WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.200 Okay, so we're going to go back this evening for a little while to this chapter, Isaiah 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:05.200 chapter 2. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:09.560 Now, when I was growing up, particularly when I, maybe I was growing up, maybe even occasionally 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:15.480 now, I used to get missionary talks in church quite often. 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:23.960 And when I was younger, we used to, we kind of had a, it was something we always thought 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:25.519 would happen at a missionary talk. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:29.640 The missionary would always say at some point, and we used to clock this as young people 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:33.560 because young cynical people would always clock that they, at some point they would 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:39.399 say the land that I'm in or the land that I'm going to is a land of contrasts. 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.960 It just seemed to be the classic mission of these statements, that every land they went 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:49.040 to was a land of contrasts and they were completely genuine in writing what they were saying, 00:00:49.040 --> 00:00:53.079 but you would always get, you would always be quite happy if they said that because 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:55.040 you knew they were going to say that in their talk. 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:59.640 Well, I'm going to say it tonight, I've got to that age, and I'm going to say the same, 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:03.679 that this chapter is a chapter of contrasts, okay? 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:08.879 And there's an invitation in the chapter and there's a warning in the chapter and it's 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:14.200 very clear and it's very contrasting and it's very powerful. 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:19.599 And as we work through this chapter, which we know that Isaiah is difficult and it's 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:27.000 written a long time ago in a different context and it's in a different language, it's poetic 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:32.239 and there's all kinds of difficulties with it, but the message is very, ultimately is 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:36.959 very clear because we know that Israel and Judah, God's people in the Old Testament, 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:41.399 who he writes to and who he prophesies to and who he speaks to, who he's led, who he's 00:01:41.399 --> 00:01:48.639 redeemed and who he's chosen, by this time in their history are walking in spiritual 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:49.959 darkness. 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:55.079 So they've turned their backs on their God and they're refusing really as God's people 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:57.480 to hold God's hand. 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:02.680 They were forgetting who they were and instead they were, as a nation as it were, they were 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:08.120 stubbornly choosing to find their own way to prosperity. 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:09.879 They didn't need God anymore. 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:15.960 He'd taken them as it were into the promised land from the slavery in Egypt and rather 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:21.080 than keep looking to God, they just were looking to the nations around them and starting to 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:26.400 copy how they lived without reference to God. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:34.159 So primarily this prophecy speaks into that context. 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:39.719 And the challenge for us today, I think, is when we read something like this, who is 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:47.039 God speaking to now, or who is God speaking to? 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:48.719 And what is the message? 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:53.079 Because that's when we read this Bible, we've always got to find that because it's a living 00:02:53.079 --> 00:02:54.079 word. 00:02:54.079 --> 00:02:57.599 Now we know it's an Old Testament truth and Corey unpacked that beautifully last Sunday 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:04.199 night, the context and how it was significant then and it continues to be significant. 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:10.919 So the really interesting thing is that God is speaking to humanity, not just to His covenant 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:15.959 people and people are the same and have always been the same. 00:03:15.959 --> 00:03:20.519 But He is speaking especially to His covenant people in the Old Testament. 00:03:20.519 --> 00:03:26.599 In other words, when we think of applying this to ourselves, we need to recognize that 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:32.439 the covenant people of the Old Testament are mirrored by the believer, the church in the 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:33.839 New Testament. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:40.000 So basically when Isaiah speaks to the Old Testament people, primarily not unbelievers, 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:45.039 but primarily those who at least are covenant believers, then as we apply it, we recognize 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:51.360 this is a message to people like us, who are part of the New Testament covenant people 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:57.560 of God as those who are believers, who trust in Jesus, or who are baptized and who belong 00:03:57.560 --> 00:03:59.480 to the church. 00:03:59.480 --> 00:04:03.159 So it's a relevant message at that level. 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:10.719 And the message is, again, by way of introduction, is primarily the importance of feeding our 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.479 faith and walking in the light of the Lord. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:19.639 Verse 5 is the end of the first section and it says, Oh, House of Jacob, come let us walk 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:22.040 in the light of the Lord. 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:31.279 And in other words, He's saying, you have to recognize that God is so good that we walk 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.839 in the light of the Lord. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.919 And the challenge sometimes for us is we don't think God is that good. 00:04:37.919 --> 00:04:42.759 When we don't follow God, in Christ, it's because we actually don't think He's that 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:46.239 good and He's that much light. 00:04:46.239 --> 00:04:52.039 But it's also to expose the addictive nature, sinful nature and reliance that often comes 00:04:52.039 --> 00:04:53.759 from within ourselves. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:05:01.159 And the temptation to choose to ignore God and live on our own terms because we don't 00:05:01.159 --> 00:05:04.120 think we're that bad. 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:08.240 So it's a contrasting picture we have here. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:12.240 We don't follow God because we don't think He's that good. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:16.360 And we just trust in ourselves because we don't think we're that bad and we don't really 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:17.839 need God in our lives. 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:23.039 And the problem that we are tempted with today as Christians is exactly the same issue that 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:26.760 God was speaking to the Old Testament believers about. 00:05:26.760 --> 00:05:32.040 So the invitation this evening, particularly in verses 1 to 6, there's an invitation and 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:33.040 there's a warning. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:38.200 So the invitation, particularly in verses 1 to 6 is trust me, trust God. 00:05:38.200 --> 00:05:39.840 That's what He's saying to the people. 00:05:39.840 --> 00:05:47.280 They've turned away from Him and so now He's inviting them to trust Him in the first six 00:05:47.280 --> 00:05:49.280 verses of chapter 2. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:53.719 Go house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. 00:05:53.719 --> 00:06:01.000 Judah and Jerusalem that He is speaking to here, particularly the southern kingdom of 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:02.000 Judah. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.439 He's saying, listen, you are my promised people. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:07.839 You're my covenant people. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:11.079 You're at the center of my purposes. 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:15.599 And I'm calling you to remember who you are, to remember the promises that I've given to 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:21.080 you, to remember how I've already redeemed you, to remember what you're called to be 00:06:21.080 --> 00:06:24.080 and what the future holds for you. 00:06:24.080 --> 00:06:28.840 You're the cradle, He says, as a nation of the Messiah that is to come. 00:06:28.840 --> 00:06:33.439 The Savior of the world will come through you, through you as a people. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.680 And I want you, He says, to be a blessing to the world. 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:42.280 You're called to be, as it were, my ambassadors in the world, to the nations around you. 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:48.279 That's what I'm calling you to be like, to reflect the love of God and to reflect the 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:51.679 way of God to the nations around you. 00:06:51.679 --> 00:06:59.439 And to know that there is a great future that you are part of. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:04.599 As you continue to trust and as you continue to walk in the light, that you are part of 00:07:04.599 --> 00:07:10.639 this great future in being in God's covenant people. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:16.279 And He's saying that to Judean Jerusalem, and He's encouraging them and reminding them, 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:23.360 particularly to think about who they are and what they have as believers. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:28.000 And especially, this is a prophetic section. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.719 That means it's looking forward, not so much looking back to the rescue, not so much looking 00:07:32.719 --> 00:07:38.680 back to the current situation or looking at the current situation as to the future, the 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.600 future that is theirs if they will continue with the Lord. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:49.639 And He speaks about a future, and He foretells a future that therefore involves us, because 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:55.000 we are the future, compared with the time in which this was written. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.600 And because there is a future for us that we are a part of as believers also. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:01.280 So what future is being foretold? 00:08:01.280 --> 00:08:07.439 Well, He says in verse 2, it shall come to pass in the latter days. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:15.439 Now when are the latter days of Isaiah that's spoken of here? 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:21.519 Well interestingly, when we speak of the latter days in Isaiah, we can link it to the book 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:26.000 of Mark, as we saw last week, that there's a lot of similarities between Mark and Isaiah, 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:30.399 Mark quotes Isaiah at the very beginning of the chapter. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:37.439 And it's really the latter days are the times of Christ's first coming onwards. 00:08:37.439 --> 00:08:44.319 The coming of the Kingdom of Christ, the revelation of the King Jesus is the beginning of the latter 00:08:44.319 --> 00:08:45.319 days. 00:08:45.319 --> 00:08:51.679 Now in Acts chapter 2, there's one or two references to make today in the New Testament. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:59.120 In Acts chapter 2 and verse 17, Peter, when he's preaching at Pentecost at the beginning 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:04.159 of the New Testament, he says, in quoting an Old Testament prophet, Joel, he says, 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:09.120 And in the latter days, it shall be, God declares that I will pour out my spirit on 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:13.120 all flesh, your sons and your daughters will prosper and your young men shall see visions, 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.360 your own men shall see dreams. 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:24.279 And so we recognize that from the moment that Christ was crucified and resurrected and ascended, 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:29.600 we have entered into the latter days, the future that is promised here. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:33.679 And it's a day when he goes on to speak about various things. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:38.600 He says that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:40.839 of the mountains that should be lifted above the hills. 00:09:40.839 --> 00:09:46.120 All the nations shall flow to it and many people shall come to it. 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:55.519 And it's an interesting picture of Mount Zion, and Mount Zion is not the highest of 00:09:55.519 --> 00:10:04.320 mountains in Israel, but it is to be regarded symbolically and seen as the most significant 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:05.320 place. 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:10.720 And Mount Zion, of course, is where Jerusalem is, and Jerusalem is rising to the most significant 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:11.720 place. 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:13.919 It shall be lifted up above the hills. 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:20.479 Now, it's very interesting in John chapter 12 and verse 32, when Jesus speaks about the 00:10:20.479 --> 00:10:27.399 crucifixion, he speaks about himself being lifted up and all peoples looking to him, 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:30.039 drawing all peoples to himself. 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:38.759 And what we have here is very much a prophecy of Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Calvary, Golgotha, 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:45.919 the place where Jesus was crucified, and it becomes the center of the world in terms of 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.519 the spiritual reality of what Jesus has done. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:51.679 And all the nations shall flow to it. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:58.279 It's a picture of the symbolic centrality of Jerusalem, because that is where Jesus was 00:10:58.279 --> 00:10:59.600 crucified. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:05.120 And also in the Pentecost sermon, we're given a list of all the different nations of the 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:16.200 world that are represented at Pentecost, as the nations come to Jerusalem and come to 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:19.080 hear the gospel message of Jesus Christ. 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:23.399 Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:26.960 teach us his ways that we must walk in his path. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:32.759 It's the place, therefore, and it's speaking forward to the latter days when the work of 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:36.200 Jesus Christ is what every believer looks to. 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:42.399 We all look to, not the physical Jerusalem, we don't look to Zion physically, but we look 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:50.080 to the Savior who was crucified in that geographical place 2,000 years ago, and recognize that 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:56.439 His laws of love, as He teaches us His ways and that we might walk in His path, and from 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:04.240 out of Him goes this great law, a new commandment I give to you, He says, that you will love 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.920 one another as I have loved you. 00:12:06.920 --> 00:12:14.200 And He's the one who comes and He speaks the word as the Savior, and He's the one who's 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:16.680 the judge between the nations. 00:12:16.680 --> 00:12:23.240 And we've got that great verse which speaks about Him deciding the disputes of many peoples, 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:27.960 they shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning forks, and it's 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:35.560 a message, therefore, of peace at the ending of hostility, the ending of division and war, 00:12:35.560 --> 00:12:37.960 and they will learn war no more. 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:42.279 Oh, house of Jacob, come let us walk in the light of the Lord. 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:49.799 Now that prophecy of the Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified goes beyond that further 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:55.079 because we recognize in Revelation chapter 21, just look at this for a moment to see 00:12:55.079 --> 00:13:01.559 the continuity between the whole picture of the city, this great new city that is spoken 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:07.479 of and prophesied of here to the people, reminding them of who they belong to and the future 00:13:07.479 --> 00:13:10.559 that is theirs and ours as believers. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:15.359 And in Revelation 21 He says, I saw the new heavens and the new earth, so the prophecy 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.960 goes right to the end of time and it says the first earth, first heaven and the first 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:22.320 earth had passed away and the sea was no more. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:27.600 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.080 as a bride adorned for her husband. 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:34.879 Behold the dwell in place of God was with man, he will dwell with them and they will 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:36.320 be his people. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:44.920 So we've got this great gentle prophecy that the people of Jerusalem and Judah are reminded 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:51.479 of and are reminded that they have a part in that as they keep trusting and walking 00:13:51.479 --> 00:13:52.879 in the light of the Lord. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:59.399 And it's a prophecy that just like a tidal wave also overflows us and takes into the 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:08.839 future for our future as well in the new Jerusalem, an idealized city, a society, a new heaven 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:15.160 and a new earth that we belong to as Christians as believers, marked by God's presence and 00:14:15.160 --> 00:14:16.960 by God's glory. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:23.360 And all who dwell in there are those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:28.480 So we recognize that as he seeks to encourage and invite them to walk in the light, that 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:34.519 in Christ that is our future also and that is the encouragement that we have. 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:40.039 His kingdom as it was then and it is now is being established. 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:46.199 It might not look like it then, it sometimes doesn't look like it now. 00:14:46.199 --> 00:14:52.039 But all over the world there are millions of believers and there are people coming to 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:54.679 faith in King Jesus all the time. 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:58.039 His kingdom is being established throughout the world. 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:07.879 And the local church is His Jerusalem in miniature, it's His society in miniature, it's His idealized 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:15.439 city in miniature, pointing towards the kind of future that there will be in Christ. 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:21.559 Even with all our failings and faults, we are to reflect the light of Jesus by the way 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:22.559 we live. 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:27.959 We are to take that invitation, oh house of Jacob, come let us walk in the light of the 00:15:27.959 --> 00:15:29.199 Lord. 00:15:29.199 --> 00:15:36.119 And we are encouraged to do that and we're reminded from this passage and from elsewhere 00:15:36.119 --> 00:15:39.879 that this is the only future that there is. 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:48.039 And we're called to live in the light of God and His love and in His truth and never let 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:49.039 Him go. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:57.279 It may be that this evening there's someone who desperately needs to hear that call to 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:02.879 renew their trust in the God that they have drifted from in the same way that the Old 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:09.599 Testament people had drifted from their relationship with their Savior God. 00:16:09.599 --> 00:16:14.279 And it may be they're just clinging on this evening and I would call you to recognize 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:20.159 the great future, the great present that you have in Christ, the great light that He brings 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:25.039 into your life, but the great future that is prophesied right from the belly of the 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:32.199 Old Testament and encompasses us and encompasses us in the future to which we belong as citizens 00:16:32.199 --> 00:16:39.519 of this great Jerusalem, this great city, this great society of those of the redeemed. 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:46.159 So be encouraged by that this evening and briefly also there's a warning in verses 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:48.319 6 to 22. 00:16:48.319 --> 00:16:54.919 There's the contrast, there's the other side of it and it's a really solemn warning and 00:16:54.919 --> 00:17:01.799 the warning goes out to Judea in these verses, particularly initially in verses 6 to 9. 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:08.319 And he gives a picture of a people who have rejected God, therefore God has rejected it, 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:13.359 for you have rejected your people, Isaiah says, to God and at the end he says, do not 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:18.079 forgive them and what he means by that he's saying, look, unless they turn, unless they 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:23.279 come back to you, there's no place of forgiveness and they will be rejected because he gives 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:26.559 a picture of what they're like and how they're living. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:32.200 They've turned their backs on God completely and they've mimicked all the pagan nations 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:38.400 around them, they're ensnared by superstitions, fortune tellers like the Philistines, we're 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.759 told they're very materialistic, it's interesting, they're kind of poetic, like the land that 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:50.480 says the land, the land, the land, so if that's all they hold on to, the world and the physical 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:56.000 ground in which they stand, they've lost sight of that whole spiritual reality. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:01.680 They're in relationship with the children of foreigners, their land is filled with silver 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:06.960 and gold, in other words, they're chasing after wealth, they're seeking power and military 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:11.840 wealth, their land is filled with horses, there's no end to their chariots and they're 00:18:11.840 --> 00:18:16.039 worshiping idols, they're not even worshiping the living God, their land is filled with 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:20.080 idols, they bow down to the work of their hands, what their own fingers have made and 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:25.240 it's a kind of really, it's a real picture of judgment on the fact that this chosen 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:30.560 people with all the privileges, with all the love that's been showered on them and with 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:35.399 the fact that they're in the promised land, they've completely turned their backs and 00:18:35.399 --> 00:18:40.919 they're living as if there's no God whatsoever, they've abandoned Him and there's no hope 00:18:40.919 --> 00:18:46.960 for them unless they return and unless they hear that invitation to walk in the light 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:53.279 of the Lord, they've entirely apostatised from Him. 00:18:53.279 --> 00:19:00.279 So it gives that picture and any kind of broad, Isaiah broadens it out in prophetic vision, 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:10.559 really to a future day of the Lord from verse 10 really and maybe more specifically from 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:16.519 verse 12, for the Lord of hosts has a day and He goes on to explain as the way I read 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:19.279 it, you know, it was very repetitive, wasn't it? 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:26.359 Against this, against, against, against, against, against, against, and it speaks out of this, 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:34.519 it foreshadows a greater judgment, not only for the people of God who reject their Savior 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:39.759 but for all who reject Christ the light of the world because we know the way that Christ 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:45.479 describes Himself as the light of the world in the New Testament. 00:19:45.479 --> 00:19:52.559 And He therefore just explains what that greater judgment is, the pride of self-reliance will 00:19:52.559 --> 00:20:00.000 be humbled, we see it in verse 11, the hotty looks of man shall be brought low and the 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:05.440 lofty pride of men will be humbled and it's repeated again in verse 17, the hottyness 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.319 of man shall be humbled, the lofty pride of men shall be brought low. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:15.919 So that kind of whole repetitive engine going on reminding us that this, also the splendour 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:23.880 in contrast to that judgment, the splendour of God's glory will be revealed as He exposes 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:27.600 who they are and what they're doing. 00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:34.000 And He speaks about this day of reckoning in verse 12, the Lord of hosts has a day and 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:39.200 in verse 20, in that day mankind will be cast away. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:47.680 And He exposes all this same kind of rebellion and rejection that was evident in Judah in 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:53.360 their lives, outward religious observance that hid the heart from God, all the power 00:20:53.360 --> 00:20:59.559 and glory that people seek that's exalted above God, the pride of every heart that says, 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:05.279 I reject God and my own creation, I'll make my own way in life. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:12.920 With all its blindness and with all its selfishness and with all its inability to see and to recognise 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:16.720 our own mortality and on that day it will be exposed. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:26.240 Now it's impossible to ignore and to hide from this picture of God's splendour and God's 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:34.440 glory and God's judgment and the terror of the Lord and from the splendour of His Majesty 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:37.200 that's spoken of. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:43.720 And it's a judgment that speaks of death and eternal separation from the good and from 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:46.200 life. 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:48.400 And how can we know? 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.320 How can we know this day will come? 00:21:51.320 --> 00:21:55.080 How can we? 00:21:55.080 --> 00:22:03.440 Because the Son of Man, because Jesus was lifted up, that's spoken of here, because on Calvary's 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:11.320 Mount, on that mountain, on that hill, He faced divine justice and stood in the dock 00:22:11.320 --> 00:22:22.600 to take the judgment from this glorious splendour of the Majesty of the Father and to take it 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:31.200 in our place, to take away our guilt and our blindness and our death and our sin now. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.240 We know that. 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:35.160 We at least know that theoretically. 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:41.079 It's hard to live in the light of it in many ways, isn't it? 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:45.519 And interestingly, when Corey was preaching this morning, it struck me that there was 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:53.440 a lot of similarities in some ways between the truths that were being looked at because 00:22:53.440 --> 00:23:04.960 it speaks also here about the terrifying reality of God and of that, the terror of the Lord 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.080 when He rises to terrify the earth. 00:23:08.080 --> 00:23:19.000 And it's that contrast between the splendour of the invisible God and the earthiness of 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:25.640 the earth and the natural facing, the supernatural, which we struggle with in so many ways. 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:29.000 But why do we find this truth terrifying? 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:33.920 This truth of a God to whom we all have to give account. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:36.359 Every living soul has to give account. 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:40.960 And a God who says, there's only one way we can stand on that day. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:47.119 It's when we're covered in the righteousness of Jesus, which is why the significance of 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:50.559 the call to the light is so great to trust in Him. 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:53.959 Not just a passing phase. 00:23:53.959 --> 00:23:58.159 It's not just a comfortable side interest of our lives. 00:23:58.159 --> 00:24:02.399 It is that, as we were reminded this morning, the giving of everything because He's worth 00:24:02.399 --> 00:24:03.399 it. 00:24:03.399 --> 00:24:06.719 But why does it terrify us? 00:24:06.719 --> 00:24:10.119 Why does God as judge terrify us? 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:18.279 Because I think it's because we know that it's the cry of every single heart is for 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:20.639 justice. 00:24:20.639 --> 00:24:22.599 We all cry out for justice. 00:24:22.599 --> 00:24:25.279 We all cry out for right to be done. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:27.359 It's our deepest longing. 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:33.599 Our deepest longing is for evil and death to be banished completely. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:39.699 But what we often ignore is that sin is what blinds us to our own culpability. 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:47.279 We only ever want to blame others for the wrongs in the world and declare ourselves not Jesus, 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:48.680 the only innocent one. 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:57.519 But we were given a magnificent picture this morning of the majesty and the authority and 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:59.799 the glory of Jesus. 00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:08.759 None of us can stand on our own when we see that that is the standard that the Father requires. 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:15.160 And so there's a terror within us because, in a sense, because we know it's true. 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:24.799 But it's a terror that must drive us away from trusting in ourselves and draws us towards 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:28.200 the light of Jesus who has open arms and who loves us. 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:34.599 So the two summaries of this passage, at the end of verse 5, you've got O House of Jacob, 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:35.879 you're part of this great future. 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:40.000 It's a future that goes to the New Jerusalem and he says, come let us walk in the light 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:41.000 of the Lord. 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:43.040 We're called to walk in the light of the Lord. 00:25:43.040 --> 00:25:46.680 You're called, and I'm called just as much, to that great invitation. 00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:51.720 But the warning is at the end of the chapter, at the end of this section which speaks about 00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:57.320 God's judgment, not just His direct judgment and Judah because of their sin, but this future 00:25:57.320 --> 00:25:58.320 judgment. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:06.559 And so, we're called to stop regarding humanity in whose nostrils is breath of what is count 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:07.559 as He. 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:13.159 In other words, He's saying to Judah and He's saying to us, don't just look to yourself, 00:26:13.159 --> 00:26:19.679 don't trust in yourself for the answers, you know? 00:26:19.679 --> 00:26:28.240 Last night I went to bed and I go to bed and I always line my side with my hand on the side 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.240 of the bed. 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:33.359 And last night for some reason, I never noticed it before. 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:37.880 I could feel every single breath I breathed on my hand. 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:41.000 I never noticed that before. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:47.599 But it was just a reminder to me that that breath that we breathe in and out is a gift 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:49.920 from the living God. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:54.400 It's not our own, it's His gift. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.200 Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:04.080 You know, we are mortal and He is the one who gifts His life and it comes from Him and 00:27:04.080 --> 00:27:06.600 He ends it when He wills. 00:27:06.600 --> 00:27:14.759 And we are no place to stand and be the rock for our own salvation. 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:19.519 We're not worth, we're not able, we're not capable. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:24.960 The material world, the land, the land, the land, that is God's gift to us. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:34.240 But if you're living for power, for money, for prestige, for longevity and health, and 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:41.799 turn your back on the living God, it's such a huge picture of folly and the temptation 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:44.759 as we do it all the time. 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:46.279 And we're called back. 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:52.840 We're to take warning from the living God who wants us always to walk in the light so 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:59.079 often we choose the darkness. 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:08.119 And always remember His intrinsic worth and His glory and don't live as if all, this is 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:11.879 all there is, the material universe. 00:28:11.879 --> 00:28:13.519 Because you know what? 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:15.079 The universe doesn't care. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:18.159 It's no interest in you whatsoever. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:23.519 Your life or death is of no consequence to this material universe in which we live. 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:26.000 But the living God loves you. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:28.120 The living God has made you. 00:28:28.120 --> 00:28:30.920 Living God is the one too and we will all give account. 00:28:30.920 --> 00:28:36.160 And He calls you if you're not a believer this evening, to come and to trust in this beautiful 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:40.040 Savior Jesus, who is the light of the world. 00:28:40.040 --> 00:28:48.120 And as Christians, He calls us back to Himself and to warn us against leaning on our own understanding. 00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:50.719 And trusting in ourselves. 00:28:50.719 --> 00:28:56.719 And may that be what we do and remind ourselves that your involvement as a citizen of the 00:28:56.719 --> 00:29:06.159 kingdom of God, as it is outworked in being a member of sins, sees that this is a prototype 00:29:06.159 --> 00:29:07.399 of the city of God. 00:29:07.399 --> 00:29:10.679 The local church is a prototype of the city of God. 00:29:10.679 --> 00:29:15.319 And therefore we're to live as a people, just as the Old Testament people were called 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:23.839 to live that are a light to the world around them that shine for Christ and that live together 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:26.639 in a way that shows our love for Christ and our love for one another. 00:29:26.639 --> 00:29:29.919 What a great challenge, yet what a great privilege. 00:29:29.919 --> 00:29:31.519 And that's what we're called to do this evening. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:34.119 Let's bow our heads in prayer. 00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:35.839 Thank you Lord for who you are. 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:41.319 I pray that you would take a difficult passage like that and apply it to our lives and hearts. 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:46.240 And that we would see that there's this one picture that goes right through Scripture 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:52.039 that speaks either before the coming of Jesus or after the coming of Jesus that speaks about 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:56.319 your covenantal love and your purposes and your promises. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:01.359 And that we live in these latter days between your first and second coming. 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:05.599 And that yet there are many promises to look forward to. 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:13.439 And remind us of that, help us to live in your light, forgive us when we think better, 00:30:13.439 --> 00:30:18.079 that we know better than you and we trust in ourselves and don't heed your warnings 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:26.039 and don't obey you out of love and think that we are more sophisticated and maybe wiser. 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:37.240 Forgive us for our folly and we thank you that you treat us with a fatherly love and 00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:41.159 you understand our weaknesses and failings and you simply want us to be honest and come 00:30:41.159 --> 00:30:50.839 back constantly to you in trust and with seeking forgiveness and seeking your help and guidance 00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:51.839 and love. 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:53.000 May that be our experience. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:55.000 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:56.000 Amen. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:57.000 Amen.