back with me to Isaiah chapter
40. While you're turning there, let
me remind all of us tonight that the prophet Isaiah lived some
600 years before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet,
of all the Old Testament prophets, he is known as the most evangelical. That is, that God enabled him
and inspired him to write about the Savior and His saving work. In the first two verses of this
chapter, God commanded Isaiah, comfort ye, comfort ye my people. That is, Jerusalem, the church
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And comfort them with this knowledge. And this is the knowledge that
comforts every child of God, and that is, her warfare was
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. Comfort ye, comfort
ye, my people. Now the verses we're going to
look at this evening, verses three through 11, these verses
speak of the Messiah, that is of Christ, and the ministry of
those who he calls to preach the gospel. First, we see the
ministry of John the Baptist, verses three and four. The voice
of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall
be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. This is, of course, speaking
of John the Baptist, the voice which crieth in the wilderness. And I want you to hold your places
here, please, but turn with me to Matthew chapter three. Many
people have pointed out that in our Bibles, we have 66 books,
39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. And in
the book of Isaiah, we have 66 chapters, 39 chapters. And now we've come to the 40th
and it begins speaking of John the Baptist. who we know introduced
in the New Testament the coming of the Lord Jesus, his forerunner. Here in Matthew chapter three,
I want us to read a few verses here. The scripture there in Isaiah
said, the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Matthew chapter
three, verse one. In those days came John the Baptist,
preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that
was spoken by the prophet Esaias. Now, that's the Greek spelling
of the word Isaiah, Esaias. This is he that was spoken of
by the prophet Isaiah. That's our text there in Isaiah
chapter 40. saying, the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
path straight. And the same John had his raiment
of camel's hair and a leather girdle about his loins and his
meat was locust and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem
and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan and were baptized
of him in Jordan confessing their sins. But when he saw many of
the Pharisees and the Sadducees come to his baptism, he said
unto them, all generation of vipers, who hath warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits
meet for repentance, and think not to say within yourselves,
we have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you that God is
able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And
now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Therefore,
every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down
and cast into the fire. Our text tells us the voice of
him that crieth in the wilderness. This is, of course, speaking
of John the Baptist. In the first chapter of the Gospel
of John, We read there that some of the religious rulers, the
Pharisees, they sent a delegation out to John because he was baptizing
in the wilderness. He was preaching and baptizing
in the wilderness. And so a delegation, these were
not just common run of the mill Pharisees. These were people
who were listed in the who's who. of Judaism, and they sent
a delegation out to John and asked him this question, who
art thou? Who art thou? And what sayest
thou of thyself? Now listen to his answer. He
answered, I, who are you? I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. So first of all tonight in these
verses we have the ministry of John the Baptist. Now two questions. Two questions. First of all,
what does it mean the valleys will be exalted and the mountains
and hills will be made low? Well, no one understands that
these words are to be taken literally. We understand that these are
metaphorically they are to be understood. And they both, the
valleys and the mountains, they both are representative of those
who the Lord Jesus Christ came to minister to, and to whom John
the Baptist was ministering. The valleys, a valley is a low
spot, and the valleys are representative of those who are, now listen,
because of their sins, they're made low. They're like a valley. The Lord Jesus Christ, remember
this text in Matthew chapter 11, he said, come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden. And then in the Sermon on the
Mount, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. So the valleys are representative
of people who are weighted down, who are laboring because of the
weight of their sins. And then the mountains are representative
of those who see themselves as needing no savior, having no
problems. And did you not notice how John
the Baptist leveled those mountains that came out to him? We read
it there in Matthew chapter three, those Pharisees and the Sadducees,
how he leveled those mountains down. Because, you see, they
were haughty, they were proud. Well, listen, we are the children
of Abraham. We don't have any problems. We
don't have any needs. What did John the Baptist say?
God's able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
The ax is laid to the root of the tree. He's leveling these
mountains. The message is to level these
mountains. No one, listen, no one ever looks
to Christ, no one ever comes to Christ who is not needy. No one. No one ever turns to
Christ until that person is made to understand their need and
to feel their need because of the guilt of their sins. What is meant then by the crooked
made straight? and the rough places plain. The
Old Testament prophecies, many of them we would consider to
be dark and not easy to understand concerning the Messiah, but they
were all clarified by His coming, by the fulfillment of these prophecies. Now, those crooked places are
made straight. We can see, we can see exactly
what the prophet was talking about, what he was prophesying
of. The crooked is made straight
and the rough places are made plain. Our Lord said this one
day, He said, for I tell you, now He's speaking to a group
of people, For I tell you that many prophets and kings have
desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them. To them it was crooked, to them
it was not straight. Many, he said, prophets and prophets,
prophets of God, and kings like David and Solomon, holy men,
men of God. have desired to see those things
which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things
which you hear, and have not heard them. The crooked things
are made straight, and the rough places plain." I want you to
look in 1 Peter with me. In 1 Peter chapter 1, this is,
I'm sure you have noticed this before, but let me remind us
of this. In 1 Peter chapter 1. Beginning in verse 8, Peter is writing to believers,
to those who have been saved by the grace of God, and he tells
them, Whom have ye not seen? You never have seen the Lord
Jesus Christ with these physical eyes. You've seen him with the
eye of faith if you're saved. But he says, Whom have ye not
seen? You love. in whom, though now you seem
not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls. Now listen, watch this. Of which
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you? searching
these prophets. They did the prophesying, but
they were searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of
Christ, which was in them, did signify when it testified beforehand
the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed that
not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the
gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
which things," notice this, the angels desire to look into. Not only those prophets prophesied,
and they didn't understand themselves much about the suffering and
the glory of the Messiah. And even the holy angels, the
apostle Peter tells us here, that they desire to look into
these things. So that's the first part, the
ministry of John the Baptist. Now go back with me to Isaiah
chapter 40. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, verse 5. And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed. Jesus Christ is the glory of
the Lord. Jesus Christ is the glory of
the Lord. Hebrews chapter 1. And verses
one and two, the apostle said, God hath in these last days spoken
unto us in his son, now listen, who, that is Jesus Christ, the
God man, who is the brightness of his glory. The glory of the
Lord shall be revealed. And that is referenced in speaking
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, here's
another verse that tells us the same thing. 2 Corinthians 4 and
verse 6, speaking of those who are saved. Now this is your testimony. If you are saved tonight, this
is what happened to you. Not because you're so smart.
Not because you are better than anyone else. Oh no. That's not
the way sinners are saved. No, for God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, way back there in Genesis chapter
one, God said, light be, and light was. He commanded the light
to shine out of darkness. That same God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts. He
shined in our hearts. to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In other words,
in the person of Jesus Christ, we see the glory of God. And
we do so because God commanded the light to shine in our hearts.
A lot of people, they say, well, I don't understand why You want
to preach about Christ all the time, and why the scriptures
are written to reveal Christ and Him alone, and why He is
so important to believers? Why? Because Christ is our life,
my friends. There is no life, there is no
salvation apart from Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father. but by me, but
by me. And we see the glory of God in
the person of Jesus Christ, how it is that God may be just and
justifier of the ungodly. John 1 in verse 14, what am I
saying? The scripture here said, the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And the glory of the Lord is
Jesus Christ. In John chapter 1 in verse 14,
John said, the Word, the Word who was in the beginning with
God, the Word who is God, the Word became flesh and we beheld
His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed. This speaks, of course, of the Lord Jesus Christ and
His gospel. You cannot separate the two.
Christ is the gospel. There is no gospel apart from
Christ. He is the gospel. The glory of
the Lord is revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. That
is how God is glorified. How He is glorified in saving
sinners. How mercy and truth met together
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Now notice the text here in Isaiah,
verse 5. And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed. The Lord Jesus Christ shall be
revealed. And notice all flesh shall see
it together. Now what is meant there by all
flesh? Jew and Gentile. That's what it's meant. Jew and
Gentile. And we know that this was sure
to take place. Notice what he said, for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken it. All of God's purposes are sure. All of God's purposes shall be
accomplished. And the mouth of the Lord has
spoken it. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed and all flesh, both Jew and Gentile, shall see it. Yes, all of his purposes shall be
fulfilled. The third thing that I point
out to us here is, first of all, the ministry of John the Baptist,
the glory of the Lord revealed, and now thirdly, the ministry
of God's ministers, the ministry of God's ministers in verses
6 through 11. The voice said cry. Now the voice
here in verse 6 is not the same voice in verse 3. That's obvious,
isn't it? The voice in verse 3 is John
the Baptist. He's that voice crying in the
wilderness. But now this voice is the voice
of the Lord speaking to Isaiah and to the apostles, to the prophets,
to all of those that God calls to preach. Cry. The voice of the Lord said, cry. John Gill said that this is equivalent
to Matthew 28 and Mark 16. In other words, what we call
the Great Commission. Cry. Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. Teach all nations, as those two
passages tell us. Now, let me show us what I see
here, three truths that God commands His ministers to proclaim. You
see, the voice said, cry. And the man of God, the minister,
the prophet said, what shall I cry? What's my message? What's my message? Here it is. And I say these three things.
Number one, the inability of all men. All flesh is grass. The inability of all men. All flesh is as grass and all
the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." The
ability of man to please God by our works is as weak, probably
weaker, than the grass of the field. Our best works, our so-called
righteousnesses, are no better than the flowers of the field. They're here today and they're
gone tomorrow. So then the apostle Paul said,
they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Cannot please God. That's not a, may not please
God. Perhaps he cannot please God?
No. They that are in the flesh, those
who try to earn their way, pay their way, merit their way to
salvation? No. It's impossible. They that are in the flesh cannot
please God. All flesh is as grass. The inability, that's what I
see here, inability Some people refer to that as depravity, and
that's true, isn't it? The depravity of man doesn't
mean that every man is as bad as he can be. Not every man is
a child molester, not every man is a Hitler, oh no. Not every
man is as bad as he can be, but every man's condition is as bad
as it possibly can be when we come into this world. We're just
like the grass out there in the field. As far as pleasing God. That's just so. Here's the second thing. Here's
your message, Isaiah. Here's your message, preacher,
all the way down to today in the 21st century. Here's your
message. What shall I preach? Cry. God said, get up to the mountains
and cry, speak. Cry aloud. Preach in all the
world, but what shall I preach? Number one, all flesh is as grass,
and the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. Now
the second thing I see here that we are to cry, the preciousness
of the word of God. Look in the last part of verse
eight. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but here it is, the preciousness of the word of God. And I'm talking
about this, the written word of God. But the word of God,
the word of our God shall stand forever. The word of our God
shall stand forever. You recognize that one main target
of Satan has always been the Word of God. The Word of God. In the beginning, when he came
there in the garden, what was his first word? Yea! Hath God
said? Hath God said? The Word of God. Hath God said? His main target
has always been the Word of God. Now what I see, and you see this
too, what we see in our day, we see churches today that embrace
habits and conduct that is clearly, I mean a man, even a blind man
could see this. We see that churches today are
embracing and condoning and excusing things that the word of God clearly
says is sinful and evil. That's God's word. Now, I've
been around for a little while, and this is what I have seen. Most of these churches which
embrace and accept these things that God clearly condemns, they
didn't come to this point overnight. They came slowly to this point. And the first point, the first
edging a wave, was to deny the inspiration of the Word of God. That's where it begins. To deny
that this is the Word of Almighty God that shall stand forever. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but not God's Word. They began to deny the inspiration
of the word of God. I've told you before about traveling
that time years ago with a bishop of the Methodist Church of Southeast
Texas, and him telling me that they did not believe that all
of the scripture was inspired of God. And you know that's so. I'm not just picking on the Methodists,
there's Baptists that believe the same thing. But this is where
it all begins. when men began to deny the inspiration
of the word of God and they set themselves up as judges to pick
and choose which part they believe is inspired and which part is
relevant to us. All of God's word is relevant. Always, all of God's word is
relevant. I want you to look in Psalm back
in Psalm 119 for just a second. Psalm 119. And verse 130. And this is the truth
about God's word. The entrance of thy words giveth
light. We're all familiar with the expression
The light went on. You know, you're looking at something,
you're trying to understand something, you can't quite see it, and then
all of a sudden, the light goes on. It's God's Word, the entrance
of God's Word into the hearts of men that gives light. And apart from the entrance of
His Word, there's nothing but darkness. Darkness. Now, The Apostle Peter, and I'll
ask you, you don't need to turn here, but in 1 Peter 1, you see
where the text here in Isaiah says, but the word of our God
shall stand forever. Peter quotes that, but he adds
to it. 1 Peter 1, in verses 23, he said,
being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible By
the word of God, and here's the passage from Isaiah, which liveth
and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and
all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth,
the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth
forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. has chosen to use his word, his
written word, in calling and saving his people. Now here's the third part. What
shall I cry? Number one, the inability of
all men. Number two, the preciousness
of the word of God. Number three, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the God-man mediator. Behold your God. This is the message. Behold your
God. The gospel, the good tidings,
is to be preached from the mountains. It is to be taken into all the
world. The scripture here says, verse
10, Behold, the Lord God will come. And He did come. He did come. He came into this
world born of a virgin, the Lord your God shall come. He did come
and notice it says he will come with strong hand and his arms
shall rule for him. He came with a strong hand and
this tells us of the power, the power that he needed for the
work which he came to do. In his prayer, his high priestly
prayer in John 17, he said, Father, I finished the work which thou
gavest me to do. It takes, it took power to do
the work, to finish the work which the Father gave him to
do. Number one, to glorify thee on the earth. The first man,
Adam, failed to glorify God. He disobeyed God. the second
man, the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, both of these men,
representative men, he glorified the Father. I have finished the
work which thou gavest me to do, I have glorified thee on
the earth. It took power, it took strength. It took strength, he came with
power. with a strong hand. The work,
not only was to glorify God, but it was, well I should say,
in glorifying God, the work was first of all to fulfill all the
law. Every jot and every tittle. The
law was magnified and made honorable by Jesus Christ. But not only
to fulfill the law, But he had to bring in an everlasting righteousness. He fulfilled the law, but he
also had to suffer the penalty of that broken law. He had to
bear its curse. He came into this world to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself and to bring in an everlasting
righteousness. He came with a strong arm to
do the work which the Father had given him to do. Now some
of the writers, let me just say this, some of the writers tell
us that this could be translated, he shall come against a strong
one. He shall come against a strong
one. And you remember that he himself,
Jesus Christ, he himself referred to the devil as a strong man
armed. And he did come to destroy the
works of the devil, and he conquered him at the cross. When we see
him here with all of his strength, the glory of the Lord, all of
his power, but notice also we see him in all of his tenderness
as a shepherd. As a shepherd, he will feed his
flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs in
his arm, carry them in his bosom. The weak he carries, he draws them, brings
them to himself. And he gently leads those that
are the most needful, those with young. Whatever the need is,
he gently leads his sheep. And thank God, my friends, We
see how tender, how caring, how protective he is of his flock,
so that not one shall be lost. Not one shall be lost. There's a hymn in our hymn book.
There were 99 safe in the fold. And I can't quote this exactly,
but, are they not enough for thee, 99? Isn't that enough? Oh, no. Oh,
no. There's one lost sheep out there.
And the shepherd goes until he finds that sheep. He's not going
to stop searching till he finds that sheep. And he picks up the
sheep. Puts it on his arms, strength,
power, carries him all the way home. May the Lord bless his word,
all of us here tonight. Let's sing this hymn, Look and
Live. Look and Live, 195. Let's stand as we sing.