WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.580 Your Bibles for Isaiah 59. 00:00:02.300 --> 00:00:05.919 Isaiah 59, it's on page 618 of the Black Church Bibles. 00:00:10.040 --> 00:00:14.700 Quite a few of our congregation over the years have done the Cornhill Training Course. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:16.699 ! Cornhill Training Course is a Bible Training Course. 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:18.359 It's really got one message. 00:00:18.780 --> 00:00:20.120 It's the same thing every day, isn't it? 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.699 What is the melodic line of a book? 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:25.920 So you know you get a piece of music. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:31.720 Certain pieces of music have a kind of theme running right the way through them. 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:37.260 And the kind of motto of Cornhill really is that. 00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:39.500 You're looking for the melodic line. 00:00:39.620 --> 00:00:44.180 You're looking for that melody that runs right the way through the book. 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:45.859 I don't think it's true of every book in the Bible. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:48.439 Which they would disagree with. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:53.400 But I think it is a really helpful way of interpreting the Bible. 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:56.699 So when you come to the letter of Ephesians, when you come to Romans, 00:00:56.899 --> 00:01:00.920 what is the one main thing that the Apostle wants you to know? 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:02.479 You can go through Mark, Luke and John. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.420 You can see that in the way that they're written. 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:09.140 Now when you come to a book like Isaiah, there's however many chapters there are, isn't there? 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:09.579 One of them. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:11.219 Sixty-six chapters. 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:13.620 What is the one big theme? 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:16.840 Because if we can crack the one big theme, 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:20.120 it'll help us to understand what the book is all about. 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.540 I think the most helpful way to think, 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:25.480 what is the big theme of Isaiah, 00:01:25.740 --> 00:01:27.260 is that it's a tale of two cities. 00:01:29.240 --> 00:01:31.420 Isaiah begins in the city of Jerusalem, 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:33.180 God's holy city, 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:35.160 but it's not good news. 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:37.219 We're told that that holy city, 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:38.340 the city of Jerusalem, 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:39.580 God laments over it. 00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:40.159 He repents. 00:01:40.240 --> 00:01:41.520 He weeps over it. 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:44.000 He says that city is a harlot. 00:01:44.100 --> 00:01:44.939 It's a prostitute. 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:45.659 It's a whore. 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:47.380 It's a city full of injustice. 00:01:48.600 --> 00:01:49.620 And unrighteousness. 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:51.840 But as we come to the end of the book, 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:54.660 we find that the book ends in another city, 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:55.920 which is the new Jerusalem. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.520 Which is a description of the new heavens and the new earth. 00:02:00.380 --> 00:02:01.160 And the question, 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:03.080 all the way through the book of Isaiah, 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:04.960 is how do we get from there, 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:06.200 the old Jerusalem, 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:07.320 to here, 00:02:07.860 --> 00:02:08.800 the heavenly Jerusalem? 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:11.420 How can God, 00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:13.780 dwell amongst his people, 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:15.540 when they've turned his back on them? 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:18.319 How can God dwell with any people? 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:20.579 How can God dwell, 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:22.680 live with people like you and me? 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.000 Whose default setting is selfishness and rebellion. 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:28.840 How can the city, 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:30.019 once again, 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:32.699 become a place of righteousness and justice? 00:02:33.939 --> 00:02:34.379 And Isaiah, 00:02:34.519 --> 00:02:35.019 throughout this book, 00:02:35.079 --> 00:02:35.900 is telling you and I, 00:02:35.959 --> 00:02:38.000 that the only way that that is going to happen, 00:02:38.060 --> 00:02:39.799 is if God himself intervenes. 00:02:41.079 --> 00:02:42.060 And God will intervene. 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:44.860 And so God portrays himself, 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:46.300 in three ways. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:46.900 He says, 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.259 speaks in the first part of the book, 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:50.420 as the king. 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:52.920 And then he speaks of the servant, 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:54.520 and the conqueror. 00:02:55.539 --> 00:02:56.819 So the first part of the book of Isaiah, 00:02:56.939 --> 00:02:57.580 you might remember it, 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.240 we met the king who reigns. 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:01.539 And then the second part of the book, 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.120 we learn that the suffering servant, 00:03:04.640 --> 00:03:05.240 saves. 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:07.840 And in this third section, 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:08.740 what we're going to see, 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:09.540 is that, 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.219 we're going to meet the conqueror, 00:03:11.260 --> 00:03:12.659 who brings final deliverance. 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:15.140 So that through the work of the king, 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:16.700 the conqueror, 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:17.980 and the servant, 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:20.800 God will dwell forever, 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:22.060 with those who repent, 00:03:22.760 --> 00:03:23.500 and obey him. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:26.520 So if you want my melodic line, 00:03:26.580 --> 00:03:27.560 if you want the theme sentence, 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:29.000 of what I think Isaiah is about, 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:29.580 it's this. 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.060 God has done absolutely everything, 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:32.900 necessary, 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:34.960 for repentant sinners, 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:35.919 to dwell with him, 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:37.879 in the heavenly city, 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:38.620 through the one, 00:03:38.699 --> 00:03:39.560 who is the king, 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:40.960 the conqueror, 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:41.560 and the servant. 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:42.699 That's the gist of the book. 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:44.539 But if I was to pick out, 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:46.180 three words from Isaiah 59, 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:48.840 I think you'd find, 00:03:48.920 --> 00:03:50.240 the three words would be, 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:51.180 repent, 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:52.400 sinners, 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:53.479 conqueror. 00:03:53.500 --> 00:03:56.060 I want to flesh them out, 00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:56.520 I want to put them, 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:58.400 a bit more in the order, 00:03:58.539 --> 00:03:59.900 that Isaiah brings out here. 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:01.340 Here's what I think, 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:02.240 he will present to us. 00:04:03.060 --> 00:04:03.960 He's going to talk to us, 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:05.060 about the barrier of sin. 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:06.900 He will talk to us, 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:07.659 in Isaiah 59, 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:08.520 about the necessity, 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:09.199 of repentance. 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:11.120 And then lastly, 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:11.780 the repentance, 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:13.360 the promise to the repentant, 00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:14.879 of the redeemer conqueror. 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:17.259 So we will find out, 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:19.100 that God is the only one, 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.139 who can break through, 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:21.939 the sin barrier. 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:24.160 Which he promises to do, 00:04:24.219 --> 00:04:24.920 through a redeemer, 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:26.139 for those who repent, 00:04:26.219 --> 00:04:26.519 of their sins. 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:27.019 So first of all, 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:27.779 let's look at the barrier, 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:28.100 to sin. 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:28.980 Look at verses 1 and 2. 00:04:29.779 --> 00:04:30.120 Behold, 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:31.360 the Lord's hand is not shortened, 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:32.300 that it cannot save, 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:33.719 nor his ear dull, 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:34.759 that it cannot hear. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:36.000 But your iniquities, 00:04:36.100 --> 00:04:37.000 have made a separation, 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:37.740 between you, 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:38.659 and your God. 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:40.180 And your sins, 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:41.120 have hidden his face, 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:41.459 from you, 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:42.800 so that he does not hear. 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:45.519 Isaiah is picking up, 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:46.159 on that accusation, 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:47.240 from chapter 58. 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:48.879 The people have thrown, 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:49.379 at God. 00:04:49.379 --> 00:04:49.800 They've said, 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:50.779 we've done all this, 00:04:50.779 --> 00:04:51.659 religious activity, 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:53.639 but you're not listening. 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:55.740 God, 00:04:55.819 --> 00:04:56.219 you're not doing, 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:57.439 anything to help us. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:00.079 And when they found, 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:00.699 that their prayers, 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:01.759 were being unanswered, 00:05:02.219 --> 00:05:02.980 there was only one, 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:03.560 explanation, 00:05:03.719 --> 00:05:05.040 as far as they were concerned. 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:06.319 When their prayers, 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:07.100 weren't being answered, 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:08.019 the big problem, 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:08.920 was with God. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:10.519 It was God's fault. 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:11.879 That God, 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:12.639 was not doing, 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:13.819 what he was supposed to do. 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:15.199 In their minds, 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:16.599 God was meant to be there, 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:17.839 to answer their requests. 00:05:18.620 --> 00:05:19.319 To do, 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:20.500 whatever they called, 00:05:20.539 --> 00:05:21.339 upon him to do. 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:23.459 Now we've talked, 00:05:23.539 --> 00:05:24.120 a lot about, 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:26.000 the modern equivalent today, 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:26.979 of this. 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:27.579 Christine Smith, 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:28.639 kind of American philosopher, 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:29.139 talks about, 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:29.899 moralistic, 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:31.240 therapeutic deism. 00:05:32.919 --> 00:05:33.680 And moralistic, 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:34.699 therapeutic deism, 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:35.620 which we've talked about before, 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:36.339 has got three, 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:37.120 big beliefs. 00:05:37.259 --> 00:05:37.879 Number one, 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:39.379 that there is a God, 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:39.980 who exists, 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:41.139 who created, 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:42.339 and watches over the world, 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:43.579 and over all human life. 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.240 Number two, 00:05:45.300 --> 00:05:46.699 the central goal of life, 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:47.539 is to be happy, 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:48.699 and to feel good, 00:05:48.719 --> 00:05:49.300 about oneself. 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:51.579 Number three, 00:05:52.060 --> 00:05:53.019 God does not need, 00:05:53.039 --> 00:05:54.259 to be particularly involved, 00:05:54.359 --> 00:05:55.039 in someone's life, 00:05:55.099 --> 00:05:55.879 apart from when, 00:05:56.019 --> 00:05:56.800 God is needed, 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:57.959 to resolve a problem. 00:05:58.139 --> 00:05:58.740 Do you get the idea? 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:01.019 That God is there, 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:01.839 when I need him. 00:06:02.479 --> 00:06:03.500 And I need him, 00:06:03.539 --> 00:06:04.279 in order to meet, 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:05.560 my requests. 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:08.060 But God is not invited, 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:09.759 to interfere with my life, 00:06:09.799 --> 00:06:10.560 at any other time. 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.639 Now if you're wondering, 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:14.839 that is not Christianity. 00:06:16.280 --> 00:06:17.040 But that is, 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:17.939 an insidious, 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:19.379 false substitute, 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:20.199 to what Christianity, 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:21.040 is all about. 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:24.319 And Isaiah's audience, 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:24.879 some just, 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:25.939 seem to believe, 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:27.600 something along those lines. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:30.439 God is not answering my prayers, 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:31.480 God is not giving me, 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:32.060 what I want. 00:06:32.139 --> 00:06:33.120 So the big issue is, 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:34.340 what's wrong with you God? 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:36.459 They were upset, 00:06:36.540 --> 00:06:37.319 because God wasn't, 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:37.980 keeping his side, 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:38.540 of the bargain. 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:41.300 God wasn't responding, 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:42.740 when they were calling on him. 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:44.140 And what were they thinking? 00:06:44.260 --> 00:06:44.680 They thought, 00:06:44.780 --> 00:06:45.660 what's his problem? 00:06:47.400 --> 00:06:48.580 And Isaiah gets, 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:50.520 right to the point here. 00:06:51.520 --> 00:06:52.140 And he says, 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:52.840 it's not God, 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:53.480 who is your problem, 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:54.200 it is you. 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:57.140 And if you want to find a reason, 00:06:57.220 --> 00:06:58.320 why God isn't responding, 00:06:58.800 --> 00:06:59.640 go and look in the mirror. 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:02.080 He says, 00:07:02.200 --> 00:07:03.000 your sins, 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:03.300 suddenly, 00:07:03.460 --> 00:07:03.900 verse 2, 00:07:03.900 --> 00:07:04.500 have created, 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:05.680 a massive barrier, 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:06.340 between you, 00:07:06.460 --> 00:07:07.259 and your God. 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:08.259 He says, 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:09.019 your sin, 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:10.579 has separated you, 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:11.360 from God. 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:13.620 That where there should be, 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:14.339 oneness, 00:07:14.459 --> 00:07:15.199 and where there should be, 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:15.699 unity, 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:16.719 there's division. 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:20.259 And that objective division, 00:07:20.259 --> 00:07:22.120 has created an alienation. 00:07:22.599 --> 00:07:23.000 Sin, 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:24.560 excludes you now, 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:25.539 from God's face. 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:28.839 And you and I, 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:29.399 need to realise, 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:31.120 how devastating that is, 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:33.060 from an experiential perspective, 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:33.860 on our side. 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:36.500 Because, 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:38.060 what the Bible teaches you, 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:39.660 is that all the joy, 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:40.980 and all the love, 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:42.259 and all the strength, 00:07:42.400 --> 00:07:43.379 and all the meaning, 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:44.300 that you and I, 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:45.400 can look for in life, 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:47.400 that we long for in life, 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:49.520 all of those things, 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:50.280 are found, 00:07:50.420 --> 00:07:51.699 according to the Bible, 00:07:51.840 --> 00:07:53.040 in the face of God. 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:56.460 So just one example, 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:57.520 Psalm 16, 00:07:57.620 --> 00:07:58.180 verse 7. 00:07:58.180 --> 00:08:00.240 It says this, 00:08:00.459 --> 00:08:02.040 In your face, 00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:04.740 is fullness of joy. 00:08:06.579 --> 00:08:07.980 In your face, 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:10.579 is fullness of joy. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:13.340 Because in the Bible, 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:14.500 God's face, 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:15.199 represents, 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:16.340 his favour. 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:18.220 In the Bible, 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:19.220 God's face, 00:08:19.960 --> 00:08:20.620 represents, 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:22.519 his fellowship. 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:24.759 Don't you know that? 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:27.500 May God bless you, 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:28.139 and keep you, 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:29.779 and make his face, 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:30.879 to shine upon you. 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:31.480 It's the benediction, 00:08:31.599 --> 00:08:32.600 we use every Sunday morning. 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:35.639 His face, 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:36.360 represents, 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:37.539 his pleasure, 00:08:37.819 --> 00:08:38.340 and sin, 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:39.200 blocks that. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:41.559 It removes, 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:42.519 that aspect, 00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:43.340 of God's being, 00:08:43.439 --> 00:08:44.360 that strengthens us, 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:45.539 and that sustains us. 00:08:46.019 --> 00:08:46.960 And apart from that, 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:47.840 it withers away. 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:49.759 It slowly, 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:50.419 ebbs away, 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:51.340 and Isaiah says, 00:08:51.439 --> 00:08:51.840 to his people, 00:08:51.939 --> 00:08:52.559 your sin, 00:08:52.620 --> 00:08:53.200 has created, 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:54.080 such a barrier, 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:55.180 that God's face, 00:08:55.220 --> 00:08:55.740 is hidden from. 00:08:59.139 --> 00:08:59.920 And what the prophet, 00:09:00.020 --> 00:09:00.400 does then, 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:01.180 in verses 3 to 8, 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.520 is he pulls the mask off. 00:09:03.660 --> 00:09:04.960 He pulls the mask, 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:05.460 off the people, 00:09:05.560 --> 00:09:05.980 and he says, 00:09:06.040 --> 00:09:06.900 look at your smug, 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:08.259 religiosity. 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:10.540 And he holds up, 00:09:10.580 --> 00:09:10.860 a mirror, 00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:11.680 so that you can, 00:09:11.920 --> 00:09:12.360 see yourself, 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:13.240 as you really are. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:14.440 And Isaiah, 00:09:14.560 --> 00:09:15.000 is repeating, 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:15.980 many of the charges, 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:16.700 that he's already, 00:09:16.780 --> 00:09:17.740 leveled at the Israelites, 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:18.640 numerous times, 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:19.400 throughout this book. 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:21.379 It's a list, 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:22.040 that doesn't make, 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:22.780 for pleasant reading. 00:09:22.900 --> 00:09:23.040 Is it? 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:23.980 The prophet says, 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:25.639 look at your bloodstained hands, 00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:26.399 verse 3, 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:27.700 you've got blood on your hands. 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:30.000 Look at your lying lips. 00:09:31.180 --> 00:09:32.600 Look at your unjust governing. 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:35.039 Look at your violent, 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:36.060 evil deeds. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:37.240 That is why God, 00:09:37.300 --> 00:09:37.980 will not listen to you. 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:38.639 Look for a moment, 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:39.920 at verses 7 to 8. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:42.820 Their feet run to evil, 00:09:43.680 --> 00:09:44.519 and they're swift, 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:45.680 to shed innocent blood. 00:09:46.560 --> 00:09:47.100 Their thoughts, 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:48.139 are thoughts of iniquity. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:48.879 Desolation, 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:49.500 and destruction, 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:50.360 are in their highways. 00:09:50.460 --> 00:09:51.139 The way of peace, 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:52.460 they do not know. 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:52.600 Who? 00:09:55.500 --> 00:09:56.639 And there's no justice, 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:57.240 in their paths. 00:09:57.300 --> 00:09:58.100 They've made their roads, 00:09:58.180 --> 00:09:58.379 crooked. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:09:59.500 No one who treads on them, 00:09:59.540 --> 00:10:00.100 knows peace. 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:02.840 It's interesting, 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:03.720 that the apostle Paul, 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:05.080 takes these verses, 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:06.480 in Romans chapter 3, 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.259 and he says, 00:10:09.580 --> 00:10:11.259 every single Jew, 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:14.340 and every single Gentile, 00:10:14.420 --> 00:10:15.700 is guilty of sin. 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.820 And every single Jew, 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:19.879 and every single Gentile, 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:20.740 that is you and I, 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:21.519 are therefore, 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:22.300 under the judgment, 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:23.560 and the condemnation of God. 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:26.620 Every single person, 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:27.740 on this planet, 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:29.940 that our feet, 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:31.539 rush into sin, 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:32.500 and our paths, 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:33.279 are marked, 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:33.960 by ruin, 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:34.620 and misery, 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:36.120 such that we don't know, 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:36.899 the way of peace. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:40.320 And that sin, 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:42.120 is the fundamental barrier, 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:43.159 between the holy God, 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:44.139 and the rebellious people. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:47.960 And Paul's point there, 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:48.720 is that, 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:49.600 if all of us, 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:50.519 have the courage, 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.139 to take the mask off, 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:54.980 and to look at the mirror, 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:55.759 we will find, 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:57.100 that religion can't cover it. 00:10:57.100 --> 00:11:00.740 And we can't face it, 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:01.700 so we try to ignore it. 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:04.840 And that makes, 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:05.899 even God, 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:07.220 hide his face from us, 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:08.139 and turn away. 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:10.779 Now you've seen that, 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:12.019 and how Paul uses these verses, 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:12.879 I think it's important, 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:13.860 that we think for a moment, 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:14.399 on this. 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:19.360 Think on the original context, 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:20.840 of who Isaiah was speaking to. 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.080 Isaiah's focus, 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:26.720 is not so much, 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:27.759 on separation, 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:29.620 caused by universal sin. 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:30.800 It's not that everyone's a sinner. 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:32.139 It is, 00:11:32.280 --> 00:11:33.139 but that isn't the focus, 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:33.980 of what Isaiah is saying. 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:36.720 Isaiah is not thinking, 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:38.240 globally per se. 00:11:40.060 --> 00:11:40.960 Isaiah is thinking, 00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:42.040 of the separation, 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:44.300 caused by particular wrongdoing, 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:46.540 of the people he's addressing. 00:11:46.539 --> 00:11:49.659 That these are the people, 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.059 who Isaiah could say, 00:11:51.219 --> 00:11:52.120 your iniquities, 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:53.139 and your sins, 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:54.159 have separated you, 00:11:54.219 --> 00:11:55.419 from your God. 00:11:57.500 --> 00:11:58.740 So in Isaiah 59, 00:11:58.899 --> 00:11:59.740 these are people, 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:00.799 who have established, 00:12:00.959 --> 00:12:02.379 a relationship with God. 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:04.980 Listen to what John Goldingay, 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:05.599 says about this. 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:05.919 He says, 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:07.279 the equivalent of the Christian church, 00:12:07.339 --> 00:12:08.339 will not be the general, 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:09.459 human sinfulness, 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:10.339 that's the concern, 00:12:10.439 --> 00:12:11.399 of the doctrine of atonement. 00:12:11.819 --> 00:12:12.839 But the recurrent, 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:13.939 human sinfulness, 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:15.679 that from time to time, 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:16.519 cuts the church, 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:17.759 off from God, 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:19.199 and leads to its withering. 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:23.399 So by limiting, 00:12:23.539 --> 00:12:24.360 verses 2 to 8, 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:26.500 to the recurring, 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:28.319 universal, 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:29.579 human sinfulness, 00:12:30.439 --> 00:12:32.519 rather than, 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:33.399 to the sinfulness, 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:34.519 of God's people, 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:35.919 I think we, 00:12:36.139 --> 00:12:37.319 don't really get, 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:38.220 what Isaiah is, 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:41.620 getting mad. 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:42.340 He's speaking, 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:43.399 to the church here. 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:45.720 And the church, 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:47.399 shuts itself off, 00:12:47.460 --> 00:12:48.379 from the possibility, 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:49.420 of turning itself, 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:50.420 away from sin. 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:51.279 And instead, 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:52.279 it reinforces, 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:53.519 separation from God. 00:12:55.899 --> 00:12:57.000 So let me cut to the church. 00:12:57.100 --> 00:12:57.259 You see, 00:12:57.360 --> 00:12:58.500 what God wants us to see, 00:12:58.560 --> 00:12:59.360 here in Isaiah 59, 00:12:59.639 --> 00:12:59.940 is that, 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.340 if as a church, 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:02.980 we ever, 00:13:03.040 --> 00:13:04.320 harbor sin, 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:05.440 in any way, 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.180 if we ever, 00:13:08.180 --> 00:13:09.260 follow a path, 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:10.540 that we know, 00:13:10.540 --> 00:13:12.200 is displeasing to God, 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:14.440 and disobedient to his word, 00:13:14.540 --> 00:13:15.220 if we ever, 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:16.340 wink at sin, 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:17.640 and pretend, 00:13:17.800 --> 00:13:17.960 no, 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:18.560 it's not really, 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:19.840 a big deal at all, 00:13:20.180 --> 00:13:20.960 then we should not, 00:13:21.020 --> 00:13:21.500 be surprised, 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.840 that there is a glass ceiling, 00:13:23.560 --> 00:13:24.480 between earth and heaven. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.620 And our prayers, 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.600 fall on deaf ears. 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:30.700 And the same is true, 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:31.680 in our personal life. 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:34.279 Sin, 00:13:35.220 --> 00:13:36.600 separates us, 00:13:36.680 --> 00:13:37.800 from the face of God. 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:40.759 Now this raises, 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:41.519 a really important, 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:42.240 pastoral question. 00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:44.580 Does that mean, 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:45.220 that if, 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:46.120 when you're praying, 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:47.060 and you feel, 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:47.860 God is distant, 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:50.779 and if you're praying, 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:51.519 and there seems to be, 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:52.539 no response from God, 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:53.159 does that mean, 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:54.139 that you must have sent, 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:56.620 in such a way, 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:57.759 that God will not listen to me? 00:13:59.059 --> 00:13:59.839 Should I make, 00:13:59.959 --> 00:14:01.659 a one to one correlation, 00:14:02.719 --> 00:14:04.559 that God's apparent silence, 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:05.659 in my life means, 00:14:06.439 --> 00:14:07.299 that there's some sin, 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:07.719 in my life, 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:08.519 that I haven't confessed? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:10.439 And the answer to that, 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:10.839 is no. 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:13.299 You can't make, 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:14.799 a one to one correlation, 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:15.779 it doesn't work like that. 00:14:15.959 --> 00:14:17.000 You look at the book of Job, 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:18.459 and one of the big questions, 00:14:18.579 --> 00:14:19.199 in the book of Job, 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:20.199 is essentially this one. 00:14:20.439 --> 00:14:21.500 If I'm suffering, 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:24.700 does that mean, 00:14:24.779 --> 00:14:25.740 that I've sinned? 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:28.460 And the book of Job says, 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:28.639 no, 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:29.340 the book of Job says, 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:30.320 the righteous suffer. 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:32.659 It's not directly, 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:33.440 tied to sin. 00:14:33.539 --> 00:14:34.360 Jesus says exactly, 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:35.500 the same thing in John 9. 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:37.379 When the people say, 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:39.799 this guy who's been born blind, 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:40.440 was it him, 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:40.820 or was it, 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:41.559 was his dad, 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:42.399 that was a sinner? 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:44.659 That's the wrong framework. 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:45.899 You cannot make, 00:14:45.939 --> 00:14:47.899 a direct line in your life, 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.039 between suffering, 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:51.740 and God's silence in your life, 00:14:52.079 --> 00:14:52.639 to sin. 00:14:55.319 --> 00:14:57.000 But I think you need to hear this, 00:14:57.939 --> 00:14:59.600 that if you've given, 00:14:59.819 --> 00:15:01.079 squatters rights, 00:15:01.939 --> 00:15:03.439 to sin in your life, 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:06.740 that if you're living, 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:07.639 in any way, 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:08.839 that you know, 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:10.360 grieves God, 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:13.100 and is disobedient, 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:13.960 to God's word, 00:15:14.060 --> 00:15:15.300 and you know it, 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:17.480 and you have no intention, 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:18.779 of repenting, 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:19.500 or changing, 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:21.480 Isaiah says to you, 00:15:21.680 --> 00:15:22.379 you can expect, 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:23.600 a cold shoulder from God. 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:27.480 Your sin, 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:29.940 will alienate you, 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:30.480 from God. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.580 And it will separate you, 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:35.440 and God, 00:15:35.560 --> 00:15:36.759 such that he will hide, 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:38.220 his face from you. 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:40.620 And his favour from you, 00:15:40.680 --> 00:15:41.700 because sin, 00:15:42.420 --> 00:15:43.860 creates a barrier. 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:46.800 Which brings us, 00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:48.080 to the necessity of repentance, 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:49.300 look at verses 8 and 9, 00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:50.040 and just notice, 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:51.420 there's a transition, 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:52.519 from verse 8, 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:53.399 to verse 9. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:56.560 Therefore justice is, 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:57.040 oh sorry, 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:57.720 verse 8, 00:15:57.800 --> 00:15:59.200 the way of peace, 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:00.620 they do not know. 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:02.399 And there is no peace, 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:03.779 in their paths. 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:05.019 They have made, 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:05.980 their roads crooked. 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:07.420 No one, 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:08.539 who treads on them, 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:09.740 knows peace. 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:12.259 Therefore justice, 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:13.080 is far from, 00:16:13.940 --> 00:16:14.399 us. 00:16:15.560 --> 00:16:16.379 And righteousness, 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:17.720 does not overtake us. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:19.279 We hope for light, 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:20.180 and behold darkness, 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:21.139 and for brightness, 00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:22.899 but we walk in gloom. 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:23.840 Do you notice the change? 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:24.480 It's very obvious, 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:24.800 isn't it? 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:26.220 It moves from a they, 00:16:26.300 --> 00:16:26.860 to a we. 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:30.480 A people who are speaking, 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:31.279 and in verse 9, 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:32.340 they are assuming, 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:33.039 a responsibility, 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:33.860 for their sin. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:34.580 Indeed, 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:35.800 not for their own sin, 00:16:36.020 --> 00:16:37.160 but for the sin of others. 00:16:38.400 --> 00:16:39.139 Others who are too, 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:39.480 perhaps, 00:16:39.620 --> 00:16:40.320 too blind, 00:16:40.400 --> 00:16:40.879 and too proud, 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:41.879 to admit it themselves. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:43.240 And what we have here, 00:16:43.280 --> 00:16:43.800 is a kind of, 00:16:43.800 --> 00:16:44.940 communal lament. 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:47.900 It's a prayer, 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:48.340 that's prayed, 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:49.540 by desperate people, 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:50.259 who've stopped, 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:50.780 pretending, 00:16:50.920 --> 00:16:51.780 that everything's okay. 00:16:53.620 --> 00:16:54.340 Who've stopped, 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:54.820 pretending, 00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:55.580 that they think, 00:16:55.700 --> 00:16:56.440 God is the one, 00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:57.040 with the problem. 00:16:59.100 --> 00:16:59.600 It's a people, 00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:00.160 in verse 9, 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:00.759 who are done, 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:01.240 with trying to, 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:02.140 justify themselves, 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:02.620 or think, 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:03.259 that they've got, 00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:03.899 the resources, 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:04.519 to be able to, 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:05.299 deal with their sin. 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:08.339 And verse 12 to 13, 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:09.460 sum up their confession, 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:11.019 for our transgressions, 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:12.099 are multiplied before you, 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:12.700 and our sins, 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.000 testify against us. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:15.660 And we know, 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:16.359 our iniquities, 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:17.420 transgressing, 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:18.339 and denying the Lord, 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:19.059 and turning back, 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:19.680 from following, 00:17:19.879 --> 00:17:20.079 your, 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:20.740 our God, 00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:22.000 speaking oppression, 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:22.740 and revolt, 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:23.779 conceiving, 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:24.480 and uttering, 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:25.079 from the heart, 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.220 lying words. 00:17:28.879 --> 00:17:29.359 And so, 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:29.799 look with me, 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:30.940 at verses 12 to 13, 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:31.640 can I ask you, 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:32.440 is that language, 00:17:32.580 --> 00:17:33.900 familiar to your heart? 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:37.940 Is that language, 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:39.100 that you are willing, 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:40.160 to use, 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:41.539 in your prayer life, 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:42.259 with God? 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:43.180 Because it needs to be, 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:43.620 doesn't it? 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.640 It's a sign of God's grace, 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:47.840 that's at work in your life, 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:48.620 that you are willing, 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.019 to come and bear it, 00:17:50.100 --> 00:17:51.360 and bear your heart, 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:52.880 and tell God, 00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:58.840 exactly, 00:17:58.840 --> 00:17:58.840 00:17:58.839 --> 00:17:59.899 what the problem is. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:02.819 And the problem is, 00:18:02.859 --> 00:18:03.439 my heart. 00:18:06.199 --> 00:18:07.099 You and I, 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:08.359 are farthest, 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:10.179 from regaining, 00:18:10.419 --> 00:18:11.299 God's face. 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:13.000 We are, 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:14.299 we are farthest, 00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:15.259 from transformation, 00:18:15.779 --> 00:18:16.679 in our lives. 00:18:17.699 --> 00:18:18.819 We are farthest, 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:19.579 from hope, 00:18:19.679 --> 00:18:21.119 when we smugly, 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:23.000 remain content, 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:23.799 with ourselves. 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:26.980 When we think, 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:28.139 that we're doing okay, 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:31.120 not to be furthest, 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:32.020 away from the Lord. 00:18:33.580 --> 00:18:34.240 Or at least, 00:18:34.300 --> 00:18:34.780 I'm doing better, 00:18:34.860 --> 00:18:35.560 than the other person. 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:37.420 That's what must count. 00:18:39.020 --> 00:18:40.060 The only hope, 00:18:40.120 --> 00:18:41.140 that these people had, 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:41.860 they were holding on to, 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:42.320 that when, 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:43.340 by God's grace, 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:44.380 they started, 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:45.759 agonizing, 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:47.040 with honest confession. 00:18:52.120 --> 00:18:53.180 And they become aware, 00:18:53.280 --> 00:18:54.680 of the insidiousness, 00:18:54.860 --> 00:18:55.700 and the pervasive, 00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:56.560 power of sin, 00:18:56.660 --> 00:18:57.240 in their culture. 00:18:58.140 --> 00:18:59.920 And so, 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:00.520 for this remnant, 00:19:00.600 --> 00:19:01.420 this part of God's people, 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:02.460 they take the mask off. 00:19:03.820 --> 00:19:04.960 And they see the reality, 00:19:05.040 --> 00:19:05.500 of what's happening, 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:06.080 around them. 00:19:07.560 --> 00:19:08.600 There's no justice, 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:09.400 or righteousness. 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:10.720 Truth is stumbling, 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:11.360 in the streets. 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:15.520 Stumbling in the streets, 00:19:15.580 --> 00:19:16.340 until truth is nowhere, 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:16.900 to be found. 00:19:17.259 --> 00:19:17.820 And the depth, 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:18.640 of their depravity, 00:19:18.800 --> 00:19:18.980 comes, 00:19:19.340 --> 00:19:20.080 is seen at the end, 00:19:20.100 --> 00:19:20.920 of verse 15. 00:19:21.040 --> 00:19:21.500 Can you see it? 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:23.060 Whoever shuns, 00:19:23.320 --> 00:19:23.780 evil, 00:19:24.820 --> 00:19:26.060 becomes a prey. 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:27.480 Whoever departs, 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:27.839 from evil, 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:29.019 makes himself a prey. 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:30.679 Even the good guys, 00:19:30.740 --> 00:19:31.240 are the focus, 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:31.960 of persecution, 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:32.460 and evil. 00:19:35.419 --> 00:19:37.039 These repentant mourners, 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:37.759 they're not willing, 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:38.720 to pretend anymore. 00:19:40.919 --> 00:19:41.579 They know, 00:19:41.679 --> 00:19:42.240 that there is something, 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:43.460 rotten at the heart, 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:44.079 of their culture, 00:19:44.179 --> 00:19:44.679 and they're willing, 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:45.220 to say it. 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:48.579 And they know, 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:49.859 that the disintegration, 00:19:49.919 --> 00:19:50.679 of their community, 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:52.279 is as a result, 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:53.059 of the rejection, 00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:53.919 of God, 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:54.819 and his requirements. 00:19:55.019 --> 00:19:55.679 And they weep, 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:56.259 in repentance. 00:19:58.539 --> 00:19:59.519 And they lament, 00:19:59.619 --> 00:20:00.079 for the part, 00:20:00.139 --> 00:20:00.940 that they have played. 00:20:02.539 --> 00:20:03.519 And they realise, 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:04.919 the absolute necessity, 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:05.539 of repentance. 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:09.059 And in a sense, 00:20:09.159 --> 00:20:09.659 that lament, 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:10.960 is the only element, 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.440 of hope, 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:12.159 that they have left. 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:15.379 It's like the faithful, 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:16.599 have left, 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.960 the door ajar, 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:19.519 as they cry, 00:20:19.639 --> 00:20:20.139 to repentance. 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:21.099 Praying, 00:20:21.259 --> 00:20:22.099 and hoping, 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:24.519 that God, 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:25.179 is going to work, 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:25.559 through it, 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:26.099 and respond. 00:20:26.179 --> 00:20:26.599 And he does, 00:20:26.679 --> 00:20:27.699 because we find, 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:28.019 don't we, 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:28.599 the promise, 00:20:28.679 --> 00:20:29.379 to the repentant, 00:20:29.459 --> 00:20:29.879 thirdly. 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:32.019 The promise, 00:20:32.139 --> 00:20:32.859 to the repentant, 00:20:32.899 --> 00:20:33.839 of a redeemer, 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:34.480 conqueror. 00:20:34.639 --> 00:20:35.539 Look at verses 15, 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:36.099 to 16. 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:40.579 The Lord, 00:20:40.639 --> 00:20:41.039 looks. 00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:43.199 The Lord, 00:20:43.199 --> 00:20:43.879 saw it, 00:20:44.959 --> 00:20:46.319 and he's displeased. 00:20:47.699 --> 00:20:48.359 But there was, 00:20:48.439 --> 00:20:49.199 no justice. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.620 He saw, 00:20:51.700 --> 00:20:52.120 that there was, 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:52.799 no man, 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:53.580 no one, 00:20:54.580 --> 00:20:55.559 and wondered, 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:56.900 was no one, 00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:57.740 there to intercede? 00:20:59.140 --> 00:20:59.600 He appalled, 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:00.680 that there was, 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:01.220 no one, 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:03.700 there to intervene. 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:06.080 And so, 00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:06.920 his arm, 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:08.660 his own arm, 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:10.420 verse 16, 00:21:10.580 --> 00:21:11.120 brought him, 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:11.720 salvation. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:13.819 And his righteousness, 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:14.380 upheld him. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:14.880 That's the big, 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:15.380 turning point. 00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:17.320 God looked, 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:19.480 and he saw. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:21.980 It's not God saying, 00:21:22.780 --> 00:21:23.680 it's not saying, 00:21:23.800 --> 00:21:24.340 that somehow God, 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:25.060 had been oblivious, 00:21:25.120 --> 00:21:25.900 to what was going on. 00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:26.420 It's not saying, 00:21:26.520 --> 00:21:27.620 that he'd been taking a nap, 00:21:27.760 --> 00:21:28.660 or he'd been busy, 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:29.500 with something else. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:31.880 And then he noticed, 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:32.600 what was going to happen, 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:33.260 with his own people. 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:33.540 No, 00:21:33.620 --> 00:21:34.640 the first couple of this verses, 00:21:34.800 --> 00:21:35.220 pointed out, 00:21:35.280 --> 00:21:36.320 God is very much aware, 00:21:36.420 --> 00:21:37.520 of what's going on. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:39.600 But he was unwilling, 00:21:39.800 --> 00:21:41.100 to be used by people, 00:21:41.100 --> 00:21:42.100 who had no intention, 00:21:42.220 --> 00:21:43.200 of changing their ways. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:46.019 He's hidden himself, 00:21:46.600 --> 00:21:48.120 so that they might taste, 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:49.420 the bitter consequences, 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:49.940 of sin. 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:51.200 God had hidden himself, 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:53.640 so that they might taste, 00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:54.559 the bitter consequences, 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:55.039 of their sin. 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:55.759 And he will do that. 00:21:56.120 --> 00:21:56.779 Verse 15, 00:21:56.860 --> 00:21:58.059 marks a deliberate change, 00:21:58.100 --> 00:21:58.759 on God's part. 00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:00.180 He is displeased, 00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:02.279 that there's no justice. 00:22:02.580 --> 00:22:03.700 He is appalled, 00:22:04.580 --> 00:22:05.680 that no one will do anything, 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:06.980 about the rampant injustice. 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:08.220 But what does he do? 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:09.500 God could wipe his hands, 00:22:09.600 --> 00:22:10.380 of the whole situation. 00:22:12.019 --> 00:22:12.319 And say, 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:13.059 you know my people, 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:13.980 have blown it completely. 00:22:14.159 --> 00:22:14.919 But that isn't what he does. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:15.200 No, 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:15.899 in his mercy, 00:22:16.059 --> 00:22:16.539 he decides, 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:17.500 he's going to turn, 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:18.859 his face towards, 00:22:18.919 --> 00:22:19.839 his community again. 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:23.839 Because in direct response, 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:24.480 to the lament, 00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:25.539 of repentant mourners, 00:22:25.659 --> 00:22:26.379 God commits, 00:22:26.379 --> 00:22:27.079 to intervene, 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:27.879 for their sake. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.179 But as Isaiah, 00:22:30.179 --> 00:22:31.599 told us in verse 1, 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.240 the inactivity, 00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:34.539 on God's part, 00:22:34.659 --> 00:22:35.299 was never, 00:22:35.379 --> 00:22:36.200 because of inability. 00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:39.000 That inactivity, 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:40.139 on God's part, 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:40.879 is never, 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:41.980 because of inability. 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:44.539 It's not because, 00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:45.740 his hand was too short, 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:47.460 or his arm too short, 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:48.240 to save, 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:49.680 or his ear too dull, 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:50.200 to cure. 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:51.640 He could do it, 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:52.259 but he chose, 00:22:52.339 --> 00:22:53.079 to hide himself. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:56.099 But now, 00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:56.819 by his sovereign, 00:22:57.019 --> 00:22:57.680 gracious will, 00:22:57.779 --> 00:22:58.860 now his ears, 00:22:58.920 --> 00:22:59.519 are open, 00:22:59.579 --> 00:23:00.339 to the repentant. 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:00.860 For them, 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:01.420 he looks, 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:02.259 and he sees, 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:02.920 and his arm, 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:03.720 works salvation. 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:06.079 And Isaiah, 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:07.079 invites us to watch, 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:08.279 because God, 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:08.960 gets dressed, 00:23:09.059 --> 00:23:09.519 for battle, 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:10.460 in verse 17. 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:11.119 Can you see it? 00:23:11.919 --> 00:23:12.879 He put on righteousness, 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.259 as a blessed breastplate, 00:23:14.919 --> 00:23:15.500 and a helmet, 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:16.079 of salvation, 00:23:16.139 --> 00:23:16.579 on his head. 00:23:16.639 --> 00:23:17.379 He put on garments, 00:23:17.439 --> 00:23:18.039 of vengeance, 00:23:18.179 --> 00:23:18.779 for clothing. 00:23:19.659 --> 00:23:20.720 And he wraps himself, 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:21.259 in zeal, 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:22.039 as a cloak. 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:23.039 And some of that, 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:23.679 sounds familiar, 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:24.079 doesn't it? 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:24.960 Because it's the language, 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.159 of Ephesians chapter 6, 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:27.179 with the armour of God. 00:23:28.919 --> 00:23:29.839 And Paul borrows, 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:31.220 this description of armour, 00:23:31.460 --> 00:23:32.240 for you and I, 00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:33.039 to put on, 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:34.279 spiritual armour, 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:35.220 that every Christian, 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:35.860 should wear it. 00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:37.120 But the focus here, 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:38.259 is very much on the fact, 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.579 that it is God's armour. 00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:41.839 That he is going, 00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:42.920 to do a work, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:44.980 that only he can do. 00:23:46.100 --> 00:23:46.940 And his purpose, 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:47.860 is made explicit, 00:23:48.019 --> 00:23:49.100 by the clothes he wears. 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:50.160 Righteousness, 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:50.980 his breastplate. 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:52.079 That is what God, 00:23:52.120 --> 00:23:52.460 is about. 00:23:54.299 --> 00:23:55.200 That's what he will do, 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:55.900 to display, 00:23:56.100 --> 00:23:57.380 and satisfy his righteousness. 00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:58.339 On his head, 00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:58.880 is the helmet, 00:23:58.880 --> 00:23:59.600 of salvation. 00:24:00.600 --> 00:24:01.240 Because God, 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:02.559 is absolutely committed, 00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:03.400 to save his people. 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:06.539 For his clothing, 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:07.059 he puts on, 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:08.039 garments of vengeance, 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:08.819 because God, 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:10.079 is going to repay his foe. 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:10.980 And finally, 00:24:11.100 --> 00:24:11.799 he wraps himself, 00:24:11.900 --> 00:24:12.720 in zeal as a cloak. 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:14.680 Because everything, 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:15.600 is going to be carried out, 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:16.160 to completion, 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:18.259 by this driving motivation, 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:19.240 of his holy zeal. 00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:22.059 And God, 00:24:22.140 --> 00:24:22.819 is pointing us here, 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:23.259 to a day, 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:23.960 that still lies, 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:24.519 in the future. 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:27.019 That this is a day, 00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:27.480 when God, 00:24:27.539 --> 00:24:28.259 is going to guard, 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:28.960 his armour, 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:30.819 for the last time. 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:33.059 And it won't be, 00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:34.339 so much for the last battle, 00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:35.359 as if the outcome of, 00:24:36.159 --> 00:24:36.980 who is going to win, 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:37.759 is still in the balance. 00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:38.000 No, 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:39.439 it's like it's the final, 00:24:39.439 --> 00:24:40.059 execution, 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:41.799 of a sentence, 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:43.279 on all the hostile, 00:24:43.399 --> 00:24:44.179 powers of the world, 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:44.679 that have already, 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:45.179 been defeated. 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:48.240 They were defeated, 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:48.679 weren't they? 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:49.179 We know that, 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:49.699 through the death, 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:50.339 and resurrection, 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:51.379 of the suffering servant, 00:24:51.459 --> 00:24:51.939 that we read of, 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:52.720 in Isaiah 53. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:55.699 The day, 00:24:55.699 --> 00:24:56.859 when God comes, 00:24:56.939 --> 00:24:58.619 in his glorious armour, 00:24:59.039 --> 00:24:59.959 will be the great, 00:25:00.059 --> 00:25:00.980 and glorious day. 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:03.480 It will be, 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:04.319 a great and glorious day, 00:25:04.360 --> 00:25:04.640 for those, 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:05.079 who have repented, 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:05.839 of their sins. 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:08.380 It will be, 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:08.960 the culmination, 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:09.380 of everything, 00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:10.259 that we've waited for, 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:11.000 and hoped for. 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:13.019 Because it will be, 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:14.559 the final intervention, 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:16.579 which will be, 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:17.259 great news, 00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:18.180 for God's people. 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:21.160 But notice, 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:21.880 if you haven't already, 00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.220 that part of the great news, 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:23.920 and the good news, 00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:24.579 for God's people, 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:25.900 a big part of the good news, 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:26.380 is, 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:27.099 can you see it? 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:28.599 In verse 17, 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:29.559 it is vengeance. 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:29.879 Vengeance. 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:33.019 The conqueror's work, 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:33.819 is rescue, 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:34.980 and vengeance. 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:38.579 We're going to see, 00:25:38.679 --> 00:25:39.440 through this section, 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:39.960 of Isaiah, 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:40.659 that the idea, 00:25:40.740 --> 00:25:41.159 of vengeance, 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:42.419 is absolutely central, 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:42.919 to the idea, 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:43.759 of God's good news. 00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:46.240 That God's vengeance, 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:46.700 will be done, 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:47.359 with absolute, 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:48.619 unquestionable justice. 00:25:48.819 --> 00:25:49.359 No one will have, 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:50.000 any right, 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:50.619 to object, 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:51.419 to what he does here. 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:52.659 Look at verse 18. 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:54.500 According to their deeds, 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:55.399 soberly repay, 00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:57.019 wrath to his adversaries, 00:25:57.339 --> 00:25:58.359 repayment to his enemies, 00:25:58.359 --> 00:25:59.259 to the coastlands, 00:25:59.339 --> 00:26:00.459 he will render repayment. 00:26:04.639 --> 00:26:05.599 The consequence, 00:26:05.899 --> 00:26:06.399 to this, 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:07.439 is globally, 00:26:07.679 --> 00:26:08.719 all over the world. 00:26:08.939 --> 00:26:09.479 That's the point, 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:10.459 of the islands there. 00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:12.500 People will fear, 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:13.339 the name of the Lord, 00:26:13.419 --> 00:26:14.719 and will revere his glory. 00:26:14.859 --> 00:26:15.339 But you see, 00:26:15.639 --> 00:26:16.500 the sobering fact, 00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:17.299 is that by the time, 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:17.859 they do this, 00:26:17.879 --> 00:26:18.639 it will be too late. 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:22.179 Because when God, 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:23.000 shows up, 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:23.939 as the warrior, 00:26:25.399 --> 00:26:26.500 as the conqueror, 00:26:26.500 --> 00:26:27.099 the opportunity, 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:27.140 the opportunity, 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:27.759 for repentance, 00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:28.299 is over. 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:30.420 And it is time, 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:30.920 for the accounts, 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:31.460 to be settled. 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:33.740 It's the time, 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:34.160 for judgment, 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:34.859 on all evil. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:38.259 Now many of us, 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:39.160 really struggle, 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:39.500 don't we, 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:40.079 with this idea, 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:40.599 of vengeance, 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:41.119 and judgment. 00:26:44.299 --> 00:26:45.079 But God, 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:46.079 is this kind, 00:26:46.119 --> 00:26:46.880 of conqueror. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:49.160 But the Bible, 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:50.380 is absolutely clear, 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:51.359 from beginning to end, 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:52.000 that it is only, 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:52.900 when God comes, 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:54.140 and puts absolutely, 00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:55.019 everything right, 00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:55.660 that there will be, 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:56.740 the universal party. 00:26:58.440 --> 00:26:59.440 When we finally, 00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:00.420 get to experience, 00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:01.779 joy and peace, 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:03.099 that God has promised us. 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:07.019 God continues, 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:08.319 now in this season, 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:10.299 before Jesus returns, 00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:11.160 to offer you, 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:12.000 the opportunity. 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:14.079 But once he comes, 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:16.359 that opportunity, 00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:16.980 will be gone. 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:19.420 Because the day, 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:20.480 the day is coming. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:22.859 The day is coming, 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:23.819 when God will say, 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:24.680 no more. 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:28.240 Ralph Davis, 00:27:28.779 --> 00:27:29.559 some of my favourite, 00:27:29.639 --> 00:27:30.099 commentators, 00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:30.980 he's got a really, 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:31.400 great book, 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:32.859 on the first 12 Psalms, 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:33.599 that I'm reading. 00:27:34.579 --> 00:27:35.019 And in it, 00:27:35.059 --> 00:27:36.039 he tells the story, 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:37.720 that the right front tyre, 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:38.839 on his truck, 00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:41.099 was losing a bit of air, 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.480 every so often. 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:44.400 So about every week, 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:45.039 Ralph Davis, 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:46.119 would have to check the air, 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:46.599 and the pressure, 00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:47.119 in the tyre. 00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:49.480 And often just inflated a bit. 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:50.700 He went away, 00:27:50.759 --> 00:27:51.279 for a couple of weeks, 00:27:51.339 --> 00:27:51.960 he's out of the country, 00:27:52.099 --> 00:27:52.720 left his truck, 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:54.099 at the airport garage, 00:27:54.099 --> 00:27:54.819 and he said, 00:27:54.879 --> 00:27:55.559 the first thing I did, 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:56.219 when I got back, 00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:57.259 was check the air gauge, 00:27:57.319 --> 00:27:57.799 on the tyre. 00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:00.099 I even had a portable inflator, 00:28:00.519 --> 00:28:02.039 a portable inflator, 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:02.679 in the truck, 00:28:02.859 --> 00:28:03.799 in case I needed it. 00:28:04.959 --> 00:28:05.759 But then he writes, 00:28:05.859 --> 00:28:06.859 I hate doing it. 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:08.099 I hate doing that. 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:10.000 Pampering along, 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:11.439 a slow leaked tyre. 00:28:11.859 --> 00:28:13.019 I can hardly wait, 00:28:13.099 --> 00:28:14.339 until it goes totally flat, 00:28:14.419 --> 00:28:15.159 or gets ruined, 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:16.039 or wears out. 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:17.559 So that I can replace it, 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:18.219 with a new one, 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:19.539 that doesn't need, 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:20.359 nursing care. 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:22.979 And that is the Bible's position. 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:26.419 The tweaking has to stop, 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:27.199 sometimes. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:28.219 He writes. 00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:30.539 The tweaking has to stop, 00:28:30.659 --> 00:28:31.219 sometimes. 00:28:33.099 --> 00:28:34.000 And God's people, 00:28:34.159 --> 00:28:35.479 will only have ultimate comfort, 00:28:35.619 --> 00:28:36.159 if they know, 00:28:36.199 --> 00:28:37.139 he's going to take out, 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:38.059 their oppressors. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.159 People bemoan, 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:42.359 bemoan the doctrine, 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:43.399 but unless there is, 00:28:43.539 --> 00:28:44.779 unless there is, 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:45.659 decisive judgment, 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:47.779 there is no solid salvation. 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:50.099 I don't know, 00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:50.619 whether you read, 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:51.420 Evangelical Snow. 00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:54.099 Evangelical Snow, 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:55.259 it's a great new thing, 00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:56.119 I'm going to talk to the editor, 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:56.819 so I've got to say that. 00:28:57.460 --> 00:29:00.160 It can be slightly depressing. 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:02.339 Let me just read you, 00:29:02.359 --> 00:29:03.420 this is what arrived this morning. 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:08.599 So in Yemen, 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:11.579 the story of a Yemeni woman, 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:12.859 who was converted from Islam, 00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:13.960 to Christianity. 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:15.279 She had to keep her new faith, 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:16.000 hidden as her family, 00:29:16.139 --> 00:29:16.960 would probably disown her, 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:17.559 if they knew. 00:29:18.539 --> 00:29:19.279 In Turkey, 00:29:19.379 --> 00:29:20.460 it tells of a pastor, 00:29:20.639 --> 00:29:21.339 in jail. 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:23.639 In Indonesia, 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:24.579 the Christian governor, 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:25.399 was put on trial, 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:26.240 for blasphemy. 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:28.460 In Sudan, 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:29.259 he's been released, 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:29.940 from prison. 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:34.359 In Bangladesh, 00:29:35.379 --> 00:29:36.940 there's an investigation, 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:38.379 into an alleged attack, 00:29:38.460 --> 00:29:39.319 by police officers, 00:29:39.379 --> 00:29:41.559 on a Christian community, 00:29:41.639 --> 00:29:42.119 in Bangladesh, 00:29:42.119 --> 00:29:43.579 which left 25 injured. 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:45.220 In Russia, 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.180 the pastor, 00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:48.120 pastor was the first person, 00:29:48.180 --> 00:29:48.680 deported, 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:50.960 under anti-terror laws, 00:29:51.100 --> 00:29:51.500 in Russia. 00:29:52.100 --> 00:29:52.880 You've got on, 00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:53.440 and on, 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:53.960 and on. 00:29:57.340 --> 00:29:58.000 And the question, 00:29:58.080 --> 00:29:58.539 you've got to ask, 00:29:58.580 --> 00:29:59.340 when you read about, 00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:00.080 the suffering churches, 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:00.900 you've got to ask the question, 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:01.040 well, 00:30:01.040 --> 00:30:02.000 does God care about it? 00:30:05.580 --> 00:30:07.080 And then you start asking questions, 00:30:07.140 --> 00:30:07.800 about whether judgment, 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:08.300 and justice, 00:30:08.420 --> 00:30:09.340 are good news. 00:30:10.300 --> 00:30:11.200 But you better believe it, 00:30:11.220 --> 00:30:12.000 the Lord looked, 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:14.200 and he was so displeased, 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:15.480 that there was no justice, 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:16.720 because the tweaking, 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:17.680 has to stop, 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:18.400 sometimes. 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:21.920 You can write your letters, 00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:23.000 to your MP, 00:30:23.740 --> 00:30:24.720 it's a great thing to do. 00:30:26.140 --> 00:30:26.900 But the tweaking, 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:27.500 has to stop, 00:30:27.579 --> 00:30:28.140 sometimes. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:31.860 And God will repay, 00:30:31.980 --> 00:30:32.860 wrath to his enemies, 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:34.160 and retribution to his foes, 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:34.819 because unless, 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:35.960 there's decisive judgment, 00:30:36.120 --> 00:30:36.839 there's no, 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:38.160 solid salvation. 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:40.220 And God is going to, 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:41.059 judge the nations, 00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:41.700 and the peoples, 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:42.440 who've defied him, 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.519 and persecuted his church. 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:44.200 But you and I, 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:44.960 need to know, 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:46.259 this, 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:47.799 he will also root out, 00:30:47.879 --> 00:30:48.740 and destroy those, 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:49.279 who are evil, 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:50.519 among his people themselves. 00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:57.200 It's not hard, 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:57.879 for you and me, 00:30:57.920 --> 00:30:58.539 to read things, 00:30:58.619 --> 00:30:59.819 like we read in the end, 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:01.139 and pray that, 00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:02.539 evil gets its judgment. 00:31:05.359 --> 00:31:06.720 It's after you hear, 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:07.980 things like, 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:08.920 those stories, 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:09.859 that you realise, 00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:10.319 that judgment, 00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:10.799 and justice, 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:11.759 are good things. 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:13.299 But you need to listen, 00:31:13.299 --> 00:31:13.819 this morning, 00:31:13.899 --> 00:31:14.740 because if you have not, 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:15.859 repented of your sin, 00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:18.599 and if there is, 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:19.919 unconfessed sin, 00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:20.440 in your life, 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:21.079 and if there are, 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:22.139 ingrained patterns, 00:31:22.139 --> 00:31:23.119 of sin in your life, 00:31:23.159 --> 00:31:24.019 that you refuse, 00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:25.000 to bring to God, 00:31:25.639 --> 00:31:26.639 then God's attitude, 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:27.419 to you, 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:28.960 is closer, 00:31:30.399 --> 00:31:32.279 to the attitude, 00:31:32.379 --> 00:31:32.799 which he has, 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:33.379 towards those, 00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:34.799 who commit atrocities, 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:35.539 against our brothers, 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:36.079 and sisters, 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:37.019 than to the person, 00:31:37.099 --> 00:31:37.599 who's maybe seated, 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:38.200 next to you. 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:42.100 I am not, 00:31:42.100 --> 00:31:42.740 saying to you, 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:43.100 this morning, 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:43.759 that you are, 00:31:43.860 --> 00:31:44.319 as evil, 00:31:44.420 --> 00:31:44.920 as a killer, 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:45.580 of Christians. 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:48.000 But you need, 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:48.460 to understand, 00:31:48.580 --> 00:31:49.380 that every person, 00:31:49.460 --> 00:31:50.460 on every scale, 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:50.799 of evil, 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:51.420 you want to take, 00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:52.279 every person, 00:31:52.340 --> 00:31:53.360 who has not repented, 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:54.319 will be counted, 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:55.220 as God's enemy, 00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:57.640 when he puts on, 00:31:57.680 --> 00:31:57.960 his armour, 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:58.920 on that final day. 00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:02.039 Every single person, 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:02.920 who has not repented, 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:03.559 will be counted, 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:04.339 as God's enemy, 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:05.399 on that final day. 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:06.839 Every single person. 00:32:09.919 --> 00:32:10.859 So what is the, 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:11.819 only hope, 00:32:12.639 --> 00:32:14.500 for the people, 00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:14.980 who imprison, 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:15.919 and persecute Christians? 00:32:17.419 --> 00:32:18.200 And what is the, 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:18.779 only hope, 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:19.539 for any sinner, 00:32:19.659 --> 00:32:20.619 separated from God, 00:32:20.740 --> 00:32:21.119 is that, 00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:21.779 it is that the, 00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:22.659 conqueror, 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:24.779 is also the redeemer. 00:32:24.879 --> 00:32:25.740 So look at verses 20, 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:26.379 to 21. 00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:30.480 And the redeemer, 00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:31.480 will come to Zion, 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:32.240 to those, 00:32:32.399 --> 00:32:32.879 in Jacob, 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:33.440 who turn, 00:32:33.540 --> 00:32:34.460 from transgression, 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:35.740 declares the Lord. 00:32:37.860 --> 00:32:39.000 And as for me, 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:40.040 this is, 00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:40.980 my covenant, 00:32:41.280 --> 00:32:41.780 with them, 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:42.580 says the Lord. 00:32:43.600 --> 00:32:44.840 My spirit is upon, 00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:46.060 that is upon you, 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:46.480 Singler, 00:32:46.560 --> 00:32:47.220 and my words, 00:32:47.280 --> 00:32:47.860 that I have put, 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:49.240 in your mouth, 00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:50.580 Singler, 00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:51.580 shall not depart, 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:52.480 out of your mouth. 00:32:54.580 --> 00:32:54.900 Or, 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:55.280 in the mouth, 00:32:55.340 --> 00:32:55.840 of your offspring, 00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:56.600 or out of the mouth, 00:32:56.680 --> 00:32:57.560 of your children's offspring, 00:32:57.760 --> 00:32:58.340 says the Lord, 00:32:58.420 --> 00:32:59.080 from this time, 00:32:59.180 --> 00:33:00.120 forth and forevermore. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:05.540 One person, 00:33:05.620 --> 00:33:06.760 will always be on your lips, 00:33:08.020 --> 00:33:08.580 and on the lips, 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:09.400 of your children, 00:33:10.820 --> 00:33:11.420 and on the lips, 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:12.280 of your descendants. 00:33:13.860 --> 00:33:14.820 From this time on, 00:33:14.840 --> 00:33:15.240 and forever, 00:33:15.360 --> 00:33:15.740 says the Lord, 00:33:15.780 --> 00:33:16.260 you read through, 00:33:16.260 --> 00:33:17.260 the whole book of Isaiah, 00:33:17.380 --> 00:33:17.900 and you find, 00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:18.520 that this chapter, 00:33:18.620 --> 00:33:19.440 is not the only place, 00:33:19.540 --> 00:33:20.280 where we get a description, 00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:21.260 of someone's apparel, 00:33:22.260 --> 00:33:23.600 someone's clothing. 00:33:24.620 --> 00:33:25.540 Isaiah chapter 11, 00:33:25.640 --> 00:33:25.980 we're told, 00:33:26.300 --> 00:33:26.660 of someone, 00:33:26.760 --> 00:33:27.400 whom righteousness, 00:33:27.580 --> 00:33:28.260 will be their belt, 00:33:28.259 --> 00:33:29.119 and faithfulness, 00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:30.059 will be the sash, 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:30.799 around their waist. 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:33.220 Chapter 61, 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:33.819 we're going to meet, 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:34.480 somebody who declares, 00:33:34.579 --> 00:33:35.379 that God has clothed, 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:35.940 them in the garments, 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:36.619 of salvation, 00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:37.359 and arrayed them, 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.059 in the robe, 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:38.579 of righteousness. 00:33:40.119 --> 00:33:40.759 And when you put, 00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:41.920 all these things together, 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:43.279 you quickly realise, 00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:44.460 that each person, 00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:45.500 described here, 00:33:46.379 --> 00:33:47.859 is the same person. 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:50.420 It's the one, 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:51.599 who is the reigning king. 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:53.879 It's the one, 00:33:53.940 --> 00:33:55.200 who is the suffering servant. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:57.200 And the one, 00:33:57.299 --> 00:33:58.080 who is the anointed, 00:33:58.299 --> 00:33:59.200 victorious conqueror, 00:33:59.819 --> 00:34:00.860 or as God, 00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:02.140 declares him here, 00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:03.240 to be the redeemer. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:05.319 The redeemer, 00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:06.299 upon God, 00:34:06.620 --> 00:34:07.480 upon whom God, 00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:08.800 has placed his spirit, 00:34:09.159 --> 00:34:09.659 well of course, 00:34:09.740 --> 00:34:10.220 it is Jesus. 00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:12.820 And the redeemer, 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:13.639 will come, 00:34:13.720 --> 00:34:14.880 to all who repent, 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:15.679 of their sins. 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:16.519 The one, 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:17.019 who will come, 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:17.880 to wipe out, 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:19.199 all wickedness. 00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:22.720 Is the one, 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:23.380 who has wiped out, 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:24.340 all the wickedness. 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:26.679 that falls, 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:27.519 on those, 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:27.980 who repent, 00:34:28.059 --> 00:34:28.599 and trust him. 00:34:30.739 --> 00:34:31.859 The only one, 00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:32.980 who never deserves, 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:33.559 to lose, 00:34:33.799 --> 00:34:34.779 the face of God. 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:39.659 Lost it on the cross, 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:40.579 as he bore our sin. 00:34:40.819 --> 00:34:41.399 My God, 00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:42.239 my God, 00:34:42.980 --> 00:34:44.339 why have you forsaken me? 00:34:47.539 --> 00:34:48.559 And so Jesus, 00:34:48.799 --> 00:34:49.279 bore, 00:34:49.879 --> 00:34:50.779 the wrath, 00:34:51.699 --> 00:34:52.980 and displeasure, 00:34:52.980 --> 00:34:54.039 of God, 00:34:54.179 --> 00:34:55.940 and separation, 00:34:56.380 --> 00:34:57.760 and dereliction, 00:34:58.559 --> 00:34:59.920 and alienation, 00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:02.659 so that you and I, 00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:03.480 do not need to bear, 00:35:03.500 --> 00:35:04.019 those things. 00:35:06.199 --> 00:35:07.219 And that is the redeemer, 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:07.659 the king. 00:35:09.320 --> 00:35:10.059 Who is, 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.000 the servant? 00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:13.960 The servant, 00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:15.099 is the conqueror. 00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:17.519 And Isaiah, 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:18.320 lays out a choice, 00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:18.780 for you and I, 00:35:18.860 --> 00:35:19.579 at the end of this chapter. 00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:20.320 Do you want Jesus, 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:20.840 the redeemer, 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:21.700 who is for you? 00:35:22.660 --> 00:35:23.680 Or do you want Jesus, 00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:24.260 the warrior, 00:35:24.320 --> 00:35:25.079 who is against you? 00:35:25.120 --> 00:35:25.880 That's your choice. 00:35:26.160 --> 00:35:27.100 Two camps this morning. 00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:29.700 Because it's one, 00:35:29.740 --> 00:35:30.120 or the other. 00:35:31.780 --> 00:35:32.780 Do you want him, 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:34.079 as your rescuer? 00:35:35.680 --> 00:35:36.579 Or do you want him, 00:35:36.620 --> 00:35:37.160 as your judge? 00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:39.820 And Isaiah, 00:35:39.960 --> 00:35:40.600 pleads with you, 00:35:40.680 --> 00:35:41.039 repent, 00:35:41.200 --> 00:35:41.780 and trust, 00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:42.420 in the redeemer, 00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:43.680 because only God, 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:44.680 only God, 00:35:44.740 --> 00:35:45.400 can break, 00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.519 through the sin barrier. 00:35:48.019 --> 00:35:48.840 And he promises, 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:49.460 to do that, 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:50.240 through the redeemer, 00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:50.800 of those, 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:52.079 and only those, 00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:53.659 who repent, 00:35:53.720 --> 00:35:54.440 of their sins. 00:35:57.679 --> 00:35:58.900 We are not, 00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:00.280 playing games, 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:02.340 on Sunday. 00:36:04.300 --> 00:36:05.199 Not playing games, 00:36:05.220 --> 00:36:05.639 any day. 00:36:07.720 --> 00:36:09.000 But do you realise, 00:36:09.240 --> 00:36:10.199 what your sin, 00:36:10.380 --> 00:36:11.420 will do to you, 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:12.920 if you follow it, 00:36:13.659 --> 00:36:14.300 and you do not, 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:14.900 repent of it? 00:36:15.800 --> 00:36:16.599 Do you see that? 00:36:16.599 --> 00:36:18.960 You might say, 00:36:19.019 --> 00:36:20.059 it's a little thing. 00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:22.480 There are people, 00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:23.239 in hell, 00:36:23.380 --> 00:36:23.940 this morning, 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:26.360 and they didn't repent, 00:36:26.460 --> 00:36:27.099 because they said, 00:36:27.219 --> 00:36:28.259 sin is just, 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:29.360 a little thing. 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:32.400 Your sin, 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:34.819 will separate you, 00:36:34.940 --> 00:36:35.380 from God. 00:36:36.699 --> 00:36:37.960 Unless you repent. 00:36:39.960 --> 00:36:41.099 And if you will repent, 00:36:41.259 --> 00:36:42.139 what does God offer you? 00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:42.799 The only thing, 00:36:42.799 --> 00:36:43.339 he offers you, 00:36:43.420 --> 00:36:43.940 is a welcome, 00:36:44.819 --> 00:36:45.579 and forgiveness. 00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:47.519 And joy. 00:36:50.039 --> 00:36:50.699 And so today, 00:36:50.860 --> 00:36:52.000 if you hear his voice, 00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:54.259 harden not your heart. 00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:55.900 Let's pray.