You have your Bibles. Turn, please,
to Isaiah chapter 2. Isaiah chapter 2. We're going
to look at verses 1 through 5. The title of the message is In
the Last Days. In the Last Days. Isaiah chapter
2. The word that Isaiah, the son
of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now the word and
the word vision are the same often in the Old Testament when
it says without a vision the people perish. It means without
the word the people perish. So this word was given to the
prophet concerning the days of the Messiah. And it shall come
to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house
shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be
exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow into it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and
he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his path. For
out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the
nations, and shall rebuke many people. And they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nations
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and
let us walk in the light of the Lord. Thank the Lord. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven,
we come in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom this as all other passages
of Scripture speaks in one form or another, but especially this
great tale and story that you gave Isaiah, the word, the vision
of the future of the church of the living God with Christ as
her head. We know that this was given if
the first part or prior to the Babylonian captivity, where during
that time of great trial and oppression and sorrow and anguish
of heart, where men were stripped of who they were, where families
were divided, where tribes were lost as far as who they were,
that the one theme that carried them through was this blessed
consideration of the coming Messiah. And here is an example. We have,
Father, we thank you for it. Father, as we look at this passage
of Scripture tonight, give us grace to see and to rejoice in
what we truly know is ours this very hour. We pray for those
of our company who are sick and lost loved ones. We ask the Lord
your help for them. Pray especially for Henry and
Wayne and Laverne and Robert as he's falling again. We pray
that you'd bring him back to good measure of health. For Jenny,
the others who requested prayer we ask lord you'd continue to
minister to them bless them strengthen them in jesus christ pray also
for elita she's got these extra things that are coming up on
her now and taking care of her mom and all the other responsibilities
that you would bless her and harley as they endeavor to do
what's necessary give them strength and encouragement we pray father
now father we pray that you would help us to worship you cause
us indeed to do so as we consider the glory and the beauty that
is before us in this passage of Scripture. Encourage our hearts. Warm our hearts toward Thee.
Cause us to love each other and love You supremely. And be thankful
that You included us in the great plan of salvation. We bless You,
Father, for it, in Christ's name. Amen. Now the word of the Lord that
came to Isaiah came with this phrase included here, in the
last days. Now there can be no doubt that
the prophet is speaking of the time of the Messiah. The time
of the Messiah is called the Gospel Age that commenced with
the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ and will end with his
triumphant return to make all things new. It is also called
the millennial or the millennium Now some people have the millennium
as a particular thousand-year period of time, but if you read
in Isaiah where the thousand years are mentioned, it's actually
thousands of years. Thousands of years rather than
a particular point of 1,000 years. And that thousands of years in
the Revelation represents the time we live in that began with
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the word that comes
to Isaiah concerns Judah. concerns Judah, and the kingdom
of the house of David, and also Jerusalem, the holy city, the
city of peace where God is worshipped in his glory and his majesty.
Now both of those are Old Testament terms. Judah is a tribe, one
of the tribes of Israel. Judah was the kingdom that separated
from the rest of the kingdom, and it was the house of David.
But Judah represents the Messiah. Throughout the New Testament,
we have that designation of the Lord Jesus Christ in reference
to Judah. In Revelation 5, He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In Hebrews chapter 7 and verses
13 and 14 it talks about a priest coming out of a tribe that no
priest ever came out of and it was talking about Jesus Christ
who came out of the tribe of Judah from which no priest ever
came from. In Genesis 43, 9 Judah is said
to be the surety when he made himself surety for the return
of Simeon or Benjamin rather and said that told Joseph, if
I don't bring this lad back, my father will suffer. My father
will suffer because I became surety for the child and I promised
to bring him back, and that's the suretyship representative
of the Lord Jesus Christ in Judah. And then in Galatians chapter
4, we find the mention of Jerusalem. We find it many times in the
New Testament, but it's defined in Galatians chapter 4 as Jerusalem
which is above, which is the mother of us all. And it's the
difference between the earthly Jerusalem, which was now in bondage.
to Jerusalem above which is free, which all the members of the
church are members of Jerusalem." You remember in Revelation 9
when he said, the angels said to John, would you like to see
the bride of Christ? And he said, yes I would. And
he said, Jerusalem came down into his vision, the new city.
And that's a picture of the church of the living God. So when it's
talking about Judah and Jerusalem, it's talking about Jesus Christ
and his church. Jesus Christ and His Church.
Now the prophecy will come to pass, it says in the last days,
and I said that's the gospel age, it says in verse 2, it shall
come to pass. And when it says it shall come
to pass, that means it's going to happen, it's going to take
place according to God's purpose and God's plan. Whatever He has
spoken shall come to pass and none can turn it back. Now what
shall come to pass in those days, which are these days, we can
read this as a contemporary article, if you will, written to the Church
of the Living God. What comes to pass in these days
shall take place in the mountain of the Lord's house. The mountain
of the Lord's house. Now what is that mountain? That
mountain is Zion, the mountain that was mentioned in verse 27
of chapter 1. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts
with righteousness. So the Lord's house is His church. The mountain is Zion, the Lord's
house is His church. Now what is His church? It's
the body of redeemed sinners that make up the household of
faith. the temple, the habitation of God, and it shall be established
in the last days." And it was established as our Lord split
open heaven and came down here to the earth. How it's described
in the scriptures over in Ephesians chapter 2, If you want to turn there in
Ephesians chapter 2, this is how the church is described in
Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19, �Now therefore ye are no
more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints and of the household of God.� God�s house. and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles, and the foundation was the preaching
of Christ to him crucified, and the prophets, for all the law
of the prophets gave witness to Christ, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone, which was laid Metaphorically by Zerubbabel,
the chief cornerstone and the headstone, and with shoutings
of grace, grace unto it. In whom all the building, fitly
framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord, in
whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit. The temple is the church, the
body of Christ, and he is the head of that temple. It shall
be established in the top of the mountains, it says. And this
is said in contrast to the other mountains referred to as hills. It says it shall be established
in the top of the mountains. It shall be exalted above the
hills. Shall be exalted above the hills. These are other mountains also,
but this is said to be the highest mountain, the greatest mountain,
the mountain Zion. but this has two meanings the first is that
the exalted place of the church in the economy of god now we
know as far as the world is concerned the church is not much to it
more and more those who even name the name of christianity
are are are called into question are called bigots and such as
that just read this last week that that uh... that uh... those
uh... chaplains in the army and the
navy and air force and the marines can no longer have preach the
gospel or preach Christian messages because Christianity is a religion
that runs down other people. That's how they put it. And it
might hurt other people's feelings if you preach that. And so the
United States Armed Forces has taken a position even on what
is called Christianity. So generally speaking, in the
world at any given time, the church is a very small insignificant
thing. But our Lord said, a very small remnant shall be saved.
very small remnant shall be saved, and that by the grace of God.
But the church is the main thrust, the high mountain of God's economy
in this world. Zion is actually the place where
the history of the world, according to the salvation of the elect,
is played out in the purpose of God. Now it may not seem like
that, but that's what's happening. Go ahead, you can look at all
the events that go around, you can get yourself involved if
you want to, and that's fine, all that stuff, that's great. what
you want to do, but remember this, everything that's happening
outside the church is happening because the church is established
by God in this world. Everything has to do with Zion. That's the mountain that rises
above all the hills. It's exalted. All things, it
says, of this mountain and this people whom Christ has hid, all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are called according to his purpose. Secondly, this represents
the spiritual status of the church in the world as she, the body
with Christ as her head, is far above principality and powers.
Far above principalities and powers. How so? Principalities
and powers are earthly things. They are below. The children
of God are seated in heavenly places with Jesus Christ. They
operate in a realm that cannot even be seen or understood apart
from a work of grace in a person's heart where God gives a man faith. Far above all the mess that's
going on around is the truth of the Word of God, the predestinated
purpose of God that will bring all things to their appointed
end, and everything down here in this lower level called the
earth and flesh will serve its purpose to honor and glorify
God in one way or another, either in His grace or in His wrath,
but both will serve. Both will serve. It's the place
where the history of the world is made. that's the church. This is the high mountain. It's
exalted above all the other hills. It's important to note in order
to understand what follows in the words that what is going
on in this world is not the view of this context because down
in the latter part of verse 4 you have a phrase that's well known
by people. I think it might even be on the
wall of the United Nations about turning your swords into and
put it into plows. That's a phrase that people use
to sort of set forth that there's going to be this world peace.
Forget that. It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. What
the context here is about the Kingdom of God. And when you
see the Kingdom of God in Scripture in the New Testament, it means
the sovereign ruler of of God's people, the kingdom
of God, the sovereign rule that He has. It's the kingdom of God
and His Christ and the spiritual kingdom residing in a carnal
world. They are in the world but not of the world. In that
kingdom and only in that kingdom do the promise spoken that we
will look at here in a moment apply. Don't try to apply them
outside that tight little concise realm that God calls this remnant
according to the election of grace. The first application
of this fact is seen in the last phrase of verse 2. All nations
shall flow into it. This Zion, this mountain, this
place, this high and lifted up place, this exalted place, this
church of the living God, all nations will flow into it. You
look around you and you say, that can't be so. Seems like
over the years it's become diminished and diminished and nobody wants
anything to do with it. But our Lord declares that in these days,
in the days in which we live, all nations shall flow into this
church. All nations. What does that refer
to? What does that refer to? All nations refer to the elect
out of every nation, chosen in eternity unto salvation, and
some from each nation, tongue, tribe, and people stand as representative
of the nation from which they are chosen. It's like saying
if a person, if there was only one lion left in the world, and
a person was able to save that lion and keep him alive, that
person would have been said of him that he saved the lion. That means he saved all lives
because he saved that one. That's the principle of these
nations. Do all nations flow into it? All nations flow into
the church. We have brothers and sisters in Christ all over
this world. I've had letters and emails from
Afghanistan and not from American soldiers, from Afghanistan people. I had a personal correspondence
with a young man from Nigeria. I have word from Scotland and
Australia. I have people from all over the
world. And so do other preachers of the gospel have people from
all over the world tell them that they believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. All nations flow into this one. All nations, not just
the Jewish nation, but some out of that nation. But all the Gentile
nations flow into this world. For Christ is the desire of all
nations, as it says in Scripture. Those elect will come to Zion. They will come to Zion and they
will seek the Lord's kingdom and His righteousness. And everything
else they need will be taken care of by God. Verse 3 speaks
of the zeal of the church. It says, And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, come ye and let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord and to the house of Jacob. Those who know Christ
have experienced the wonder and the majesty of His grace in the
forgiveness of sins, in being made righteousness by imputation,
want to tell other folks about it, and they want other folks
to know. Now, you know, most of the time when you tell folks,
they don't want to know. Just keep on telling them. But you'll
still want them to know. you know that you'll still want
to know even though they might not want anything to do with
you, you'll still want them. The church invites people to come
to worship the one true God. Come and worship. Where? Come ye, let us go to the mountain
of the Lord, to Zion. To Zion. David said, I was glad
in Psalm 122, I was glad when they said let us go to the house
of the Lord. I was glad. Note well how she is described.
She is described as the house of the God of Jacob. Now that's
an important A turn of phrase here, it's important because
it's used not only in the Old Testament, but it's also used
in the New Testament. Our Lord, often when he talked
to his disciples, talked of God as the God of Jacob. The God
of Jacob, not the God of Israel, which Jacob was renamed after
he wrestled with Christ all night long and was subdued by Christ
and his hip was put out of joint where he would never walk the
same. But he's called the God of Jacob. That's the sweet sound
of grace to the sinner's ears. The church is the hospital for
sinners, for sinners. Jacob, who was he? He was, that
name was, when it was pronounced, was almost like coughing up something
and spitting it out. That was the way it was pronounced.
It was a khakab. It was kind of almost a derision
of sorts. My name, James, is the English version of the word Jacob. My group were called, my history
traces back to the Jacobites in Scotland and Germany. And
we were basically whore thieves, ran out of Scotland and settled
in Germany. But anyway, the word Jacob, that means a supplanter. That means somebody that's sneaky.
Somebody that's always trying to do things with an ulterior
motive, with an ulterior motive. The word means a tricker, one
who tricks people. And we know that he was a mama's
boy. We know that he was a liar. He was the whiner in scripture.
And yet we know also that he was the object of God's love
and grace, God's eternal love and grace. For God said in Romans
chapter nine, from Malachi chapter three, Jacob have I loved. And
Esau have I hated. Now if we were to find somebody
we wanted to hang around with, it would much rather be Esau.
He was a hunter. He was a strong guy. He was a
man's man. He knew how to make venison stew. He was all right. Jacob, we wouldn't
want to hang around with him. We'd just say, that's the finest,
no good son of a gun I've ever seen. God said, I loved him.
And then when he said he loved him, he loved him all eternity.
He's the God of Jacob. because we are all Jacob's. Jacob is the exemplar of the
recipient of God's grace. And more often than not, this
is how the Lord refers to himself in scripture as the God of Jacob.
And this designates him as the gracious savior of sinners. So this is what the church says.
Come with us. Come with us. Let's worship the
Lord in the mountain. Let's worship the God of Jacob.
Let's worship the God who saves sinners by his grace. And the reason that the church
invites many to come is not about numbers or Sunday school membership
or building plans or church planting or some competition. Barnard
used to speak of the sin of inviting people to church. I heard him
preach a message one time, the sin of inviting people to church.
Now he was referring to those houses of religion that do not
preach the gospel. And I've had people tell me who
say they believe grace and there might be a grace church nearby
or there might not be. They say, well, we go to church
over here. I know this guy don't preach anything. He lies on God
all the time. But we want to be a member of a church. That's
not a church. It's as simple as that. If there's not a church
in the area, I'm going to get me a DVD player and I'm going
to get me a computer and I'm going to watch streaming video.
I'm not going to where some man is going to lie on my God. I'm
jealous for his glory. And you understand the principle.
I'm jealous for that woman's glory. You can say anything you
want to about me. I don't care. You probably don't
know half the story, but don't you dare say anything about her.
Don't say anything about my kids. You've never heard me in the
35 years here say anything about your kids or about your husband
or about your wife. You'll never hear it. You know
why? Because I know you're jealous for the glory. Jealous for the
glory. If a man stands up and lies on
God, I'm not going to go hear him. I won't walk across the
street and spit on him. That's a fact. This is about coming to the true
church, to Zion, to the mountain of God, to the mountain of the
God of Jason, Jacob. The true church, the redeemed
of the Lord, have some real reasons for inviting people to come to
the house of the God of Jabin. They have real reasons. First
of all, they'll be taught by Christ. That's what it says here.
Come ye and let us go into the mountains of the Lord to the
house of the God of Jabin. He will teach us His ways. His ways. The word says The word
ways, rather, in the original is not plural, but singular.
And we know why. Because Christ in John 14 says,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. When Paul went out
against the church, he persecuted that way. that way, and that
way is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word describes the entire
extent of life in the Lord Jesus Christ from beginning to end,
from eternity to eternity, this matter of the way. Christ is
all that and He is the only way. He is the only way. Some people
consider that restrictive. I consider it wonderfully gracious
of God to give us just one way. He didn't give us ten different
avenues to travel. He said, this is it. You don't
have to go anywhere else. You don't have to try anything
else. You don't have to look anywhere else. Look right here,
because this is it. Come this way, the singular way,
the simple way. Don't be confused about it, the
blessed singular way, so that all confusion is annulled. And
the result of this teaching is, those who hear, walk in His paths. That's what it said. We will
walk in His paths. They will all come to Christ
according to what the scripture says. All the father taught will
come to Christ. The elect walk in the paths of righteousness.
Does that mean they're just so righteous that nobody can stand
to be around them? No, it means they walk in the station they're
in and that is the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
walk in that righteousness. We live in that righteousness.
And we say to those who would look at us, look to Christ, don't
look to us. For my righteousness is Him.
It's not of me. Not of me. They walk in the manner
that emulates the walk of the Lord Jesus Christ. They walk
in kindness and love and consideration and acceptance of sinners while
rejecting and condemning the false teacher and the teacher
of useless religion. I've got two calls this week
on a message I preached here not too long ago. Romans chapter
9. titled, What If, What If, or
What If God? One of the messages was from
a dear lady who attended a conference many years ago. She was a member
of Providence Baptist Church a long time ago, and I preached
to her back then. And she was just rejoicing in
the message. Then I got a call from a fellow in Pennsylvania
who had given that message to his son who didn't believe the
gospel, and his son had given it to his pastor who didn't believe
the gospel. And his pastor, in order to keep the boy in the
church, sent him a long email wherein he agreed with everything
I said in that passage. I mean, really. He said, Tim
James is absolutely right. And then at the end of the passage
he says, but Tim James is 11. Tim James is in error. Don't
listen to Tim James. That's how he ended the letter.
That's how he ended the letter. I have no difficulty saying that
guy is a heretic and a loser. Neither does any child of God.
He said that Tim James presented this message in a way that was
hard and cold and unloving. When in the message I besought
sinners to put down their guns and surrender to the Lord Jesus
Christ. But he said that. He said, I was hard and cold.
He said, we need to be more loving. And that's why we give invitations,
because we love people. And that's why we give altar
calls, because we love people. And that's why we go out with so
many exercises, because we love people. He said, I didn't love
people. You know what? If you love somebody,
you'll know what you'll do for them. You'll tell them the truth.
That's the first thing. Our Lord Jesus Christ loved people.
I don't doubt, because he was a perfect human being, that he
had a love for just about every person he met. I mean generally,
and I know that because he always told them the truth. He always
told them the truth. This guy said that I didn't have
love. Well, sometimes I'm not a very
loving character, I realize that. But when I tell you the truth,
I'm doing the best thing I can do for you, and the kindest thing
I can do for you. The kindest thing I can do for
you. The child of God, just like his Savior, accepted, drew to himself, sat
down with, and associated with the worst kind of people in the
world. And summarily, continually, throughout
the Gospels, rejected and set aside and condemned religion
The only problem Christ ever had with anybody was religious
people. And they're the ones that want
to take up stones and kill Him. And that's the truth of every
child of God. They walk in that same path. They walk in a manner
that they want to be kind and generous, they want to be receiving
of sinners and accepting of sinners, and yet at the same time they
reject and condemn all false teaching and all false teachers.
without exception. Tolerance for the weak, the infirm,
the oppressed is coupled with intolerance for self-righteous,
legalistic, free will religion. Those two go hand-in-hand just
like God's salvation always is the salvation of the elect and
the destruction of the enemy. Those go hand-in-hand. They are
coupled together. The paths of the Lord are not
an unknown thing, nor are they left to the imagination. The
believer will know the paths of the Lord because of the testimony
of God. Look back at verse 3. We will
walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and
the word from Jerusalem. The law and the word. That's
how folks know. That's how we know how to walk,
because the law, this book, the Bible that God has given us teaches
us the law. And I'm not talking about the
Ten Commandments, I'm talking about this whole book from cover
to cover. The law means the testimony. The testimony, the Bible, the
word refers to speech. And that's an interesting little
thing, isn't it? It's the spoken word. It's the
speech or the preaching of the gospel. This is how the paths
of the Lord are learned. This is how the paths of the
Lord are known. This is how the paths of the Lord are walked
in. We don't look for some vision from on high. We don't look for
some strange word of the Lord. We have it right here before
us. You want to know how to treat your brother? It's right here.
You want to know how to treat your wife or your husband? It's
right here. You want to know how to teach your parents? You want to know how
to treat your children? It's all right here. You want to know
how to preach the gospel? It's right here. have to come
up with anything new, it is right here before us in this Word of
God. For out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of
the Lord out of Jerusalem. Verse 4 addresses the work of
the Messiah and the result of that great work. It says this,
He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people. He, that is Christ, shall judge
among the nations. Christ is the judge, and He is
the adjudicator. He is the giver and the fulfiller
of the law, and by it He has redeemed Zion. Verse 27, we read
a few minutes, Zion shall be redeemed with judgment. and are converts with righteousness. Look over at chapter 42 of Isaiah,
speaking of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course,
reference here is to Cyrus. In the natural realm, he was
a picture of Christ, used of the Lord. Behold my servant whom
I uphold, mine elect. You want to know why you're elect?
Because that conforms you to Jesus Christ. He was the first
chosen. Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my
spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
unto the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break."
If you're broken, if you're pinched in the middle about to fold over
and die, the Lord ain't going to hurt you. A bruised reed he
shall not, but smoking flax he shall not quench. He shall bring
forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he has set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait
for his law, or for his word. He shall judge many people. he
shall judge many nations as it said this judgment is among the
nations and could apply to him distinguishing between the nations
as in Matthew chapter 25 verse 31 through 34 where he gathers
all nations before him and he separates some on the left hand
and some on the right To the right, to the ones on his right
hand here, which is a representative of his salvation throughout scripture,
when he separates on the right, he says, Come, enjoy the kingdom
that was prepared for you before the foundation of the world.
This is your kingdom. To those on the left, he said,
Perish in outer darkness, where the fire is not quenched and
the worm dieth not. He shall judge the nations. God
has committed all judgment, and to His Son is what the Scripture
said. And it says, He shall rebuke many people. Now, we don't like
the idea of being rebuked, but the Gospel is a rebuke. It's
a rebuke to our flesh. It always is a rebuke to our
flesh. It always tells us what we are in nature, and we don't
particularly like that message until we have the grace of God
where we understand that God only saves sinners. This speaks
of the rebuking nature of the gospel in the sense of confrontation
and conviction and conversion. Listen, every time the gospel
is preached, every time you tell someone about the gospel, whether
you see it in their eyes or whether you actually understand that
it's taking place, this takes place, there is a confrontation.
Barnard used to say, if you meet Christ in the middle of the road,
You either go bow or you're going to fight. One or the other. It's always the gospel is a confrontation. The gospel is also conviction. It sets in order things that
are right. It tells us what we are by nature
and what God has made us by His grace. It's also used in the
conversion of children. These terms are used of the preaching
of the gospel. Turn over to the New Testament,
to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy, when Paul admonished
Timothy to preach the gospel, in chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, he
said this, I charge thee, I charge thee therefore before God. and
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
at His appearing in His kingdom, preach the word, be instant,
in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and doctrine. That's what I charge you to do
before the Lord, who shall judge the quick and dead at His appearing.
Remember, He shall judge the earth. He shall rebuke many Many
people look over at Titus, the next book over, another young
preacher, he tells what to do in chapter 2 and verse 15. These
things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no man
despise thee. We know as a gospel preacher
preaches the gospel, it is not him really that rebukes men.
It is the Word that searches and finds the thoughts and intents
of the heart. It is the Word that divides the
joint from the marrow, isn't it? Not me. You know me. I can't do nothing for you. If you leave it up to me, I'll
mess up your life. But this Word, it'll find a place in you. It'll
find purchase in your heart. And that's because the Word is
taken by the Holy Spirit. Look at John chapter 16. This
is very familiar. But look at it anyway, John chapter
16 beginning with verse 7, our Lord says, nevertheless I tell
you the truth, it is expedient that I go away, I got to go to
the cross, I got to die, I got to be buried, I got to be raised
again the third day. Then I got to go sit at the right
hand of the Father to intercede for you. It is speedy that I
go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to
you. Why did he have to go away? Because
if he had stayed, we wouldn't be operating in faith, we'd be
operating in sight. But the Comforter operates in
the realm of faith. The Paracletos, the one who comes
alongside, the Holy Spirit. He said, but if I depart, I'll
send him to you. And when He has come, what's
He going to do? He will reprove the world. He
will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment.
Of sin, because they believe not on Me. Of righteousness,
because I go to My Father and you see Me no more. Of judgment,
because the Prince of the world has come. He said, I have many
things to tell you and show you, but you're not ready for them
yet. They weren't ready for them until the Holy Spirit came at
Pentecost and opened up the Scriptures to them. Even some, I think one
of them said, you know, I believe now. I believe now. I understand now what he was
talking about, what the Lord was talking about. This is the
promise. Numerous Gentiles in the gospel
age shall come to Zion because they shall be taught of God in
the last days. These days. These days. and the result is glorious it
does sound poetic it does sound utopian it does sound wondrous
this kind of language but it's used throughout the prophet Isaiah
this is talking about the age in which we live and again I
remind you don't look outside the church it's only in the church
where this takes place only in the church where this takes place.
Christ said, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my
people would fight. He said, but they ain't got nothing
to fight about. My kingdom is not of this world. Verse 5, verse 4 says, And he
shall judge among the nations, shall rebuke many people, and
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks. nation shall not rise against
nation. And remember, the nation is the
same application to the many nations that are brought in out
of every kindred, nation, tongue, and people. Neither shall they
learn war anymore. Not among themselves. Not in
the church of the living God. Not in the church of the living
God. Many organizations use these words to promote the idea of
world peace. This is not about the world because the world will
never know peace. It is about Zion and the peace
established there by the blood of the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ wherein the elect were reconciled to God. It is about
the peace in the heart of the believer and peace that is established
among the brethren, the peace that passeth understanding and
passeth knowledge. It's lovely, poetic language,
this gospel age narrative. The millennium is described.
The kingdom of God is a kingdom of peace, tranquility, equality,
and rest. And the peace that Christ gives,
the world cannot give. Remember what he said that to
his disciples, my peace I give you. Not as the world gives,
my peace I give you. My peace. And that's true peace. We are living in the millennium.
Now, somebody that's interested in eschatology, whether it be
pre-millennial, post-millennial, all-millennial, whatever they're
talking about, they're going to tell you, we're not in the
millennium. It can't be. Look all around us. Don't look around
us. This is not about around us. This is the church of the
living God. This is Zion. This is that high
and exalted mountain. This is where the God of Jacob
resides. and has his habitation. And the
gospel brings his people to peace. Peace. Don't try to apply this
to some utopian ideal of the world without turmoil. There
is no peace to the wicked, saith the scripture. Zion is at peace. Next time somebody talks about
the millennium, say, yeah, we're in the millennial reign right
now. You're crazy. Oh, no, we're not. The king's
on his throne, isn't he? Isn't he the king of kings and
the Lord of lords? Isn't it said of him, the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth? Isn't this his kingdom? Aren't
we his subjects? Aren't we part of his realm?
Who is he? He's the prince. of peace. The Prince of Peace. Let's look
at a few verses of Scripture. Psalm 72. Psalm 72 and verse
7. In His days shall the righteous
flourish in abundance of peace, in abundance of peace, so long
as the moon endureth. so long as the moon endureth.
Look at Isaiah, back at Isaiah chapter 9, at the description
of the coming, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah
chapter 9, in verse 7, of the increase of His government and
peace, there shall be no end. as he sits upon the throne of
David and upon the king to order it and establish it with judgment
and justice from henceforth forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. Now look at Isaiah chapter 11
beginning with verse 6 and read through verse 8. The wolf also
shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with
the kid. And the calf and the young lion
and the fatling together. And a little child shall lead
them. And the cow and the bear shall feed. The young one shall
lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp.
And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice of
the spider's den. Now you know that's speaking
metaphorically. of a state, a spiritual state among the people of God
where there is no fear, where there is no one-upsmanship, where
there is no hierarchy. Some of us feel like wolves.
We're hunters. We're in perfect concert and peace with the lambs. Like children, we're not afraid
of those that have the qualities of spiders and wee wibs to confuse
people. Ain't no problem there. The bear shall eat beside the
cow. What's that talking about? Well,
go ahead and picture yourself as one of these characters. You
probably know who you are. And look around, you can probably
name somebody else in here that's one of them other characters.
Y'all getting along okay, ain't you? Why? Why? Because God has established peace. God has established peace among
His people. Chapter 54 and verse 13, the
passage quoted by our Lord when He quoted Isaiah, when He spoke
in John chapter 6 and verse 45, verse 13, And all thy children
shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace
of thy children. That's the promise given to Isaiah
in a vision of the last days when the Lord Jesus Christ would
come and save His people. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name. Amen.