledge.
For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the holiness and righteousness of God. is the end or goal of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believe it. Say to the righteous,
they're not righteous in themselves, but their righteousness and their
holiness is Christ. Being in Christ by faith, being
in Christ by grace, being in Christ by God's mercy makes them
righteous. Philippians chapter 3, the Apostle
Paul talks about his own, his own standing before God, and
he says in Philippians the third chapter, in verse 7, "...what
things were gained to me I count lost." for Christ. Doubtless
I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things. I do count them but dumb that I may win Christ
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which
is of the law. But I want to have that righteousness
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God." Say to the man in Christ, say to the man in Christ,
it shall be well. Turn with me to Romans 5 verse
19. Here's a further declaration
of this righteousness. In Romans chapter 5 verse 19,
by one man's disobedience we were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall we be made righteous. say ye to the
righteous." They're not righteous in themselves. They are the first
to admit it. Their righteousness is Christ.
His holiness, His obedience, His perfect work, that's our
righteousness. And you can say to everyone in
Christ by faith who disclaims any righteousness of his own,
who rests only in Christ, you can say to him, shall be well."
Now, as I studied this message and looked carefully at it, I
thought, well, it shall be well for him when? It shall be well
for him how? And as I thought about it, I
thought of five areas in my life where I'm most concerned. Five
areas. Oh, there are many. There are
ten thousand, but here are five I think, under which all of them
can be grouped. First of all, the thing about
which I am concerned greatly, the thing that concerns me all
the time, is my sin. My sins, O the bliss of that
glorious thought, my sins, not in part but the whole, are nailed
to the cross. and I bear them no more, it is
well, it is well with my soul." The true servant of God has been
commissioned to say to the righteous, those in Christ, not to those
who are self-righteous, but to those whose righteousness is
the Son of God. He has been commissioned to say
to them, it will be well in regard to your sins. If you'll turn
with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, I want you to look
at this scripture. Hebrews, the 10th chapter, and
let me read verses 12 through 17. Hebrews, chapter 10, beginning
with verse 12. Now listen to it. This man, talking
about Christ, Hebrews 10, verse 12. This man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us. For after that he said before,
This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my law in their hearts, and in their minds
will I write them, and their sins and their sins. Do your sins concern you? If
they don't, you're a fool. Do your sins trouble you? If
they don't, you're a fool. Are you concerned about your
sins? Can you say with David, Oh, my
sin is ever before me. John said, If any man say he
hath no sin, he's a liar. If we say we have not sinned,
we make God a liar. David said, Happy is the man
to whom God will not charge sin. Sin is the most important area
of your life as far as your communion with God is concerned, for doesn't
the scripture say, Your sins have separated you and your God?
Isn't that what it says? Didn't Christ say, If you die
in your sins, you cannot come where I am? Sin is the problem. And he says here, their sins
will I remember no more. Say to the righteous, it will
be well with him, for thy sins will I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, of what? Of sin. There's no more offering
for sin. You don't have to make another
offering. Christ made the You don't have to offer another sacrifice.
Christ offered the sacrifice. Your sins are put away. Though
they be as scarlet, I'll make them white as snow. Though they
be red like crimson, I'll make them as wool. Look at the next
verse. Therefore, Bradley, we have boldness to enter into the
holiness. Why? Because our sins have been
put away. That's the thing that threw Adam
out of the garden, sins. That's the thing that destroyed
the world in Noah's day, sin. That's the thing that's come
between you and me and God, sin. Now if we can do something about
sin, we can once again come boldly into the presence of God. That's
the reason why I think of any area of my life, the first thing
that I've got to think about, sin. If the sin is there, no
communion. If the sin is gone, blessed fellowship. If we walk in the light as he
is in the light, we have fellowship with God in the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleansed from all sin. Say to the righteous,
say to the man who's in Christ, say to him who trusts in the
Savior, that his sins I'll remember no more. It'll be well with him.
I'll go to Jesus, though my sins like mountains round me roll,
I know his courts I'll enter in, whatever may oppose. I'll tell him I'm a rich unborn
without his sovereign grace." The second area of my life that
concerns me, and it's in this order, my sins first, I want God's prophet, God should
have come to me with God's message, and I want him to speak a good
word about my sins, don't you? I don't want him to come to me
with a law and tell me that I've got to do thus and so, and then
it will be all right because I can't do thus and so. I want
him to come with some good news, with a gospel which declares
my sins. And iniquities God will remember
no more. Now here's the second area, and
that is trials. This life is a series of trials. I'm no more out of one, I'm in
another. There's really not much here to make a man happy. Summing it all up, there's not
much here to make a man glad. Now really, that's so and you
know it. Our trials increase, our troubles increase. Well,
God says, you go to the righteous and get to the righteous. In
his trials it will be well. Because, turn to Romans 8, because
our Lord declares in the 8th chapter of Romans, verse 28, that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. Now, if this afternoon I get
some good news, make me happy, I can look up to heaven and say,
Thank you, Father. I know this will work out for
my good and for your glory. If this afternoon I get some
unfortunate news, I have to also look up to the Heavenly Father
and say this too, we'll work together for my good and for
thy glory. If next week is a week of health
and happiness, then I praise God for his providential care
and for supplying my need and for working that together for
my good. If next week is a week of happiness and loss and failure,
I know that my God controls all things, that he's sovereign and
that whatever comes to pass in my life is for his glory and
for mine." Say to the righteous, whether he's in the valley or
on the mountaintops, say to him, it'll be well. Say to the righteous,
whether he's in tears or whether he's in laughter, it'll be well. Say to the righteous, whether
he's old in people or whether he's young and strong, it'll
be well, it's all right. God's on the throne, I'll never
leave you, I'll never forsake you. Joseph said to his brethren,
his brethren had sold him into slavery, he had been thrown in
a pit, he had been sold into slavery, he had been thrown into
jail, he had done all these things. Finally his brothers came before
him, and Joseph didn't look at them and say, I went through
misery for years, I went through weeks of suffering and torture
because of you. You will pay for it now. Joseph
didn't say that. He said, you meant it for evil,
but God meant it for good. And it all worked out in God's
providence and God's plan for my good and for your good. And
what you did, you did with an evil heart. But even the wrath
of man will praise the Lord. God works even the evil intentions
of man to accomplish his purpose and his glory and the good of
his people. God's not asleep. All right,
the third area in which I'm vitally concerned is death. I confess
unto you I didn't used to think of death very, very much. My mind didn't dwell on it. It doesn't dwell on it now. It
does occasionally think about it more than it used to. I'm much closer to death than
I ever have been before, and really death won't be long coming. I have lived five sets of my
life. That's most of it. If I'm promised
three score and ten years, that's That's 70 years. I've lived 50
of them almost. I've got 20 more. Death is coming. Death is coming. It won't be
long. But God said, you say to the righteous in the day of death,
it'll be well. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. God's with
me. God's with me. My Lord said,
I'm the resurrection and the life. He that liveth and believeth
on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." And then there's the area of
judgment. After death, it's appointed unto me and wants to die, and
then what? The day of accounting, the day of judgment. Christ said,
"...before him shall be gathered all nations." I don't think the
belief is going to escape judgment. I believe we're going to be there.
Scripture says it, the book shall be opened, and the dead shall
be judged out of the book. Every man shall give an account
of himself to God. But brethren, I'm convinced,
I'm persuaded that at the judgment, every believer is going to have
a personal, powerful, perfect representative. He's going to
be one who pleads his cause. Standing before the judgment
bar of God shall be the Lord Jesus Christ, who will plead
not our righteousness, we have none, but plead His. Who will
plead not our obedience, but His. Not our faithfulness, but
His. Not our commitment, but His.
Not our submission, but His. There's one God and one Mediator
between. I want Christ between me and
God. I don't want to deal with absolute
God. I don't want to deal with Elohim. I want Christ the Mediator
to plead my cause, make it right with the Father. And our Lord
says, you say to the righteous, in judgment it will be well. And then the fifth area, there
in Matthew 25. I gave this some thought, and
I think it comes right along I think all of you can join right
with me here. Say to the righteous, you've
got a message, you preacher, you prophet, you center of God,
you've got a message for the righteous. You say to him. He's
worried about his sins. You say to him, it'll be all
right. His sins concern him. I don't care who you are. I don't
care how long you've been a Christian. I don't care how faithful you
are. I don't care how much you love the Lord. Your sins bother
you, don't they? Well, you say it'll be all right.
And I don't care how strong a man he is in Christ, there are times
he says, Lord, why? In trial and trouble, Lord, I'm
tired of it, I'm tired of it. Why? Won't you let up a little
while? Why don't things break my way
once in a while? Why does it still go through
all this valley? You say, it'll be all right.
He won't suffer you to be tempted any more than you can bear. God
knows how tight you can stretch that rubber band. And God won't
put more on you than you can carry. He is grace-efficient. You tell him it's going to be
all right. And then he's concerned about death. He knows he's got
to die. He hasn't been through that valley.
And it troubles him and it worries him. You say to him, it'll be
all right. God will give grace, dying grace, just like he gave
living grace. Then he thinks about that awful
day of judgment, when he shall stand before God, and he's got
nothing to present, save to him Christ's got it all. He'll present
it. Then in Matthew 25, verse 46, listen to this, "...and these
shall go away in everlasting punishment." but the righteous
unto life eternal. How long is everlasting? How
long is eternity? How dreadful it would be, and
I tremble honestly, how dreadful it would be to be without hope,
without light, without love, without God for eternity. I don't want to spend eternity
in hell, do you? I don't want to. I don't want
to be in that crowd that says it will go away into everlasting
punishment. Well, you say to the righteous,
you say to the man in Christ, I've got no right to say to anybody
else. I've got no right to go into this world and say, smile,
God loves you. That's not my message. My message
is, say to the righteous, it will be well. I can say to him,
God loves He's not righteous in himself, Christ is his righteousness. He has no righteousness of his
own, he disclaims even that he's a saint. But God gives him that
title in Christ. You say to the man enfolded in
Christ, you say to the man by faith in Christ, you say to the
man who is clothed in the righteousness of Christ, you say to him, and
say it to anybody else, you say to him, it'll be well. It will
be well in sin, it will be well in trial, it will be well in
death, it will be well in judgment, it will be well in eternity.
It will be all right. But we've got another message,
and I want to close with it. He said, You say to the wicked,
it will be ill with him. The Bible has but one message
for the unbeliever, and that message is condemnation. The
Bible only has one message for the unbeliever. The scripture
says, he believeth not on the Son, the wrath of God abideth
on him. The scripture says, he that believeth
not the record that hath given shall never see life. Now you
say to him, it will be ill with him. What about his sins? Well, the law of God condemns
him. The law of God condemns him. There was a boy out on a
battlefield, I read about a few years ago, he'd been wounded.
And the medics found him and they brought him to the tent.
And the doctor looked at him and he said, there's not anything
that can be done for this boy, just make him comfortable. Called
the chaplain, let him talk to him. So they went and got the
chaplain, brought him in. The boy was laughing and choking
and dying. And the chaplain bent over and
said, son, is there anything I can do for you? And I looked
up with bleary, dying eyes, and this is what he said, Chaplain,
not a thing you can do, but I wish there was somebody who could
undo some things. I wish there was somebody who
could undo some things. What about your sins? What about
your sins? I think the day is coming when
you will wish there was somebody who could undo some things. And
I say to the wicked, what about your trials and disappointments?
You have them, you may laugh and joke about them, but they're
real to you and you know it. All these things work together
not for your good. You're not called according to
God's purpose. You don't love Christ. You can't claim that
promise. I run up on preachers and how dishonest preachers are.
Oh, how dishonest so many of them are. They go to the funeral
of an unsaved man, an unbeliever, a man dying in rebellion against
God, and they stand up and read all things work together for
good. That's dishonest. My friend, everything in the
universe is working together for the condemnation and the
damnation of every unbeliever. There's no direction in the life
of the unbeliever, there's no purpose and there's no plan,
and there's no providential sovereign hand to guide it. You're just
going on a toboggan ride to hell, and everything that happens to
you happens for your condemnation. We don't have any message of
comfort. We have a message which says, it shall be ill with him. Say to the wicked, it shall be
ill to him. You go in a room where a Christian
is dying, you can go in a room where there's no wallpaper on
the wall, just those old tongue-in-groove boards. There's nothing but rough
splinters on the floor, where there's an old saggy bed that's
been there for years, and so where some poor old woman is
sitting in a rocking chair with a dirty dress on, and an old
man is lying in a bed, dying. But if there's faith in Christ
in that room, if that man's dying in Christ, you can say, blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord. Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. God is there. God's blessing
is there. God's presence is there. But
you can go to the finest home in the city, You can go where
three or four doctors have come because of a man's wealth and
prestige and influence. You can go where all the neighbors
are standing around the lawn and others are on the telephone
and a man is lying in a canopy surrounded by gold and silver
and precious stone. You can go where the families,
they're all of them dressed in the finery of this world. You
can go into that room where the unbeliever dies with all the
things of the world about you. But you can't write where God
writes cursed. cursed are the dead who die outside
of Christ. God's curse and wrath. Say to
the wicked, it'll be ill. When he comes to die, he may
be surrounded by the comforts of this world, but awaiting him
are the discomforts of eternity. What about judgment? No mediator,
no priest, no one to plead your case. You come before God alone. And that will be the loneliest
loneliness that you'll ever see when you stand before God alone. When Christ cried out on Calvary's
mountain, he never cried out. He withstood all the persecution
and mocking and hatred and spittle and nails, everything that earth
and hell could dish out. When the Heavenly Father turned
his back, the powerful Son of God cried out, My God, why hast
thou forsaken me? And when a man who has rejected
the gospel and resisted the warnings and rejected the message of salvation,
when he stands at the judgment, he can't call on his infidel
friends, he can't call on his family, he can't call on the
He can't call on the priest. He's alone! He's alone! He's got to know Christ, or he's
alone. He's got to have a relationship
with Christ, or he's alone. If a man sins against God, who's
going to stand for him, huh? I get worried about folks who
are only religious when they're with the religious. I get worried
about folks who are only prayerful when they're with the praying.
I get worried about folks who are only pious when they're with
the pious. We're going to have to have a
personal living union with Christ. Is he now your mediator? Then
he'll be then. Is he now your friend? He will
be then. If he now your advocate, he will
be then. If he now your vine, your head,
your life, he will be then. If he is not now, he won't be
then, and you'll be alone. And say to the wicked in judgment,
it'll be ill with him. It's going to be bad. It's going
to be bad. No mediator. What about eternity? The voice of God comes down through
the Down through judgment, bind him hand and foot, and cast him
into hell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Say to the wicked, It will be ill." Number 242. 242. Say it please. Out of my bondage, sorrow, and
night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come, into thy freedom, gladness,
and light. Jesus, I come to thee out of
my sickness into thy health, out of my woes and into thy wealth,
out of my sin and into thyself. Jesus, I come to Thee