I would like you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Isaiah chapter 9 and at the outset
!
Format that's going to press it together into several central and critical themes.
As we begin our study of the Word of God, it goes without saying that the foundation of our study is the Word
and we are undeniably dependent upon prayer to make it effective that I speak as one who has been appointed by God to do so
and that your hearts are prepared to hear it and then to apply it practically.
Let me make this point clear at the very beginning.
The purpose of preaching is ultimately to put us on the spot of saying yes or no to God.
The Word is given to us and it is valuable for life and godliness.
And it's there for our instruction, for our edification, for our correction.
And I have no doubt that there are individuals here today that need to hear explicitly what God's Word has to say today.
I would appeal to you to be a good listener and to depend upon the enabling of the Holy Spirit to hear that Word
and to apply it to your life in practical terms that you may grow in godliness and grace.
Some of you are here and do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm not certain of all who is not here as a believer, but I look at the group that God has put here together
and I recognize that there are some today that need the Savior and they need to come to faith.
And so I would appeal that as you listen, you say,
Lord, I would rather hear it now than in eternity.
And I'd rather respond now than later.
I want us to begin by looking at this passage in broad terms and kind of summarize it this way.
As we look at Isaiah chapter 9 and move our way through the remainder of the text that we're going to look at this morning,
one of the things that I want you to start with is recognizing this,
that God is the judge of the whole earth and He can be trusted to deal with sin.
Have you ever found yourself kind of frustrated that God hasn't dealt with others a little more rapidly than He has, actually?
I mean, I'll give you an illustration that kind of resonates with me.
I'm one of those people that for the most part likes to follow the rules, particularly when you're driving.
And nothing irks me more than when I am stopped in traffic and somebody takes it upon themselves to use the berm to move on down the road
because they have to go somewhere much more important pace than me.
And so I'm hoping, you know I'm praying at that time?
I'm praying that they will run right into the back of a squad car that is parked in the berm and be stopped, smack,
and then get rid in a ticket and I can drive on by going, ha, ha, ha, ha, you know.
We'd like God to deal with sin, right?
Particularly with other people.
The fact of the matter is, is that God will deal with sin.
And as we look at this passage, what we are going to see is that God will deal with nations.
He will deal with individuals.
Sin will not go unpunished.
And we do well to allow God to be the one that takes revenge rather than to set ourselves up as the judge and jury instead of trusting Him.
For another thing, what we are going to see in this passage is that a loving God does keep His promises.
He does His work in those He calls.
And you may be sitting here this morning as someone who has actually come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
but you have drifted away.
You have become indifferent to the blessing of your salvation.
And let me tell you something.
If you are a child of God, you will not stay comfortable in that disobedient place you are presently.
Here's what it says in Hebrews.
Whom the Lord loves, the Lord disciplines or chastens.
And His purpose in doing that is to bring you back to Him to display His love and to bring about godliness and holiness in your life.
And so in terms of the big picture, what we're going to be looking at this morning is that God does deal with sin.
And I've got to tell you this.
I would rather be the one that God is disciplining than be the one that God is using to do the discipline.
If it's to be thought of, I would rather actually be the one who learns from watching God deal with other people in discipline
rather than be the one that God has to discipline.
How many of you follow that?
Listen carefully.
A fool doesn't learn even from repeated strokes.
I remember dealing with an individual once in a car with me.
We were driving somewhere.
I'd pick the guy up.
I wouldn't volunteer that this is what you should do.
But I picked him up on the side of the road.
And I was taking him somewhere, just helping him out in the rain and all that kind of stuff.
And we got to talking.
He was talking about how messy his life was.
And so I asked him a question.
I said, do you need any more evidence of how hard your life is in the path that you are on?
That's a practical question, isn't it?
The individual said no.
I said, then what would keep you from making a change and repenting and turning towards Christ?
Later on, several days later, the individual called me and needed help.
And we were in the flow of things again.
And I said, hey, do you need any more experience to teach you that the path you're on is not a good one?
No.
Guess what I said next?
Well, would it be wise, knowing what you do about what sin produces in your life to change direction?
What we're looking at this morning is a very, very clear passage in which we see that God deals with sin.
And so I want you to look with me here, beginning in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 8.
And let me read a portion to you.
Have it locked into your mind.
And then we'll work our way through it.
The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel, and all the people will know.
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and arrogance of heart,
the bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones.
The sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.
For the Lord has raised the adversaries of resin against him and stirred up his enemies.
The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with an open mouth.
What we're looking at here is sober warning to Israel.
And I want you to understand that this warning is different than the prophetic cautions
and the prophetic words of appeal that had come earlier.
When Isaiah speaks in this case, he is letting them know that God has come to the place
that he is not going to let Israel go any longer, and he is going to deal with them very, very firmly.
The fact that it says this is a word is different than, well, these are words.
This is God saying, I'm done.
I'm going to deal with you, and there's going to be no turning back.
And what we find here is that God is giving through the prophet a word of judgment
that is going to come on the nation.
And I want you to recognize that Isaiah, remember earlier when we were looking in Isaiah chapter 6,
we understood that Isaiah was given this very sober responsibility of communicating the judgment of God
against a very hard-hearted people.
They didn't care in the least what God thought.
And here comes the prophet and says, let me tell you, God is going to deal with you.
So as you work your way through this passage with me,
I want you to recognize here in Isaiah chapter 9, beginning there in verse 8
and carrying on down to Isaiah chapter 10, verse 2,
we're going to see four different indicators of what God was really troubled and offended by
in the nation of Israel and what he was going to deal with.
For one, Isaiah had this sinful self-reliance.
You look there in verse 9 and 10, and here is a people who say,
well, okay, you're going to knock down the bricks, but guess what we're going to do?
We're going to build up with cut stone.
And cut stone referred to stones that had been carefully manufactured and put together,
and they were much harder and larger.
And when you built with cut stone, it was something that would last much longer than bricks.
Furthermore, they made the statement, not only we're going to build with cut stone,
but okay, you're going to knock down the sycamore, but we're going to build with cedar.
And that was an incredibly expensive wood.
It's a little bit like in our day saying, okay, okay, we built this with pine,
but we're now going to build it with solid oak.
It's going to be so much stronger.
All right, so you knocked it down, but we're going to do it right,
and we're going to put it together.
And here are these people full of themselves saying, you know,
we're not the least bit bothered by the hardship you bring to us.
We'll straighten it out.
We'll do it our way.
We also see there in verse 14 and 15 a very sinful trust in flawed and frail leadership.
So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed.
In one day, the elder and honored man is the head,
and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
You know what one of the problems was in Israel?
They had people who were in positions of leadership, even in the priesthood,
that really had completely compromised the Word of God
and had no interest in making the Word clear.
They were interested only in appealing to the hearts of men
rather than being obedient to Christ, obedient to the Word.
And so here were people who, when they stood up to preach,
when they stood up to speak, when they gave direction,
they were primarily interested, and so what are people looking for?
I'll give that.
And I want you to understand that here is God saying,
these dishonest individuals are going to be cut off.
And mark what it says here, verse 16,
for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
Do you recognize what's happening?
God is letting the nation know that those who they had been listening to
in all of that falsehood that had been propagated in that day,
it was going to come to heartache and destruction
in the lives of those who were listening to them.
Like prophet, like the people, like the priest, like the people,
and this connection, flawed in its understanding,
frail in its disobedient heart was going to end up causing heartache in abundance.
As a side note, let me encourage you to know this,
that I would encourage you to never trust in the word of a pastor,
to never trust in the word of an evangelist,
to never trust in any word that is not directly connected to the word of God.
Does that make sense?
It is the word of God that is settled and lasts forever,
and at the end of the day, you should be able to track what I say back to the passage itself,
and that is something that will protect you in the days to come.
We live in a day and age where all kinds of people propose
that they have something to say of significance,
and it's legitimate to ask ourselves,
well, where does their significance come from?
Later in Isaiah, it makes it clear,
unto the law and to the testimonies,
if they speak not according to this,
it's because there's no light in them.
Trust the word, not the person.
I want you to also look, if you will,
at verses 18 through 21,
and we're going to find here that the nation had this sinful, selfish self-interest
that was causing great heartache.
Let me read the passage to you.
For wickedness burns like a fire and consumes briar and thorns.
It kindles the thickets of the forest,
and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts,
the land is scorched,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.
No one spares another.
They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry.
They devour on the left, but are not satisfied.
Each devours the flesh of his own arm.
Isn't that an interesting picture?
Here is God describing what's happening in the nation of Israel,
and without question, what you see is this picture
of an incredibly selfish people
that in their selfishness end up robbing,
harming, lying, cheating one another,
and as a result, they are consuming each other
and actually consuming themselves.
Does that kind of sound a little bit like our day today?
Does that sound like the world we live in?
Everybody interested in their own self-interest
and interested primarily in what they're going to get for themselves.
The other day, I walked in to drop off a little bit of dry cleaning,
and I walked into the dry cleaning store over there on Broad Street,
and I saw this sign that says,
no longer accepting blue jeans over $100.
Now, guys, I do wear blue jeans.
I wash my own.
Well, my wife, my bride, 47 years, she washes them.
But if I can't get them on the Internet
or I can't get them over wherever,
it's like, I don't buy them.
And I looked at that sign.
It was the first time I'd ever crossed my mind
that there were actually blue jeans that cost $100.
I looked at that sign,
and I said to the lady who was writing on my ticket,
I said, are there jeans that cost $100?
She says, oh, yeah.
There are blue jeans that cost, are you waiting?
You're all seated.
I'm standing.
There are blue jeans that cost $1,200.
Hello?
I'll say that slowly so that you don't miss it.
There are blue jeans, denim, you know,
dyed with indigo or whatever else it is,
blue jeans that cost $1,200.
I looked at her.
My jaw dropped.
I said, you are kidding me.
Who buys those kinds of blue jeans?
You know what she said?
She said, the only people that can afford those
in this neighborhood, it's a west side,
are drug dealers.
And that's why we have that sign there.
We're not going to cater.
And we're not going to be cheated.
Because when you have a $1,200 pair of blue jeans
and you bring them in for dry cleaning
and you are a snake to begin with,
it's amazing how easy it is to find a spot
on your blue jeans that then have trashed
your $1,200 blue jeans and guess what happens?
I thought to myself,
the misery that drug dealers cause
in the lives of other people
for the sake of a $1,200 blue jean.
Here in the passage,
God is saying, let me tell you,
that sinful selfishness that is so characteristic
of the people during that day
ends up being a disease
that devours both the people around
and the people that are engaged in it.
And so here we end up seeing in this passage
that the wicked end up consuming one another
in their greed and their selfishness.
You know what?
Sin may get it over on somebody else,
but in the end,
the sinner is the one who's consumed
by their own sin.
They're harmed.
They're consumed.
And here as God speaks
to the nation of Israel,
He says, listen, let me tell you something.
I'm not going to put up with this spirit
that I see in you.
I'm going to deal with it.
We find one other thing
that Isaiah is talking about there
in Isaiah chapter 10, verse 1 and 2.
Let me read it.
A sinful government.
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees
and the writers who keep writing oppression
to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right
and the widows may be their spoil,
that they may make the fatherless their prey.
It is not Washington
that is the first place
that ungodly government and leadership
has been involved.
And as Isaiah was writing to the nation
or he was prophesying to the nation
there in Israel,
he was saying this,
listen, God's done.
He is going to judge what's going on
and he's had it with this spirit
that is interested in passing legislation
that harms other people
and benefits a certain class
or a certain group of people
and yet for the most part is destructive.
He says, let me tell you something.
The issue of seeking to pass legislation
that benefit those who are pushing
for the legislation and harm the poor,
it's not the way God wants it done.
Incidentally, why has God ordained government?
We find over there in Romans chapter 13,
for one, it is to bring order,
it is to bring safety,
it is to bring benefit,
and we are to pray for those
who are in government
that those who are in government
would lead in an upright
and righteous way
and bring about peace and equity.
That didn't happen during Isaiah's day
and we find there
that God through his prophet
made it clear
and I am going to deal
with this problem.
I have to tell you
that as I read
through this four-fold indictment
of Israel,
I couldn't help but think
about where we are
here in the United States
of America today.
We are a country
that has a tremendous amount
of self-reliance
to the extreme
of confidence
in our own might
and our own power
and we'll do it ourselves.
We also trust
in flawed and frail leadership.
It was very interesting.
Yesterday,
it was my privilege
to preach
Roger McBrayer's funeral
and one of the things
that you as a congregation
know is that
I always have looked
at weddings and funerals
as a golden opportunity
to make,
guess what clear?
The gospel.
And I had a number
of individuals
come to me and say,
you know,
pastor,
I really appreciate the fact
and I could always tell,
you can tell when you're preaching,
you can tell who really likes
to hear what's being said
and those who really
would prefer being somewhere else.
And here's the difference.
You know,
it's like,
yeah,
and there you go.
So,
I had people say to me,
you know,
I gotta tell you,
the gospel was,
what should you preach
at a funeral?
Does anybody have an idea
besides that?
I mean,
the gospel should be clear.
And here we are,
we're in a day and age
where those who are
in positions of spiritual leadership
have gone out of their way
to accommodate
the passions
of self-centered people
and not bringing the hope
of the message
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I gotta tell you,
when I think about
where we are as a nation
here in the United States,
history has never seen
a nation rise
to this level
of ascendancy
and blessing
faster.
And I'm afraid,
unless there is
genuine revival,
that history
will never record
a more precipitous,
rapid decline.
But that brings me
to another central piece
in this message
about God's judgment.
He is going to,
or he would punish
rebellious Israel,
but he was not going
to let those
that he used
get away
with being his instrument.
So let's look now,
if you will,
at Isaiah chapter 10
and we're gonna kind of
step through a number
of different pieces
of text here.
And I'm going to rely
primarily on
dealing with
the very first one
that we find.
Before we actually
look at this
extended passage,
I want you to turn
back in your Bibles
for a moment
to a text in
Genesis chapter 12,
verse 3.
Genesis chapter 12,
actually verse 1
through 3.
By the way,
so that you know
where I stand
on this issue,
I believe fully
that God
keeps his promises
and that he will
keep his promise
to the nation
of Israel.
The Abrahamic covenant
he has not abandoned.
And over in
Genesis chapter 12,
verse 1 through 3,
now the Lord
said to Abram,
go from your country
and your kindred
and your father's house
to the land
that I will show you.
And I will make you
a great nation
and I will bless you
and make your name
great so that you
will be a blessing.
And I will bless
those who bless you
and him who dishonors you
I will curse
and in you
all the nations
of the earth
will be blessed.
God made a covenant
with Abraham
and his covenant
still stands.
Those who bless
the children of Abraham
will be blessed
and those who curse
the children of Abraham
will be cursed.
And history is full
of examples
of God dealing
with that fact
and making his promise
clear and true.
Our extended passage
going back to the passage
in Isaiah
covering from Isaiah
chapter 10 to 34
and I want you to know
that next week
pastor's going to preach
the enthusiastic
hope filled message
of hey God does punish
but he also offers mercy.
Right pastor?
That's where we're going
next week.
So he's kind of slicing
in some pieces.
I'm the one.
Is that a bad cop
good cop kind of thing?
I'm the bad guy.
Hey, don't mess with God.
You got that?
Say it to yourself
and you can kind of
pack out and leave.
Don't mess with God.
Next week pastor's going to
God is merciful.
Okay.
So here we are
and as we work
our way through
we are going to see
that God will deal
not only with Israel
for their sin against him
but he's also going
to deal with those
that he would use
to chase in Israel.
Assyria, Babylon,
Philistia, Moab,
Cush, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon.
Did you remember all those?
I'll give you a quiz.
No.
Every one of them
that ended up
causing Israel harm
God would punish.
Now let's look
at Isaiah chapter 10
verse 5.
Ah, Assyria,
the rod of my anger.
The staff in their hands
is my fury.
What follows
in verse 5
all the way
through 14
is a little window
into the thinking
of the Assyrians
as they saw themselves
in this position
of being the instrument
of God
and they took it to heart
and thought
they were really
full of themselves
and in supreme power.
You look down there
and it says
against a godless nation
verse 6
I send him
and against the people
of my wrath
I command him
to take spoil
and seize plunder
to tread them down
like the mire
of the streets.
but he does not
so intend
and his heart
does not so think
but it is in his heart
to destroy
and to cut off nations
not a few
for he says
here is Assyria
being used by God
to discipline
his own beloved people
and they were entirely blind
to the fact
that God was using them.
They didn't understand
what God was doing.
Furthermore
we understand
from verse 7
that actually
they were being driven
by their desire
for power
and to assert themselves
and they figured out
hey if I can take it
it's mine
and might makes right
and that's exactly
what they did.
In verse 13 and 14
what we find
is that Assyria
is persuaded
that they were able
to do what they were
to other nations
simply because
of their own power
and their own brilliance.
13
for he says
by the strength
of my hand
Isaiah chapter 10
verse 13
by the strength
of my hand
I have done it
and by my wisdom
I have understanding.
Have you ever
bumped into people
that were pretty
full of themselves
and thought
that the reason
they were in
the position
they were in
and asserting
the power
that they had
was really just
because they were
smarter than the rest
of everybody else
and they were
kind of full of themselves.
Here is Assyria
displaying that
kind of attitude
and it's very
interesting because
as you work
your way through
Isaiah chapter 10
one of the things
that you're going
to see is two
different pictures
in what is going
on in the very
same time.
We can see
in this passage
the wicked hearts
of the Assyrians
and the wise
and sovereign heart
of God.
Now is that hard
to put together?
It is.
The wicked hearts
of the Assyrians
are thinking
I am powerful
and I can do
exactly what I want
and nobody's
going to stop me.
Disciplining the
nation of Israel.
And God at the
very same time
is saying
I am using you
but when I'm
finished using you
I am going
to discipline you
for your own
arrogance
and your own
hardness.
Kind of track
with me as we
work our way
through and see this.
In verse 5
God says
woe to Assyria
the rod
of my anger.
Hey
you think
you're in
your position
of authority
and you are
asserting it
for your own
pleasure
and your own
satisfaction
and your own
anger
and God says
hey
back up
I am using
you to accomplish
a purpose
and don't let it
go to your head.
Verse 12
when the Lord
has finished
all his work
on Mount Zion
and on Jerusalem
he will punish
the speech
of the arrogant
heart of the
king of Assyria
and the boastful
look in his eye.
You ever remind
yourself of what
happened in history
particularly to the
nation of Germany
and their hatred
of the Jews
back in the 40s?
God dealt with
that nation
in an unbelievably
harsh way
and I want you
to understand
that he has not
changed his hand
and his way
of dealing
even though
he is incredibly
patient in dealing
with disobedient
and hard-hearted
people
the day comes
when he will do it.
So ask yourself
the question
why is God
so patient
and long-suffering?
Two reasons.
Ecclesiastes
chapter 8
verse 11
says this
listen
because sentence
for an evil
deed
is not
speedily executed
the heart of man
is fully set
in him
to do it.
What's it saying?
Because God
is patient
he lets your
sin come
right out
in the open
where you can't
argue when he
nails you
and you can't
say well I
didn't really
mean it.
Reminds me
years ago
watching a
little class
where the
teacher stepped
out of the
room
and one of
the boys
who was
kind of
the class
clown
you know
every class
has one
this boy
took it upon
himself
while the
teacher
had stepped
out of the
room
to kind
of
give a
little
display
for the
audience
now the
teacher
knowing the
boy
had stepped
around the
corner
and she
immediately
took a
different
location
and she
watched
this boy
in full
display
as he
pranced
around
at the
front
of the
class
it's
like a
fifth grade
boy
you know
it's
like
full of
all kinds
of energy
and foolishness
and he
had his
back to
the door
wise
decision
and he
was putting
on a show
a little
dance
and move
and all
that kind
of stuff
and the
teacher
kind of
slowly
stepped
back
into the
door
and the
rest of
the class
realized
the teacher
was there
before the
boy
and suddenly
the class
that had
been laughing
at the
boy's
behavior
suddenly
got quiet
but the
boy didn't
read the
signals
because he
was quite
full of
his energy
and he
was taking
advantage
of the
moment
and he
was just
full bore
!
so when the
teacher
finally called
his name
and I
won't
mention
that this
morning
the name
he couldn't
say
I didn't
mean it
God
in his
patience
is letting
some
here today
fully display
the hardness
of their
heart
and when
he brings
judgment
you will
never be
able to
say to
God
you didn't
give me
a chance
in verse
15 of
Isaiah
chapter 10
it says
this
shall the
axe
boast
over him
who
hews
with it
or the
saw
magnify
itself
against him
who wields
it
God's
point
was this
is that
I am
using
Assyria
as an
instrument
of punishment
in my
hand
against
people
that I
love
but need
to be
disciplined
and when
that
instrument
takes it
upon
themselves
to be
fully
invested
in their
own
attitudes
and their
own
arrogance
the day
of vengeance
is coming
so let me
say this
in practical
terms
when you
find yourself
in a place
of being
used by
God
to correct
and admonish
other people
let me
encourage you
to be very
very careful
that you
do so
with humility
you know
why
listen up
God
hates
pride
he also
hates
a vengeful
spirit
when
you
are
in
the
place
that
God
has
you
dealing
with
another
person
your
heart
should
be
broken
and
should
be
sympathetic
even
when you
exercise
the
responsibility
that he
has given
you
by the way
it's also
a dangerous
thing
to be
in a
place
where
you
decide
to be
one
who
gets
vengeance
in
place
of
God
passage
in
over
in
Romans
chapter
12
says
this
vengeance
is
mine
I
will
repay
hand
it
over
to
God
let
him
deal
with
it
now
there's
a
larger
picture
that I
want
to come
to
here
as I
close
off
and
I
want
to
put
it
this
way
there's
another
point
that
follows
through
this
entire
passage
this
morning
and
we've
looked
primarily
at
Isaiah
chapter
10
and
not
the
rest
of
the
other
chapters
between
10
and
34
and
mind
you
I
pointed
!
different
countries
there's
woe
because
God
would
use
various
ones
to
deal
with
the
nation
of
Israel
the
thing
that
we
find
is
that
God
willingly
used
these
wicked
people
as
instruments
of
judgment
but
he
also
held
them
responsible
for
their
dealing
with
the
nation
of
Israel
so
that
kind
of
puts
us
on
the
spot
of
coming
to
grips
with
the
fact
that
God
is
sovereign
and
man
is
responsible
God
is
sovereign
and
man
is
responsible
so
how
do
you
put
those
two
truths
together
I'm
going
to
introduce
you
to
a
theological
term
that
you
can
use
on
each
other
in
the
car
home
okay
are
you
ready
antinomy
I don't
know if
I had
that in
the
notes
or
not
but
it's
fact
an
antinomy
is
two
seemingly
opposing
laws
two
seemingly
opposing
facts
the
Bible
actually
has a
number
of
different
antinomies
that
are
hard
for
us
to
understand
and
so
let me
have
you
kind
of
connect
with
a
couple
of
them
that
you
probably
are
more
comfortable
with
than
the
idea
that
God
is
sovereign
and
that
man
is
responsible
here's
one
that
we
most
of
all
bought
into
that
is
the
fact
that
God
is
triune
what
does
that
mean
how
many
remember
singing
the
classical
little
piece
of
song
where
God
in
three
persons
what
blessed
trinity
we know
that's a
theological
fact
how easy
is that
to put
together
anybody
here
have it
down
no
well let's
try another
one that
actually took
the church
the early
church
about 450
years
to get
their head
around
do you
know
which
one
it
was
the
absolute
humanity
of
Christ
and
the
absolute
deity
of
Christ
do
those
two
pieces
fit
together
I
remember
at
one
point
in
the
first
ministry
that
I
was
in
one
of
the
senior
deacons
explained
to me
that
Jesus
was
50%
man
and
50%
God
and
I
was
at
that
point
like
about
34
years
old
and
I
had
the
wisdom
to
at
least
bite
my
afterwards
I
said
could
you
help
me
find
that
in
the
Bible
that's
always
a good
question
to ask
anybody
you know
so
where is
that
in
the
Bible
see
God
has
many
truths
that
are
hard
for
our
little
minds
to
get
our
hands
entirely
around
I
have
a
little
fluffy
white
dog
that
actually
thinks
She's
pretty
smart
you
know
and
I
we
left
the
house
Judith
is
away
quilting
today
and
Faith
I
said
honey
please
lock
your
door
Faith
is
visiting
from
Egypt
she's
on
her
anybody
here
interested
in being
a teacher
in
Egypt
just
let
Faith
know
she's
ready
to
and
my
dog
has
a
very
limited
vocabulary
come
here
that
means
go
you
know
it's
like
the
one
thing
she
understands
without
question
I
don't
know
how
she's
got
it
figured
out
but
when
the
refrigerator
door
opens
she
thinks
that's
dinner
and
so
you
know
just
go
open
it
and
shut
it
again
Phoebe's
brain
could be
matched up
in
comparison
and
it's
a poor
comparison
but
to my
brain
in
relationship
to
God
very
limited
in
my
compatibility
to figure
out
all
these
facts
but
here's
the
truth
the
Bible
says
here
in
this
passage
God
is
going
to
use
wicked
men
to
do
his
work
and
to
discipline
a
hard
hearted
nation
that
he
made
a
promise
to
and
he
is
going
to
punish
that
nation
for
being
the
instrument
that
he
chose
I
remind
you
of
what
we
find
over
in
the
book
of
Acts
remember
where
Peter
was
preaching
the
sermon
of
Pentecost
and
he
said
you
did
exactly
as
God
had
foreordained
and
knew
was
going
to
happen
when
you
crucified
the
Lord
of
glory
according
to
the
plan
when
did
the
plan
of
salvation
come
into
being
was
it
as
Jesus
was
walking
towards
the
cross
and
God
well
see
if
I
can
work
something
out
here
good
there
are
actually
theologians
that
propose
that
God
is
entirely
dependent
upon
us
working
it
out
in
such
a
fashion
and
well
he'll
no
God
is
sovereign
and
man
is
responsible
we
kind
of
look
through
this
passage
in
Isaiah
chapter
10
in
particular
one
of the
things
that
I
want
you
to
understand
is
this
is
that
God
can
be
trusted
to keep
his
promises
and
if
you're
sitting
here
and
you're
a
believer
who
has
trusted
in
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
for
your
salvation
the
matter
is
settled
for
all
eternity
your
salvation
is
the
work
of
God
it's
not
you
interesting
opportunity
earlier
to talk
with an
individual
about
the
matter
of
salvation
I
said
how
did
you
come
to
faith
!
well
he
saved
me
well
the
fact
of the
matter
is
the
same
one
who
saved
you
is
also
the
one
who
keeps
you
God
can
be
trusted
to
keep
his
promises
that
brings
me
to
one
other
point
that
I
want
to
settle
in
your
minds
this
morning
and
I
don't
want
you
to
miss
it
God
will
deal
with
sin
God
will
deal
with
sin
we
have
a
tendency
because
God
is
patient
to
think
that
he
is
indifferent
to
sin
I
want
you
to
turn
as
we
close
over
to
passage
in
Luke
chapter
13
during
the
time
that
Jesus
was
on
the
earth
there
was
kind
of
a
predominant
theory
that
good
things
happen
to
good
people
and
bad
things
happen
to
bad
people
do
you
got
that
one
good
things
happen
to
good
people
and
bad
things
happen
to
bad
people
and
so
when
something
bad
happened
it
was
fair
to
speculate
well
they
must
have
been
doing
something
bad
Luke
chapter
13
there
were
some
present
at
that
very
time
who
told
him
about
the
Galileans
whose
blood
Pilate
had
mingled
with
their
sacrifices
and
he
answered
them
do
you
think
that
these
Galileans
were
worse
sinners
than
all
the
other
Galileans
because
they
suffered
in
this
way
hey
going
into
the
temple
to
sacrifice
and
getting
butchered
was
not
a
good
thing
to
have
happen
to
you
right
and
Jesus
says
are
you
sitting
here
thinking
that
happened
because
these
people
were
worse
than
others
look
at
the
next
one
no
I
tell
you
verse
three
unless
you
repent
you
will
all
likewise
perish
or
those
eighteen
on
whom
the
tower
of
Siloam
fell
and
killed
them
do
you
think
that
they
were
worse
offenders
than
all
the
others
who
lived
in
Jerusalem
no
I
tell
you
unless
you
repent
you
will
all
likewise
perish
so
let
me
close
off
by
bringing
it
down
in
very
practical
terms
I
would
appeal
to
you
who
are
here
today
and
know
Christ
as
your
personal
savior
that
you
not
take
sin
in
your
own
life
carelessly
I
want
to
make
this
point
clear
the
way
God
deals
the
way
God
deals
with
sin
in
the
believer's
life
is
different
than
the
way
God
deals
with
sin
in
the
unbeliever's
life
the
believer
can
be
assured
of
discipline
and
chastening
in
this
life
and
can
I
tell
you
something
I
can
tell
you
from
69
years
of
experience
God
is
not
someone
to
mess
with
one
of
the
advantages
of
being
as
old
as
I
am
is
I
have
plenty
of
scar
tissue
and
every
now
and
then
when
I
go
on
one
of
my
stubborn
stupid
streaks
he
kind
of taps
not
going
there
again
how many
of you
are
with
me
I
don't
need
another
round
I'm
convinced
God
deals
with
believers
as it
says
in
Hebrews
he
chastens
whom
he
loves
that
we
may
be
partakers
of
his
holiness
isn't
that
an
encouraging
fact
when
he
puts
the
heat
on
Tim
Kenoyer
his
goal
is
my
progressive
sanctification
I
like
that
I just as soon not have to have the heat.
When God deals with sinners,
in this life, for the most part,
his intent is to draw you to the cross.
It goes back to that boy that I had in the car with me.
And after he'd shared part of his life with me,
I said, so how much more evidence do you need
that a disobedient and sinful life doesn't work out well?
Is that a fair question?
And there's some of you here this morning,
as one who has been appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ
to plead with you for the sake of the gospel.
Be practical.
Be realistic.
I'm reminded of what a man named Harold Platinga said.
He said, sin, hold on to this,
sin is an opportunistic virus that always destroys its host.
Sin is an opportunistic virus that always destroys its host.
And if you sit here this morning with a stubborn and hard heart towards God,
and you are resistant to the sweetness of the offer of salvation
through the Lord Jesus Christ,
it will only get harder
until the day comes that you have no opportunity
because you have died in your sins
and lost the hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so it is fitting,
it is fitting,
for one who tells you about the fact that God judges sin
to also tell you that God sent His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
to take the full burden for our wicked, dark hearts
and to pay for that on the cross
that whosoever believes in Him might
not perish,
but have everlasting life.
And I would plead with you this morning,
do not delay in trusting Him.
Let's close in prayer.
Our Father God,
Your Word is clear.
You are a God who is holy and just
and will not overlook sin.
You will punish it.
We thank You that You have sent the Lord Jesus Christ
as full payment for our sins,
and whosoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.
And my plea this morning
is that Your Spirit would bring people to the cross.
Not because they simply have made an excellent decision,
but because this morning the Spirit of God
is convicting them
and breaking through the hardness of their heart
and bringing them to the point of seeing
there is no hope apart from Christ.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.