WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Let me take you back to Isaiah 55. 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:08.400 Isaiah 55 began with this amazing invitation, didn't it? 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:10.060 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:40.060 To be a Christian is never portrayed in the Bible as a lone ranger activity. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:47.960 The invitation to come to God, to come to Christ, is an invitation de facto to come to his people. 00:00:48.100 --> 00:00:49.820 Here's how John Wesley expressed it. 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:57.539 He said, holy solitaries is a phrase no more consistent with the gospel than holy adulterers. 00:00:57.539 --> 00:01:04.599 The gospel of Christ knows no religion but social, no holiness but social holiness. 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:10.599 And so when God gathers us to himself, God gathers you to his people, to his church. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:18.620 And today we begin the third major section of Isaiah, in chapter 56 to the end. 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:23.819 And the question that this section addresses, what does that community look like? 00:01:23.819 --> 00:01:31.059 What are the characteristics of those who have come to be part of God's community? 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:32.479 To be part of God's family? 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:34.539 And to be part of God's church? 00:01:35.459 --> 00:01:38.679 And Isaiah 56 comes right on the heels of Isaiah 55. 00:01:38.899 --> 00:01:43.639 That stunning invitation to a banquet that's like nowhere there. 00:01:44.479 --> 00:01:48.919 That would cost the guests no money because it's a banquet that's already been paid for. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:53.659 And it's a picture of an invitation to the living God who made you. 00:01:54.579 --> 00:01:58.920 The only one who can satisfy the deepest needs of your life. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:07.320 And the only reason in chapter 55 that Isaiah can make that invitation is because of what he's already told us in chapter 53. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:16.420 That the suffering servant, the Messiah Jesus, will come and he will pay the full price for sinners. 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:21.619 He died in our place for our sins. 00:02:22.679 --> 00:02:27.099 He paid the cost so that the banquet could be free to you and I. 00:02:29.239 --> 00:02:31.519 But it cost Jesus absolutely everything. 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:39.699 And so in chapter 56 Isaiah moves on to what do the people look like who've accepted the invitation to the banquet. 00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:46.119 Isaiah is writing in the closing decades of the 8th century before Christ. 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:47.799 The 8th century before Christ. 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:50.599 And he's looking way into the future. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.099 When the Messiah would come. 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:56.239 And all of this would be reality. 00:02:56.379 --> 00:02:57.419 It's reality for us. 00:02:57.899 --> 00:02:59.479 We live 2,000 years later. 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:01.139 Jesus Christ has come. 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:03.919 He's paid the price for our sins. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:09.639 And we are able to look at these verses and see what should the church look like. 00:03:10.359 --> 00:03:11.839 What should the church be like. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.139 And I think it's a shocking picture. 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:17.000 For us. 00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:19.379 At the start of the 21st century. 00:03:20.459 --> 00:03:23.060 Because how does Isaiah portray his gathered people? 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:26.819 Isaiah tells us that God's people. 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:29.019 Are Sabbath people. 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:34.380 They are Sabbath people who are marked by inclusivity. 00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:35.420 They welcome in. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.260 And by exclusivity. 00:03:38.600 --> 00:03:39.520 At the same time. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:42.040 And that's our big theme for today. 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:43.120 I want us to think in two parts. 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:44.900 First of all an inclusive embrace. 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:46.240 Of the gospel. 00:03:46.660 --> 00:03:49.260 And then secondly an exclusive commitment. 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:51.439 Of the Sabbath people. 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:54.560 First of all the inclusive embrace. 00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:55.920 Look at verse 3. 00:03:56.300 --> 00:03:58.340 Isaiah speaks on behalf of the Lord. 00:03:58.439 --> 00:03:58.879 And he said. 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:00.560 Let not the foreigner. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.400 Who's joined himself to the Lord say. 00:04:03.820 --> 00:04:06.500 The Lord will surely separate me from his people. 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:11.379 And let not the eunuch say. 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:14.340 Behold I am a dry tree. 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:16.960 Isaiah mentions. 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:18.439 There's two cast piece of people there. 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:22.519 Two people who thought that they were forever outside. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:25.439 Forever excluded from God's people. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:27.319 But Isaiah here announces. 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:28.860 In no uncertain terms. 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:29.139 In no uncertain terms. 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:31.279 That the outsider is invited. 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.319 And the outsider is welcomed into God's people. 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:37.800 The first category is the foreigner. 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:39.340 And it's worth pointing out. 00:04:39.340 --> 00:04:40.480 And it's worth pointing out. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:42.400 Even though God in the Old Testament. 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:46.120 Reveals himself exclusively to one nation. 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:47.639 Namedly Israel. 00:04:47.900 --> 00:04:51.120 That didn't mean that foreigners could not come and be part of God's people. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.480 So you think of Ruth. 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:55.439 And Ruth was a foreigner. 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:56.540 She was an outsider. 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:57.759 She was a Moabitess. 00:04:58.840 --> 00:05:00.139 And back then the Moabites. 00:05:00.280 --> 00:05:01.340 They were pagan worshippers. 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:03.340 They worshipped the God of Shemosh. 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:05.980 A God who demanded childhood sacrifice. 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:07.439 But God. 00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:09.120 Through his delightful providence. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.840 Brought Ruth into his family. 00:05:12.840 --> 00:05:14.620 The outsider became the insider. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:17.560 So much that Ruth makes it into Jesus' family tree. 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:19.240 In the first chapter of Matthew's Gospel. 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:22.160 It's as if to say. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.160 God has always been proud. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:26.060 Of the foreigners in his family. 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:28.180 But nevertheless. 00:05:28.300 --> 00:05:30.680 Isaiah is pointing forward to a major shift in the future. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:33.560 That with the coming of the Messiah. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:39.060 God's people will no longer primarily be defined as one nation. 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:41.560 But God's people will include. 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:43.759 People of every nation. 00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:44.819 And every tribe. 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:45.720 And every town. 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.240 All equal before God. 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:53.020 Because God does not discriminate. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:55.120 On the basis of nationality. 00:05:56.040 --> 00:05:57.380 He welcomes all. 00:05:58.860 --> 00:05:59.980 So Isaiah comes on to say. 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:00.500 About foreigners. 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:00.900 Listen to him. 00:06:00.940 --> 00:06:02.100 Verses 6 and 7. 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:03.220 He says. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.480 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord. 00:06:05.580 --> 00:06:06.300 To minister to him. 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:07.620 To love the name of the Lord. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:08.540 And to be his servant. 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:10.260 Everyone who keeps the Sabbath. 00:06:10.400 --> 00:06:11.380 And does not profane it. 00:06:11.420 --> 00:06:12.720 And holds fast to my covenant. 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.960 These I will bring to my holy mountain. 00:06:17.140 --> 00:06:18.440 And I will make them joyful. 00:06:19.400 --> 00:06:20.580 In my house of prayer. 00:06:21.460 --> 00:06:22.700 And their burnt offerings. 00:06:22.820 --> 00:06:25.680 And their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. 00:06:26.620 --> 00:06:30.100 For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. 00:06:30.100 --> 00:06:34.180 Isaiah uses old covenant language. 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:39.120 To portray what is going to be the great reality in the new covenant. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:40.460 Since Jesus has come. 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:41.660 There's progression. 00:06:43.020 --> 00:06:46.879 Here the foreigners will be welcomed to the place where the Lord is to be found. 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.540 My holy mountain. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:50.779 My presence. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:53.759 And my family. 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:56.199 And my house of prayer. 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.800 To those sacrifices which will secure God's acceptance. 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:03.339 And they will fellowship around me. 00:07:04.699 --> 00:07:08.860 And it's worth just noticing the intimacy of the language in verse 7. 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:09.500 Can you see that? 00:07:09.579 --> 00:07:10.939 It's my holy mountain. 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.920 It's my house of prayer. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.840 And my altar. 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:19.740 And my fellowship. 00:07:20.819 --> 00:07:22.800 Because it's not so much about a place. 00:07:23.580 --> 00:07:24.620 It's about a person. 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:26.900 And it's about a relationship. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.139 And it's about being known by God. 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:36.600 And this welcome that is offered to you is not a kind of concession. 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:40.020 It's not plan B because plan A didn't work out. 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:41.340 This is fulfillment. 00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:44.760 This is what God has been doing all along. 00:07:45.080 --> 00:07:48.620 That his people would be of every tribe and tongue and nation. 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:52.140 And it would all be achieved through the coming of Jesus Christ. 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:55.560 And so here is this promise. 00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:59.120 Of an exclusive embrace for foreigners. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:04.259 But notice who else is embraced. 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:06.800 It's the eunuchs. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:09.920 It's the eunuchs. 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:15.100 I didn't meet with the children. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:16.540 I didn't explain what a eunuch was. 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:21.199 We did have a children's talk once where the visiting creature explained horrifically what a eunuch was. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:32.679 But a eunuch, it was not unusual in the ancient Near East, in pagan societies, for high ministers, for government officials, to be castrated. 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:38.659 Because kings thought that they could be better trusted with kings' wives and concubines. 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:43.279 It meant that a eunuch could be trusted not to mess about with your wife or daughter. 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:46.299 And so they could be trusted with responsibilities. 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:54.240 The drastic downside is that the kings had chosen for you, if you were a eunuch, an aloneness, hadn't they? 00:08:55.599 --> 00:08:57.839 That there was an inability to have a family. 00:08:59.339 --> 00:09:05.819 And in that world, your significance was linked to you having a family and being part of a family. 00:09:06.839 --> 00:09:10.439 Your meaning in life was largely wrapped up with having a family. 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.819 And so to not have children was absolutely devastating. 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:18.700 And from a religious point of view, the news was even worse. 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:22.180 Because according to the law, according to Deuteronomy 23 verse 1, 00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:26.720 no castrated man could ever enter into the assembly of the Lord. 00:09:28.040 --> 00:09:29.379 That might seem really harsh to you. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:34.520 Because given that most eunuchs weren't so because they'd chosen to be, 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:43.419 but God was making clear that that cruel mutilation was to be treated as abhorrent. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:47.340 It was to be hated among his people, Israel, as if nowhere else. 00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:52.000 But here we see that this exclusion was temporary. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:53.899 Look at verse 3. 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:58.939 Let not the eunuch say, behold I'm a dry tree. 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:05.519 Now there is an inclusive embrace for the eunuch. 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:11.199 And God announces that the eunuch, the person that couldn't have a family, 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:13.959 will be like everyone else in his family. 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:19.660 A family that is defined not by some sexual matter, 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:21.519 but by something deeper. 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:22.800 Look at verses 4 and 5. 00:10:22.900 --> 00:10:25.019 For thus says, to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath, 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:26.940 who choose the things that please me, 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:28.639 and hold fast my covenant, 00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:32.220 I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name, 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:34.759 better than sons and daughters. 00:10:35.660 --> 00:10:39.139 I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 00:10:39.560 --> 00:10:40.920 It's a play on words, isn't it? 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:45.059 You see, instead of being on the outside, 00:10:45.199 --> 00:10:46.819 suddenly the eunuch is not inside. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:51.139 For the eunuch, who was cut off, 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:54.959 is now no longer cut off. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:58.679 Exclusion is now inclusion. 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:02.000 So instead of being barren and childless, 00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:05.439 the eunuch is enriched with blessings far greater than anything 00:11:05.439 --> 00:11:07.980 that any large earthly family could have brought. 00:11:08.319 --> 00:11:09.959 And God says, I'm going to give you a name 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.320 that is better than anything you would have received 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:13.259 from your sons and daughters. 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:16.280 I'm going to give you an everlasting name 00:11:16.280 --> 00:11:17.139 that will endure forever. 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:21.080 And that picks up on the end of chapter 55, doesn't it? 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:24.900 Where God talks about gathering a people of all nations 00:11:24.900 --> 00:11:26.700 that he will make a name for himself 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:28.200 that would not be cut off. 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:30.420 And now amazingly, God says to you and I, 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:31.500 I want to share that name. 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:35.240 I want to bring you into that name. 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:39.560 I want to share the eternal, everlasting reality 00:11:39.560 --> 00:11:42.600 with those who were previously excluded, 00:11:42.820 --> 00:11:44.379 but now they're members of the family. 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:47.139 You were once far away, Ephesians 2, 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:48.340 but now you've been brought near. 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:53.379 And so that is the inclusive embrace of the gospel. 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:59.039 It means this morning that there is nothing in your past. 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:03.700 There is nothing in your past that excludes you from God's people. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:07.340 And there are some of us, we are wracked by guilt 00:12:07.340 --> 00:12:10.100 because of something in the past that we said or did. 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:12.600 And some of us still tell ourselves, 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:16.019 I can never forgive myself because of that or because of this. 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:18.179 And God announces to you this morning, 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:18.960 there is nothing. 00:12:19.579 --> 00:12:21.159 There is nothing about who you are. 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:23.679 And there is nothing about what you've done. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.299 Or what has been done to you 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:29.220 that disqualifies you. 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:33.419 Nothing that has been done to you 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:36.740 disqualifies you from becoming part of God's family. 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:37.840 Absolutely nothing. 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:39.799 The inclusive embrace of the gospel. 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:43.579 Well, that's the part you love, isn't it? 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:45.720 But that's only half the chapter. 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:53.039 Yes, God's love takes us exactly where we are. 00:12:54.179 --> 00:12:55.519 But he doesn't leave us there. 00:12:56.939 --> 00:12:59.019 Because God's love wants to change us. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:03.699 And so having embraced everyone who will accept that invitation, 00:13:03.939 --> 00:13:07.299 God now demands an exclusive commitment from his people. 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:11.100 And it actually makes complete sense if you think about it. 00:13:12.079 --> 00:13:13.139 Tim Keller writes in his book, 00:13:13.199 --> 00:13:15.980 Prodigal God, of a conversation that he had with a woman. 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:18.100 Who started coming to his church in Manhattan, New York. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:20.039 And she said, 00:13:20.079 --> 00:13:21.639 I've never heard a message like this, 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:22.319 which I'm hearing. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:24.179 That we can be accepted by God. 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:25.439 Not by our effort. 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:26.679 Or by our hard work. 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:27.659 Or by being good. 00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:29.460 We can be accepted by God. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:30.740 By sheer grace. 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:32.340 Through the work of Christ. 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:34.439 Regardless of anything we've done or do. 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:35.340 And she said, 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:36.819 That is a scary idea. 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:39.060 She said, 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:39.980 It's a good scary, 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:41.140 But it's a scary idea. 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:42.180 And Tim Keller said, 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:43.220 Why is that scary? 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.080 And here's what he writes in his response. 00:13:46.780 --> 00:13:48.420 Here's what she writes in her response. 00:13:48.640 --> 00:13:49.000 She says, 00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:50.660 If I was saved by my good works, 00:13:50.760 --> 00:13:54.080 Then there would be a limit to what God could put me through or ask of me. 00:13:54.820 --> 00:13:55.800 I would be a taxpayer. 00:13:56.300 --> 00:13:57.040 With rights. 00:13:57.800 --> 00:13:58.940 I would have done my duty. 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:01.180 And now I would deserve a certain quality of life. 00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:08.000 But if it really, truly is that I am a sinner saved by sheer grace at God's infinite cost. 00:14:08.099 --> 00:14:10.479 Then there is nothing he cannot ask of me. 00:14:13.359 --> 00:14:16.620 And you see, when God embraces us as his people, 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:19.359 He calls for an exclusive commitment to him. 00:14:20.839 --> 00:14:23.199 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.319 You shall not make for yourself an idol. 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:29.120 Because I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:14:29.839 --> 00:14:30.579 Who redeemed you. 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:36.500 An exclusive commitment in Isaiah 56 is so shocking to us. 00:14:36.579 --> 00:14:39.559 Because three times in the space of eight verses, 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:40.859 He says, 00:14:40.959 --> 00:14:43.279 I want you to be exclusively committed to, 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.399 Verse 2, 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:47.739 Who keeps the Sabbath. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.799 Blessed is the man who does this on the Son of Man who holds it fast. 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:55.319 Who keeps the Sabbath not profaning it. 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:56.839 And keeps his hand from doing any evil. 00:14:57.179 --> 00:14:57.879 Verse 4, 00:14:58.339 --> 00:14:59.079 For he says, 00:14:59.579 --> 00:15:01.000 For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs, 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.700 Who keep my Sabbaths. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.179 Who choose the things that please me. 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:06.179 And hold fast my covenant. 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:07.279 Verse 6. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.759 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to him, 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:11.759 To love the name of the Lord, 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:12.759 And to be a servant ever. 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:13.899 And who keeps the Sabbath. 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:15.399 And does not profane it. 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:17.519 And holds fast my covenant. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:19.200 Verse 6. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:24.460 And God says through Isaiah that those he inclusively embraces are Sabbath people. 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:27.660 Who are exclusively committed to him. 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.980 And we show that we're exclusively committed to him by keeping his Sabbath. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:40.420 Now I don't know what word Sabbath conjures up in your mind. 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:43.600 Maybe it's legalism isn't it? 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:45.200 Of what you can do or can't do. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.520 I told you about the guy who's on the Isle of Lewis on holiday. 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:51.460 On a Sunday afternoon. 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:53.500 And he's staying in a guest house. 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:57.980 And he sees that there's a little rowing boat at the bottom of the garden. 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:02.180 And he goes down and he starts to untie the rowing boat. 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:06.019 And the lady who owns the bed and breakfast comes down in her Lewis accent and says, 00:16:06.099 --> 00:16:07.299 What do you think you're doing? 00:16:07.979 --> 00:16:11.459 And he says, I just thought I'd take the boat out for a little ride on the boat. 00:16:12.479 --> 00:16:14.439 And she says, you can't. 00:16:14.859 --> 00:16:15.679 It's the Sabbath. 00:16:19.479 --> 00:16:24.259 And the man says, but the Lord Jesus went out on a boat on the Sabbath. 00:16:25.599 --> 00:16:26.120 Can't I? 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:30.099 And the woman says, the Lord Jesus did Lynn Lewis. 00:16:32.179 --> 00:16:36.639 And the Sabbath, it's so negative isn't it? 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:39.259 You don't want to hear his sermons on the Sabbath. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:42.879 And so what does it mean? 00:16:44.939 --> 00:16:46.459 What can you do and can't you do? 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:47.419 Is that what I'm going to preach on? 00:16:49.459 --> 00:16:54.159 But I want you to see that God here is defining the commitment of his people in this very way. 00:16:55.620 --> 00:16:57.059 Now how does that relate to you? 00:16:58.819 --> 00:17:01.439 In the New Covenant, the Lord Jesus has come, hasn't he? 00:17:02.180 --> 00:17:08.519 And when you turn to the New Testament, you do not find that remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy is explicit. 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:09.840 It isn't explicit there. 00:17:11.840 --> 00:17:17.019 And to answer those questions, what we need to do this morning is we need to think hard, alright, on the significance of the Sabbath. 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:27.059 Scott Heifman explains that from creation, right from the beginning to the end of creation, God has orchestrated a plan. 00:17:27.059 --> 00:17:32.299 And in his plan, he wants to illustrate a number of things. 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:34.440 And he specifically speaks about Israel in the Old Testament. 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:39.019 And he says that God in everything he did wanted to demonstrate a number of things. 00:17:39.379 --> 00:17:43.039 Number one, God wanted to demonstrate the depth of his love for his people. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:44.700 In everything God does, that's what he's doing. 00:17:45.399 --> 00:17:50.019 Number two, the trustworthiness of his commitments that God can be relied on. 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:53.160 Number three, the necessity for flourishing. 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:55.460 Of keeping his commands. 00:17:56.879 --> 00:17:58.599 You want to flourish, you go God's way. 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:04.099 Number four, God wants to show in everything he does the disastrous consequences of idolatry. 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:04.879 We've seen that in Isaiah. 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:12.259 And number five, he wants to show all through the Old Testament the shape of salvation that's going to come in the Lord Jesus. 00:18:12.259 --> 00:18:17.799 Everything he did was shaped to show and orchestrate those things. 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:22.420 But Heifman says that the central pillar of that plan was the Sabbath. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:28.220 Now think about that. 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:31.859 The central theme of the Old Testament being the Sabbath. 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:35.220 Think about the creation week. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:37.799 God rested on the seventh day. 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:39.359 Why did God rest on the seventh day? 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:42.279 Because he was tired? 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:45.519 No, of course not. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:51.399 Did God rest because he was worn out after making the world in six days? 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:55.500 No, what is going on when God rests? 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:58.000 God is declaring, isn't it, I'm satisfied. 00:18:59.159 --> 00:19:00.319 My work is done. 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:05.979 And God's rest on the seventh day of creation is not because he was tired, not because he was worn out, 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:09.660 but because he approved of what he did, it was very, very good. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:16.640 And then God institutes his Sabbath as a declaration of his goodness. 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:20.319 Of God's provision for his people. 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:21.259 And it is perfect. 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:24.339 That he always meets their needs. 00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:31.439 So the weekly Sabbath was and is to be God's constant reminder of these truths. 00:19:32.639 --> 00:19:41.879 His purpose in the Sabbath was to jog your memory week after week concerning God's sufficiency and God's provision. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:47.199 That God is the only true and satisfying source of life. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:20:00.680 The Sabbath was like a piece of string tied around Israel's finger that would never let them forget that the sovereign Lord is the only one who could be depended on to meet their needs. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:13.640 And so God's people, in the Old Testament, they were to keep the Sabbath as a sign that they were trusting God's promises for the future. 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:17.380 Based on his provision in the past. 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:22.280 So that they were willing to obey his commands in the present. 00:20:23.780 --> 00:20:25.000 What did the Sabbath say? 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:25.759 Let's summarise it. 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:34.560 I can trust God in the future because he's been faithful to me in the past, which means I can obey him now. 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:36.180 Every week. 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:44.380 I can trust God in the future because of what he's done in the past and so I can obey him today. 00:20:46.360 --> 00:20:52.380 And interestingly, God's commands that they would obey him doesn't just come in the Ten Commandments. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:55.740 So that's often the case, isn't it? 00:20:55.840 --> 00:20:57.160 Christ has come to fulfil the law. 00:20:57.980 --> 00:20:59.220 So we are done with the law. 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:02.279 That's the kind of modern argument on the Sabbath. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:03.380 Christ fulfils the Sabbath. 00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:06.800 The problem with that is it misunderstands what the Sabbath was in the Old Testament. 00:21:08.280 --> 00:21:14.840 So people think that the Sabbath commandment is kind of the one optional extra that you've got on the Ten Commandments. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:15.880 We don't need that today. 00:21:16.560 --> 00:21:19.580 But actually, do you know the Sabbath was the first commandment given to God's people? 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:22.740 Look at Exodus chapter 16. 00:21:22.840 --> 00:21:23.380 It's the first commandment. 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.940 The Ten Commandments didn't come until Exodus 20. 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:34.000 And the Sabbath commandment is the last commandment God gives Moses before he comes down the mountain in Exodus 31. 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:38.000 So the Sabbath command serves as a bookend. 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:45.000 Because the Sabbath summarises God's demand for complete commitment. 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:50.200 And it summarises God's perfect provision for all their needs. 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:51.519 Now that might seem like an ancient history. 00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:52.599 How does that work today? 00:21:53.819 --> 00:21:58.019 Does the command to keep the Sabbath day still apply in the New Covenant? 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:00.259 Now that Jesus has come. 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:06.119 And my answer to that is the answer of church history until about 40 years ago. 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:08.200 The answer is yes. 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:11.400 And a quite definite yes. 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:17.340 Though the specific command, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, does not appear in the New Testament. 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:19.040 It is wired into creation. 00:22:20.820 --> 00:22:23.100 And it is wired into God's people. 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:25.500 That he has written his law on our hearts. 00:22:26.860 --> 00:22:30.280 That he commands that we take one day rest in seven. 00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:32.700 But here is the point. 00:22:32.820 --> 00:22:34.240 Jesus has come to fulfil the Sabbath. 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:38.040 What did Jesus do on the Sabbath? 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:38.780 He heals the sick. 00:22:39.580 --> 00:22:41.040 He gets corn to eat on the Sabbath. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:43.319 And the Pharisees say, how can you do that? 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:45.039 That's not in our law book. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.059 And his answer is really fascinating. 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:50.779 Jesus does not say, oh, listen, I've arrived. 00:22:50.879 --> 00:22:52.299 All that Sabbath stuff is done with. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:54.480 He says, I am the Lord of the Sabbath. 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:55.220 Don't mess with it. 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:56.899 I am the Lord of the Sabbath. 00:22:58.119 --> 00:23:01.000 And he shows us what the Sabbath was meant to be. 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:06.759 And so he uses his sovereign power to meet the needs of his people on the Sabbath. 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:16.200 And we see, don't we, as we go through the New Testament, that we enter into God's rest, God's Sabbath rest, by trusting in Jesus. 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:21.720 So in Hebrews 4, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:26.620 We keep the Sabbath by resting in Christ. 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:28.939 We keep the Sabbath. 00:23:28.939 --> 00:23:33.039 We keep the Sabbath by resting in Christ. 00:23:34.579 --> 00:23:36.619 So does that mean that we don't have to keep a day? 00:23:39.199 --> 00:23:44.659 Isn't it just seeing that Christ fulfils the Sabbath and we fulfill the Sabbath by resting in Christ? 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:48.460 We're now free, aren't we, from having to keep a day? 00:23:51.040 --> 00:23:53.400 The problem with that is this. 00:23:54.660 --> 00:23:55.920 We're not at rest. 00:23:56.840 --> 00:23:57.220 Are we? 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:00.840 Well, yes, we are, but we're not at rest. 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:03.800 Isn't that the movement of the New Testament? 00:24:05.560 --> 00:24:09.740 The kingdom has come, and yet it's not fully come. 00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:15.039 We are at rest, but we still await a rest. 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:18.000 We are saved. 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:20.859 We have been saved. 00:24:21.380 --> 00:24:24.859 We are being saved, and yet we await salvation to come. 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:26.819 We're not home yet. 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:28.640 You are not home yet. 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:32.880 And so do you remember what was the purpose of the Sabbath day? 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:34.460 Think, think, think. 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:38.900 We trust God's promises for the future. 00:24:39.740 --> 00:24:45.079 Because we see how he's provided for us in the past, that he's always kept his promises. 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:50.319 And so we can boldly and confidently obey him in the present. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:51.559 That hasn't changed. 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:54.880 That hasn't changed. 00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:01.299 Sunday is like a handkerchief round your finger. 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:12.759 The people in the Old Testament, they had a day where they looked forward to the promises that God will keep because of his basis of what he'd done in the past, and they obeyed him in the present. 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:20.159 And so the argument that we are worse off in the New Testament, that we don't have to keep a day, is madness. 00:25:21.639 --> 00:25:24.019 Sunday is like a handkerchief round your finger. 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:27.980 Now you might say to me, well why don't we keep the Sabbath, why don't we keep Saturday? 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:29.980 Sunday is like a Sabbath. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:32.759 And that will take a whole sermon in itself. 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.339 But actually you see the movement in the New Testament, don't you? 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:41.500 You see the movement from Sabbath to Lord's Day, that Christ is risen on the first day of the week. 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:44.980 That the people of God meet on the first day of the week. 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:47.579 They set aside their giving on the first day of the week. 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:51.559 The Lord appears to John in the book of Revelation on the Lord's Day. 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:56.519 We look back to the first creation. 00:25:56.939 --> 00:25:59.299 But now new creation has come. 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:00.659 And so we move forward. 00:26:02.139 --> 00:26:04.919 And the pattern of change from Sabbath to the Lord's Day. 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:10.699 It's a day every week that tells you God will keep his promise to take you home. 00:26:11.939 --> 00:26:13.960 On the basis of what he's done in the past. 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:14.819 And you need it. 00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:21.599 It's a day that you need. 00:26:23.399 --> 00:26:24.619 It's a day that I need. 00:26:24.699 --> 00:26:26.740 That we cease from our work. 00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:29.179 And we rest in Christ. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:30.879 And we rest from our work. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.399 And we spend the day with the Lord's people. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:36.220 And we rest. 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:50.799 And so what God is saying to Isaiah is that this commitment to the Lord's Day shows whether we are building our life around God. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:27:01.919 That actually trusting God with this day that belongs to him is evidence that our lives are centred around God. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:05.759 And so you don't have to work today. 00:27:07.840 --> 00:27:09.140 You don't have to study today. 00:27:10.080 --> 00:27:11.539 You don't have to do your homework today. 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:14.539 It's the greatest blessing. 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:20.720 And he says it to foreigners and to eunuchs who commit to me in this way. 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:24.240 Who are sold out to God that we are to love God's day. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:27.460 He gives you three ways. 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:28.940 Look at what he says in verse 4. 00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:32.759 He says those who keep the Sabbath choose to do what pleases the Lord. 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:33.420 Verse 4. 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:36.519 For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath. 00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:39.000 Who choose the things that please me. 00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:41.779 And I'll fast my covenant. 00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:44.940 And so the Sabbath is a great exercise. 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:46.480 And can I trust God's day? 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:47.180 Can I? 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:50.180 Can I honor God's day? 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:55.120 And you see the more that you trust that God is in control of your future. 00:27:55.320 --> 00:27:56.640 And that he's going to keep his promises. 00:27:57.080 --> 00:27:58.640 Because of what he's done in the past. 00:27:58.720 --> 00:27:59.680 The more I can follow him. 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:03.039 Those who choose the Sabbath please the Lord. 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:05.320 Secondly verse 6. 00:28:05.380 --> 00:28:09.200 Those who choose the Sabbath love the Lord and please him. 00:28:11.840 --> 00:28:13.420 Foreigners who bind themselves to him. 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:14.140 To minister him. 00:28:14.259 --> 00:28:15.900 Love the name of the Lord. 00:28:17.120 --> 00:28:18.620 It's an incredible thing isn't it? 00:28:20.180 --> 00:28:24.060 That we can honestly say I love the Lord. 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:30.000 That I have a day that I can spend. 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:32.840 That God has given me with the Lord. 00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:34.000 And I love him. 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:36.320 Not I do this for him. 00:28:36.360 --> 00:28:37.080 Not I do that for him. 00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:37.960 I love him. 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:40.360 I love God. 00:28:41.340 --> 00:28:42.480 Not just respect him. 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:43.580 Not just acknowledge him. 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:44.200 Do you love him? 00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:47.100 That's so important isn't it? 00:28:47.120 --> 00:28:47.960 Why do we keep the Sabbath? 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:48.799 We've got to see this. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:50.599 We keep the Sabbath as a mark of love. 00:28:52.619 --> 00:28:55.339 Because that is the mark of a Sabbath people of God's family. 00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:58.319 And the more that we see how committed God is to us. 00:28:58.419 --> 00:29:00.000 And what he's done for us in the past. 00:29:00.379 --> 00:29:01.399 Through the Lord Jesus. 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:03.460 So we love him. 00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:07.200 And if you don't love him. 00:29:07.419 --> 00:29:08.740 It's because you haven't seen what he is. 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:10.779 And what he's done for you. 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:14.599 You're blind to what he's done for you already. 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:19.980 And the more you love him. 00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:22.119 The more you long to do what pleases him. 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:24.660 And obey him in every area of life. 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:27.500 Those who love the Lord keep his Sabbath. 00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:29.420 Thirdly. 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:30.359 Those who keep. 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:32.920 The Sabbath verse 1. 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:34.299 Live uprightly. 00:29:35.140 --> 00:29:36.460 Keep justice. 00:29:37.700 --> 00:29:38.859 And do righteousness. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:43.200 And again you have to work hard on what those words mean. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:44.019 What does it mean? 00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:45.480 Well for those of us who are in house group. 00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:46.539 At the end of 2 Peter. 00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:47.720 The 2 Peter equivalent. 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:50.559 Is 2 Peter 3 verses 11 and 12. 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:53.079 Where it says since all of these things. 00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:56.079 Are thus to be dissolved. 00:29:56.179 --> 00:29:57.399 What sort of people ought you to be. 00:29:57.500 --> 00:30:00.019 In lives of holiness and godliness. 00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:04.220 That's exactly the same as the root words of Isaiah 56. 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:06.079 Because it's the way of blessing. 00:30:07.199 --> 00:30:08.539 It's the happy life. 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:11.579 God's people are a Sabbath people. 00:30:11.639 --> 00:30:13.240 Who are marked by inclusivity. 00:30:13.639 --> 00:30:15.519 You couldn't have a wider embrace. 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:18.519 But they are people also who are exclusive. 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:20.119 One last thing as we move forward. 00:30:21.439 --> 00:30:22.500 What I really struggle with. 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:24.099 As I studied this passage this week. 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:26.539 Is these commands are given to people in exile. 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:30.000 They are in the land. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:33.740 It's a command given to people. 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:35.420 In a society like ours. 00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:37.839 Where everything is against keeping a day holy. 00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:41.880 And yet just notice what it says. 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:44.380 It says keep the Sabbath. 00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:46.700 Don't profane it. 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:49.099 Hold fast. 00:30:49.099 --> 00:30:53.219 It's a command that's given to people like you and I. 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:57.599 Now to grasp the full impact of this. 00:30:57.699 --> 00:30:59.379 We've got to go to one of the coolest chapters in the Bible. 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:01.459 And it's Acts chapter 8. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:02.740 So come with me to Acts chapter 8. 00:31:02.819 --> 00:31:03.759 And there's an Ethiopian. 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:06.379 An Ethiopian government official. 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:06.980 Can you go there? 00:31:07.139 --> 00:31:08.299 Wake the person up next to you. 00:31:09.959 --> 00:31:11.819 Or nudge the grumpy person next to you. 00:31:11.819 --> 00:31:12.679 Acts chapter 8. 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:15.820 And there's an Ethiopian government official. 00:31:15.820 --> 00:31:17.279 Who's travelling back from Jerusalem. 00:31:17.560 --> 00:31:18.820 To his home in Ethiopia. 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.740 And he's gone. 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:22.440 To Jerusalem. 00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:23.519 To go to the temple. 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:25.100 To worship the living God. 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:26.720 The problem is he can't get in. 00:31:26.820 --> 00:31:27.080 Can he? 00:31:28.840 --> 00:31:31.120 Because the thing I didn't tell you about the Ethiopian official. 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:32.539 Is that he's also a eunuch. 00:31:32.539 --> 00:31:36.099 And he was probably castrated. 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:39.099 So he could be better trusted by the king. 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.700 But it meant a life of aloneness and alienation. 00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:44.019 And that must have been a daily reality for him. 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:48.480 And that aloneness would have been an ever deeper reality. 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:49.539 Since going to Jerusalem. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:51.420 To worship at the temple of the living God. 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:52.639 Because when he got there. 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:55.440 He would have discovered to his utter disappointment. 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:57.759 That having travelled over a thousand miles. 00:31:58.339 --> 00:32:00.139 Eunuchs were forbidden by the Lord. 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:01.259 To enter into the temple. 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:03.500 For him. 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:04.779 The entrance to the temple. 00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:07.659 Was metaphorically marked with a massive no entry sign. 00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:09.720 And again. 00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:11.659 It's so hard to fathom how he must have felt. 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:14.599 So Luke tells us on his way home. 00:32:14.659 --> 00:32:16.659 The Ethiopian is reading the Isaiah scroll. 00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:18.339 And so imagine the curiosity. 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:20.079 When he discovers these words. 00:32:20.879 --> 00:32:22.059 That we've read this morning. 00:32:23.539 --> 00:32:25.920 Let no eunuch complain. 00:32:28.379 --> 00:32:30.180 I am only a dry tree. 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:34.980 Amazing words. 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:38.680 Imagine what he must have thought. 00:32:40.220 --> 00:32:42.500 Doesn't the Lord say that no eunuch can come in. 00:32:43.480 --> 00:32:45.559 He knew all about that sense of exclusion. 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:45.940 Didn't he? 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.379 He knew what it meant to be unclean. 00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:49.019 He knew what it meant to be a bit of a freak. 00:32:49.639 --> 00:32:50.720 Of being childless. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:56.920 And now he reads something that must have perked his curiosity. 00:33:01.900 --> 00:33:02.920 And he says how? 00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:03.740 How can this happen? 00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:05.860 What has changed? 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:08.960 And so he hunts through the Isaiah scroll. 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:12.019 Trying to find what momentous event could possibly have happened. 00:33:12.100 --> 00:33:14.980 To supersede Deuteronomy 23. 00:33:14.980 --> 00:33:17.200 What would make a eunuch clean? 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:21.420 And it just so happened that God has sent one of his people. 00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:22.400 Philip to that route. 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:23.920 Which goes from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. 00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:26.500 And as Philip spots the Ethiopian chariot. 00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:28.819 The Holy Spirit tells Philip to stay with it. 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:29.539 You can picture it. 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:29.860 Can't you? 00:33:30.360 --> 00:33:32.220 Philip running along with the chariot. 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:33.460 Trying to keep up. 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:36.700 And the Ethiopian reading aloud. 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:38.380 As would have been the custom. 00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:39.500 And here's what he reads. 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:41.799 For he was led like a sheep to the slaughter. 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:45.779 And like a lamb before it she rose silent. 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:47.480 So he did not open in his mouth. 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:50.359 And in his humiliation. 00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:52.299 He but justice was denied him. 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:53.920 Who can describe his generation? 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:55.640 For his life is taken away from the earth. 00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:57.660 And the eunuch must have been going crazy. 00:33:57.900 --> 00:33:59.200 Somebody without descendants. 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:00.880 Do you see that? 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:04.720 Somebody humiliated like me. 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:06.180 Someone who was cut off. 00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:10.340 Someone who became almost like a eunuch for me. 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:13.460 And he looks up probably for the uppity time on his journey. 00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:16.380 Trying to avoid chariot sickness on the bumpy road. 00:34:16.460 --> 00:34:18.880 And he spots this guy running alongside his chariot. 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:19.720 And he's taken aback. 00:34:19.820 --> 00:34:20.800 He catches Philip's eye. 00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:22.960 And Philip asks him the question. 00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:24.180 Do you understand what you're reading? 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:28.900 And Philip gets the dream answer that every preacher longs for. 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:31.740 How can I understand unless someone explains it to me? 00:34:33.240 --> 00:34:34.780 And Philip gets into the chariot. 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:35.980 And here's what Luke writes. 00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:37.699 And the eunuch asks Philip. 00:34:37.879 --> 00:34:40.299 Please tell me who is the prophet talking about. 00:34:40.359 --> 00:34:41.739 Himself or someone else? 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:45.960 And Philip began with that very passage of scripture. 00:34:46.179 --> 00:34:48.299 And told him the good news about Jesus. 00:34:48.440 --> 00:34:49.579 It's goose bump stuff. 00:34:50.619 --> 00:34:53.579 Because you see the Ethiopian for the first time understood. 00:34:53.739 --> 00:34:55.719 The inclusive embrace of the gospel. 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:59.559 And so we're told they come to some water. 00:34:59.559 --> 00:35:00.839 And the Ethiopian says to Philip. 00:35:00.919 --> 00:35:01.779 I need to be baptized. 00:35:03.359 --> 00:35:03.799 Why? 00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:08.280 Because he understood that he needed to be marked with the sign that I exclusively belong to Jesus. 00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:12.340 And that my commitment now is exclusively to him. 00:35:12.340 --> 00:35:15.500 And you know what the result of that was? 00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:18.300 Having been embraced and made that exclusive commitment. 00:35:19.120 --> 00:35:21.260 Luke tells us he went on his way rejoicing. 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:22.559 Because that is what it brings. 00:35:22.660 --> 00:35:24.200 It brings joy in your life. 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:29.059 And that is what God intended in your life. 00:35:30.659 --> 00:35:32.039 But I want to say to you. 00:35:32.259 --> 00:35:35.779 That that joy will only come through being embraced by God. 00:35:35.879 --> 00:35:39.519 And you exclusively committing yourself to him. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:44.340 And saying I'll give up my gods. 00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.840 I'll give up my idols. 00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:50.820 And I will live all out for you. 00:35:52.259 --> 00:35:54.800 And that's what it means to be a Sabbath person. 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:57.719 And that's what it means to be a Christian. 00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:02.980 And my prayer is that is what it means to be part of this church. 00:36:04.539 --> 00:36:05.179 Let's pray.