Speaker 1: Isaiah sixty through sixty two. As I said in a
Speaker 1: moment where just we're going to stand and we're going
Speaker 1: to read these three chapters of dense Hebrew poetry, and
Speaker 1: because it is dense Hebrew poetry, I just want to
Speaker 1: orient us a little bit for the reading. I think
Speaker 1: it'd be helpful for us to think of this as
Speaker 1: what Isaiah gives us here, as kind of a destination
Speaker 1: that God is taking. Is why I've titled de serm
Speaker 1: in the way I have this train is bound for glory.
Speaker 1: God is taking his people to a place, and he's
Speaker 1: telling us about that. And as he does, I would
Speaker 1: just I would have you look for in our reading
Speaker 1: the way that God paints the pictures of this destination.
Speaker 1: What are the pictures that He is painting for where
Speaker 1: we're headed? And also what are I'm gonna call them
Speaker 1: the plot twists. You'll see this throughout these three chapters,
Speaker 1: especially at the beginning of sixty one, how God is
Speaker 1: not only taking to us to a place, but that's
Speaker 1: gonna involve a lot of reversals. A lot of things
Speaker 1: that we wish were different now are going to be
Speaker 1: different in his timing. So look for reversals, plot twists,
Speaker 1: and then third, I would encourage you to as we read,
Speaker 1: look for how earnestly God is promising this to his people.
Speaker 1: You'll notice it. The Lord swears by his right arm
Speaker 1: right things like that. How earnestly he's promising these things.
Speaker 1: So look for those things as we read about this destination.
Speaker 1: If you would stand for the reading of God's word,
Speaker 1: if you are able, I'm gonna read all three chapters,
Speaker 1: and I think standing is gonna help us focus. All right,
Speaker 1: Isaiah sixteen, Allow along as I read aloud, arise, shine,
Speaker 1: for your light has come. The glory of the Lord
Speaker 1: has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
Speaker 1: and thick darkness the peoples. But the Lord will arise
Speaker 1: upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you,
Speaker 1: And nations shall come to your light and kings to
Speaker 1: the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around,
Speaker 1: and see they all gather together. They come to you.
Speaker 1: Your sons shall come from Afar, and your daughters shall
Speaker 1: be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and
Speaker 1: be radiant. Your heart shall thrill and exult, because the
Speaker 1: abundance of the sea shall be turned to you. The
Speaker 1: wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude
Speaker 1: of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian
Speaker 1: and Epha, all those from Sheba shall come. They shall
Speaker 1: bring gold and franknsonce. They shall bring good news, the
Speaker 1: praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall
Speaker 1: be gathered to you. Then the rams of Nebaev shall
Speaker 1: minister to you. They shall come up with acceptance on
Speaker 1: my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house. Who
Speaker 1: are these that fly like a cloud like doves to
Speaker 1: their windows? For the coastlands shall hope for me. The
Speaker 1: ships of tarsish first to bring your children from Afar.
Speaker 1: They're silver and gold with them. For the name of
Speaker 1: the Lord, your God, and for the Holy One of Israel,
Speaker 1: because He has made you beautiful. Foreigners shall build up
Speaker 1: your walls, and their kings shall minister to you. For
Speaker 1: in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor
Speaker 1: I have had mercy on you. Your gates shall be
Speaker 1: opened continually day and night. They shall not be shut,
Speaker 1: that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
Speaker 1: with their kings led in procession from for nation and kingdom.
Speaker 1: For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you
Speaker 1: shall perish. Those nations shall be utterly laid waste. The
Speaker 1: glory of Lebanon shall come to you the cypress, the plain,
Speaker 1: and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary.
Speaker 1: And I will make the place of my feets. The
Speaker 1: sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low
Speaker 1: to you, and all those who despise you shall bow
Speaker 1: down at your feet, and they shall call you the
Speaker 1: city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One
Speaker 1: of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with
Speaker 1: no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever,
Speaker 1: a joy from age to age, and you shall suck
Speaker 1: the milk of nations. You shall nurse at the breast
Speaker 1: of kings and I, and you shall know that I
Speaker 1: the Lord, am your Savior and your redeemer, the Mighty
Speaker 1: One of Jacob. Instead of bronze, I'll bring gold instead
Speaker 1: of iron. I'll bring silver instead of wood, bronze instead
Speaker 1: of stones, iron. I will make your overseers beeasts, and
Speaker 1: your taskmaster's righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in
Speaker 1: your land, devastation or destruction within your borders. You shall
Speaker 1: call the wall your walls salvation, and your gates praise.
Speaker 1: The sun shall know more your light be by day,
Speaker 1: nor for brightness shall the moon give you light. But
Speaker 1: the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God
Speaker 1: will be your glory. Your son shall no more go down,
Speaker 1: and your moon no more withdraw itself, for the Lord
Speaker 1: will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning
Speaker 1: shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous, and
Speaker 1: they shall possess the land forever. The branch of my
Speaker 1: planting the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
Speaker 1: The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest
Speaker 1: one a mighty nation. I am the Lord. In its time,
Speaker 1: I will hasten it. The spirit of the Lord is
Speaker 1: upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring
Speaker 1: good news to the poor. He has sent me to
Speaker 1: bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
Speaker 1: captives and the opening of the prison to those who
Speaker 1: are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor
Speaker 1: and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort
Speaker 1: all who morn, to grant those to those who mourn
Speaker 1: in zion, to give them a beautiful head dress instead
Speaker 1: of ashes. The oil of gladness instead of mourning, the
Speaker 1: garment of praise, instead of a faint spirit, that they
Speaker 1: may be called the oaks of righteousness, the planting of
Speaker 1: the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build
Speaker 1: up the ancient ruins. They shall raise up the former devastation.
Speaker 1: They shall repair the ruined cities, the devastation of many generations.
Speaker 1: Strangers shall stand in ten your flocks. Foreigners shall be
Speaker 1: your plowmen and vine dressers. But you shall be called
Speaker 1: the priests of the Lord, and they shall speak of
Speaker 1: you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat
Speaker 1: the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you
Speaker 1: shall boast instead of your shame. There shall be a
Speaker 1: double portion instead of dishonor. They shall rejoice in their lot. Therefore,
Speaker 1: in their land they shall possess a double portion. They
Speaker 1: shall have everlasting joy. For I the Lord love justice,
Speaker 1: I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully give them
Speaker 1: their recompense. I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Speaker 1: Their offspring shall be known among the nations and their
Speaker 1: descendants in the midst of the people. All who see
Speaker 1: them shall acknowledge them that they are an offspring of
Speaker 1: the Lord. That the Lord has blessed, I will greatly
Speaker 1: rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exalt in my God,
Speaker 1: for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
Speaker 1: He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. As
Speaker 1: the bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
Speaker 1: and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For
Speaker 1: as the Lord spring brings forth its sprouts, and as
Speaker 1: a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
Speaker 1: so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to
Speaker 1: sprout up before all the nations. For Zion's sake, I
Speaker 1: will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake, I will
Speaker 1: not be quiet until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
Speaker 1: and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall
Speaker 1: see your righteousness and all the kings your glory. You
Speaker 1: shall be called by a new name, and the mouth
Speaker 1: that the mouth of the Lord will give you should
Speaker 1: be crown. You shall be a crown of beauty in
Speaker 1: the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in
Speaker 1: the hand of your God. You shall no more be
Speaker 1: termed forsaken. Your land shall no more be termed desolate,
Speaker 1: but you shall be called My delight is in her
Speaker 1: and your land married. For the Lord delights in you,
Speaker 1: and your land shall be married. For as a young
Speaker 1: man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you.
Speaker 1: And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall
Speaker 1: your God rejoice over you. On your walls of Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: I have set watchmen all the day and all the night.
Speaker 1: They shall never be silent. You who put the Lord
Speaker 1: in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest
Speaker 1: until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in
Speaker 1: the earth. The Lord has sworn by his right hand
Speaker 1: and by his mighty arm I will not again give
Speaker 1: your grain to be food for your enemies. Foreigner. Shall
Speaker 1: not drink your wine for those for that which you've labored.
Speaker 1: For those who garner it shall eat it, and the
Speaker 1: praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it.
Speaker 1: In the courts of my sanctuary. Go through, Go through
Speaker 1: the gates, prepare the way for the people, Build up,
Speaker 1: build up the highway, clear it of stones, Lift up
Speaker 1: a signal over the people's behold. The Lord has proclaimed
Speaker 1: to the ends of the earth. Behold yourself to say
Speaker 1: to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes. Behold,
Speaker 1: his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
Speaker 1: And they shall be called the Holy People, the redeemed
Speaker 1: of the Lord. And you shall be called sought out,
Speaker 1: a city not forsaken. This is the word of the Lord.
Speaker 1: You may be seated. Thank for saying, thank you for
Speaker 1: standing up with that. I think that did probably help
Speaker 1: our focus. It's a lot. It is what I would
Speaker 1: call a vision of hope, a promised destination, and Isaiah,
Speaker 1: the Book of Isaiah is given to the people in
Speaker 1: a time of deep confusion and deep trouble and deep doubt,
Speaker 1: and in the midst of that some of the worst
Speaker 1: this vision of hope is given to them as sort
Speaker 1: of the culmination of the Book of Isaiah. I know
Speaker 1: we have a few chapters left to go, but really
Speaker 1: the next two major sections are just a prayer of
Speaker 1: repentance and then like response to fork in the road,
Speaker 1: which way you're gonna go. This is the climax of Isaiah,
Speaker 1: this promised destination, and it comes to them, and it
Speaker 1: really it comes to us. It comes to us whether
Speaker 1: maybe right now, you are or aren't, in a time
Speaker 1: of deep confusion or doubt or trouble. Maybe this morning
Speaker 1: you're not even a Christian and you're here. But whatever
Speaker 1: the circumstances may be, God is holding out this vision
Speaker 1: of hope, a promised destination for all those who will
Speaker 1: trust in him, And in it, he shows that He
Speaker 1: is a God that we can trust with our biggest hopes.
Speaker 1: So here we are. We're not there right a promised destination.
Speaker 1: It means we're still on the tracks. We're still on
Speaker 1: the train, and it is not always pleasant on this train.
Speaker 1: How do we rightly travel with the destination like this
Speaker 1: in our hearts? How do we handle this? Do we
Speaker 1: ignore it? Do we set it aside? Do we try
Speaker 1: not to think about it? I think the answer has
Speaker 1: everything to do with how we handle three elements of
Speaker 1: this promised destination. Three elements. They are how we handle
Speaker 1: the pictures, how we handle the plot twists, and how
Speaker 1: we handle the promises. Three elements about how we are
Speaker 1: going to travel rightly as we are on this train
Speaker 1: to this promised destination. Three elements, the pictures, the plot twists,
Speaker 1: the promises. Let me explain number one. First element, the pictures.
Speaker 1: Here's what I mean. You noticed in chapter sixty, I
Speaker 1: mean all these chapters, really, but especially chapter sixty. It's
Speaker 1: dominated by these descriptions of this promised destination that's coming.
Speaker 1: Like even the sheer number of shalls is a little overwhelming.
Speaker 1: Did you notice that all the shalls. Let me give
Speaker 1: you some of my favorites, like verse four lift your
Speaker 1: son's shall come from Afar. Like verse five, your heart
Speaker 1: shall thrill and exult. How about verse eleven skipping over
Speaker 1: a lot of shalls here, but your gates shall be
Speaker 1: opened continually. Or verse fourteen, they shall call you the
Speaker 1: city of the Lord. Picture after picture of what is coming.
Speaker 1: What are they picture of? Well, you see the text emphasize,
Speaker 1: over and over again, beauty. You see the text emphasize
Speaker 1: all will be righteous, praise the Lord, that that people
Speaker 1: will come from Afar, that all of this will happen
Speaker 1: under the glory of the Lord. Over and over again,
Speaker 1: the text emphasizes these things. I'll summarize it like this,
Speaker 1: A beautiful city. Here's the picture of the destination. A
Speaker 1: beautiful city of righteous people from all nations under the
Speaker 1: glory of God. A beautiful city of righteous people from
Speaker 1: all nations under the glory of God. And there are
Speaker 1: some of you, I don't know how many some of
Speaker 1: you who right now are eaten up with this question.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's the most important question, but it's
Speaker 1: some of you are just like, Okay, when what is this? Is? This?
Speaker 1: Is this? Is this supposed to be? Now? Is this? What? What?
Speaker 1: What is this a picture of? When? Not? Just what?
Speaker 1: When is this a picture of? And if that's not
Speaker 1: you just know that. Buckle up a little bit, because
Speaker 1: I'm gonna explain a few things to people who do care. Okay,
Speaker 1: when is this? Is this already? Is this a picture
Speaker 1: of the church? Is this not yet? Is this picture
Speaker 1: of the new heavens and the new Earth? Is? Like?
Speaker 1: All this Israel languages? Does Israel have a place here?
Speaker 1: And here's my reading, My reading is the answer to
Speaker 1: all those questions is yes, Here's what I mean. He
Speaker 1: this is a picture of not yet, this is a
Speaker 1: new heavens and a new Earth. Right when verse nineteen
Speaker 1: and twenty say the sun shall be no more your
Speaker 1: light by day, your brightness or your for brightness? Shall
Speaker 1: the moon give you light? Like this is calling to
Speaker 1: Revelation twenty one of the New Jerusalem, where it says
Speaker 1: the same thing, no sun or moon, because God is
Speaker 1: going to be your light. The gates will never shut.
Speaker 1: Like I read this as new heavens and new Earth,
Speaker 1: this is a picture of not yet, but b this
Speaker 1: is also a picture with ancient roots. In other words,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of specific israel Land language here. So
Speaker 1: is there a role for that sort of thing in
Speaker 1: the new heavens and the New Earth? Regarding Israel? I
Speaker 1: think yes. We see in Romans chapter eleven, verse twenty
Speaker 1: five that there's been a partial hardening on the people
Speaker 1: of Israel until the fullness of the gentiles will come in,
Speaker 1: and that way all Israel will be saved. So yes,
Speaker 1: we don't see right now all the ways in which
Speaker 1: God is working to bring about these promises, but clearly
Speaker 1: there's a role for Israel in it. But see also, Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is a picture with features you can recognize already. Already, already,
Speaker 1: this is a picture of Christ and his people. As
Speaker 1: much as the Redeemer has come, the nations are being gathered,
Speaker 1: a restored people is being formed. All of this, yes,
Speaker 1: will be consummated in a final new creation. But it's
Speaker 1: a picture with features you can already recognize. So how
Speaker 1: do I answer the question of when, yeah, it's already
Speaker 1: and not yet? And I sort of wanted to get
Speaker 1: that out of the way because I know that that
Speaker 1: question sort of eats at some of us, and because
Speaker 1: I also think it's not the most important question when
Speaker 1: it comes to these pictures. I think here's the question.
Speaker 1: I think the question is what do we do with
Speaker 1: these pictures? What do we do? I think the answer
Speaker 1: is this, we are meant to stare at them until
Speaker 1: they change our faces. We are meant to stare at
Speaker 1: these pictures until they change our faces. Where do I
Speaker 1: get that? I get that from the way verse four
Speaker 1: and five and one and two are put together. Like
Speaker 1: if you look at verse four, this is one of
Speaker 1: the only present tense statements in the whole chapter. Present
Speaker 1: tense in sorry in chapter sixty, and there's a few
Speaker 1: pages to deal with it. Lift up your eyes all
Speaker 1: around and see, it says, they all gather together, they
Speaker 1: come to you. Lift up your eyes now see now
Speaker 1: present tense now. But then verse five says, then you
Speaker 1: shall see and be radiant. Then your heart shall thrill
Speaker 1: and exult. So, in other words, the instruction to look
Speaker 1: now and see. Now is that the instruction to look
Speaker 1: and see the picture of what? But you will look
Speaker 1: and see, look and see what I'm telling you is
Speaker 1: coming here. You're on the train. Let me give you
Speaker 1: the brochure of where we're headed. Look and see. You
Speaker 1: don't see it all yet, But look and see. Look
Speaker 1: at what I'm giving you. Lift your eyes and see
Speaker 1: what you can only yet see by faith, what you
Speaker 1: can only yet see in my word, what you can
Speaker 1: only yet see in the pictures that I've given you
Speaker 1: to hope in stare at them, look and see, And
Speaker 1: I say, stare at them until they change our faces. Because,
Speaker 1: similarly to verses four and five, the other present tense
Speaker 1: verses in verse one, what is it? What's the instruction?
Speaker 1: Arise and shy, A rise and shine, for your light
Speaker 1: has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen
Speaker 1: upon you. But then verse two, he shall arise upon you,
Speaker 1: and his glory shall be seen upon you. Everything else
Speaker 1: is shall so shine because of what he's started, and
Speaker 1: especially especially because of the destination he's pictured for us.
Speaker 1: Are you tracking with me on this Look and see
Speaker 1: a rise and shine. Let my pictures of the destination
Speaker 1: I'm taking you to change you now. It's like a
Speaker 1: kid on a train at night, staring at the brochure
Speaker 1: of the place his dad is taking him to. He
Speaker 1: can't see much, but he can see where they're headed.
Speaker 1: And he is staring at all those pictures with his
Speaker 1: face enraptured and his eyes glistening because of what he
Speaker 1: sees that he can't see, because of what he sees
Speaker 1: that his dad has promised him. What are we meant
Speaker 1: to do with these pictures? Were meant to stare at
Speaker 1: them until they change our faces. Now, even though they're
Speaker 1: pictures of what's to come, we should stare at these
Speaker 1: pictures until they change our outlook, they change our loves,
Speaker 1: change our eyes. It's these pictures that hold out the
Speaker 1: hope of a destination that's way better than this train ride.
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, sure, I'm sure that the view from
Speaker 1: this train is sometimes beautiful. Sometimes the view from this
Speaker 1: life is even suggestive of the beauty that's to come.
Speaker 1: But often often this ride is pretty dark and cramped.
Speaker 1: Often this ride is more like real long distance train travel,
Speaker 1: not the movies. I've been on long distance trains. It's
Speaker 1: not pleasant, It's not like the scenic train that you
Speaker 1: take in the loop that they built just so that
Speaker 1: you can see the like the landscape that's not train travel.
Speaker 1: Train travel is dark and cramped and stinky, and there's
Speaker 1: a persistent sense of nausea throughout. And our Father has
Speaker 1: given us these pictures and says, look and see, arise
Speaker 1: and shine? How are you going to rightly travel in
Speaker 1: this life with God's promised destination actually in your heart?
Speaker 1: And has everything to do with how you handle the pictures.
Speaker 1: We stare at the pictures of where He's taking us
Speaker 1: until they change our faces, because if we stare at
Speaker 1: what is around us on this train, we will lose hope.
Speaker 1: It has everything to do with how we handle the pictures.
Speaker 1: But also I said the three elements, here's the second element.
Speaker 1: It has everything to do with how we handle the
Speaker 1: plot twists. How we handle the plot twists. What I
Speaker 1: mean by that, well, I'm talking about all the reversals.
Speaker 1: Did you see them? Did you see all the reversals
Speaker 1: that we read as we were reading these three chapters.
Speaker 1: I mean it's starting in say, chapter sixty one, especially
Speaker 1: chapter sixty one one through nine. This begins with the
Speaker 1: one that Isaiah calls the servant of the Lord speaking,
Speaker 1: and look there at what he proclaims. He proclaims good
Speaker 1: news to the poor or the afflicted. He proclaims binding
Speaker 1: up or healing to the broken hearted. He proclaims liberty
Speaker 1: to the captives, favor, but also vengeance comfort to those
Speaker 1: who mourn headdress instead of ashes. On and on, these reversals,
Speaker 1: these plot twists, they go until finally, in verse nine,
Speaker 1: he says, all who see them will acknowledge that they
Speaker 1: are offspring. The Lord has blessed it's coming. I've got
Speaker 1: plot twists coming in this life. On this train, there
Speaker 1: are miseries, but one day God is bringing so plot twists.
Speaker 1: The question is will you trust him with the when
Speaker 1: and the how that he's bringing those plot twists, those reversals.
Speaker 1: That's key. Will you trust him with the win and
Speaker 1: the how? Because the servant of the Lord showed up,
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ announces his ministry with these verses. Right here.
Speaker 1: He shows up to the synagogue, the place where the
Speaker 1: discussion of God's promises would rightfully take place. They hand
Speaker 1: him the scroll of Isaiah. He unrolls to this spot
Speaker 1: right here. I don't know how long that takes with
Speaker 1: sixty six chapters. He enrolls to this place right here,
Speaker 1: and he announces the spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Speaker 1: because the Lord has anointed me to bring good, good
Speaker 1: news to the poor. He sent me to bind up
Speaker 1: the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. I'm
Speaker 1: the servant of the Lord. I'm the one who's proclaiming.
Speaker 1: I've come to handle the plot twists. It's all up
Speaker 1: to me. I've got a plan. And when he says
Speaker 1: I've got a plan, the people in the synagogue say,
Speaker 1: we've got a plan. Plot tists. We're all about it. Reversals,
Speaker 1: we want them right now. And Jesus says, you know
Speaker 1: what you're gonna end up saying to me, physician, heal yourself.
Speaker 1: He says, you know, when it comes to plot twists,
Speaker 1: you just need to understand when it comes to the
Speaker 1: how and the when, when it comes to who's in
Speaker 1: charge of this, just realize there were many widows in Israel,
Speaker 1: but it was a widow in Sidon who was blessed
Speaker 1: by the prophet. You know, there were many lepers in Israel,
Speaker 1: but it was the name in the gentile who is healed.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have in other words, you're gonna have to
Speaker 1: trust me with the when and the how and even
Speaker 1: the who of these plot twists, of these reversals. And
Speaker 1: you know what they did at that point, they tried
Speaker 1: to throw them off cliff. The question is not is
Speaker 1: God bringing reversals? Is God bringing plot twists? The question
Speaker 1: is will you trust him with the when and the
Speaker 1: how that he brings him He's the one to trust,
Speaker 1: He's the one with the when and the how. But
Speaker 1: God is saying here he is bringing some plot twists,
Speaker 1: which is pretty important to know because sometimes sometimes although
Speaker 1: the view is fine from this train, a lot more
Speaker 1: times it's that uncomfortable, stinky, cramped, dark, nauseating ride at best,
Speaker 1: which we could also describe as afflictions, broken heartedness, captivity
Speaker 1: because real life in this life is real life in
Speaker 1: this life, and what quickly gets a hold of our
Speaker 1: hearts is God. I don't like it this way? Why
Speaker 1: affliction now? Why? Broken heartedness now? Why? Morning? Now? Why?
Speaker 1: Why cancer now? Why betrayal now? Why loss? Why decline? Why? Inability?
Speaker 1: Ben sass' so, US Senator from Nebraska. I don't know
Speaker 1: much about him, but this week I listened to an
Speaker 1: interview he did Ross doutfit, who does a podcast for
Speaker 1: The New York Times, interviewed Ben Sas because Ben Sas
Speaker 1: the senator from Nebraska, who's my age and a really
Speaker 1: healthy guy. I mean he did triathlons and everything. He
Speaker 1: went to his doctor late last year with back pain
Speaker 1: and he just couldn't figure out, you know what, what
Speaker 1: he needed to change in his training regimen. And they
Speaker 1: called him after a scan and they said, you should
Speaker 1: pull over, Ben, your abdomen is full of tumors. You
Speaker 1: have seven different kinds of cancer. You're going to live
Speaker 1: three months. And Senator Sas, who is a strong Christian
Speaker 1: and I loved hearing his testimony of faith on this podcast.
Speaker 1: He was asked by Ross daufit As he said, as
Speaker 1: a man of faith, how do you handle this affliction?
Speaker 1: I mean you should see the picture, just the cover
Speaker 1: picture on this podcast. Senator sass As open wounds on
Speaker 1: his face as his skin won't grow because of his treatment.
Speaker 1: And he says, aren't you angry? What about? What about
Speaker 1: don't you want God to reverse these things the way
Speaker 1: you want him to reverse these things? What about what
Speaker 1: about your prayers? And Ben Sas said, yeah, of course
Speaker 1: I've prayed. I would love for God to do a miracle,
Speaker 1: but I don't want the sovereign God of the universe
Speaker 1: to defer to the whims of my every prayer. I
Speaker 1: am not omniscient. I don't know how the tapestry of
Speaker 1: the restoration of all things is supposed to be woven together.
Speaker 1: Because I don't hold the or the planets in orbit.
Speaker 1: I can't even grow skin on my face. I have
Speaker 1: to trust Him with the when and the where of
Speaker 1: the plot twists that I so desperately want to see
Speaker 1: happen in my body, in my life, in this world.
Speaker 1: And God is saying here, I know there's affliction now,
Speaker 1: I know there's broken heartedness, now, I know there's morning now.
Speaker 1: But I am not defined and you are not defined
Speaker 1: by this ride. I am defined, and you are defined
Speaker 1: by this destination and plot twists. So many are coming.
Speaker 1: And if we're going to travel well on this real
Speaker 1: life train with all its misery, it will have everything
Speaker 1: to do with trusting God with the winds and the
Speaker 1: hows of these plot twists, of these reversals. He knows
Speaker 1: how to make all things new. So I said there
Speaker 1: were three elements, Yes, number one traveling rightly means staring
Speaker 1: at these pictures until they change our face. Element two.
Speaker 1: It means trusting God with the when and the how
Speaker 1: of these plot twists. But it also has everything to
Speaker 1: do with how we handle the earnestness of God's promise.
Speaker 1: He say has everything to do with the promises. Here's
Speaker 1: what I mean from this point forward sixty one, verse ten,
Speaker 1: all the way through chapter sixty two. The thing that
Speaker 1: gets layer in along with more beautiful pictures and more
Speaker 1: beautiful plot twists. The thing that gets layered in is
Speaker 1: the earnestness with which God is promising his people this destination.
Speaker 1: I mean. The most obvious example is verse eight in
Speaker 1: chapter sixty two. The Lord has sworn by his right
Speaker 1: hand and by his mighty arm. You also see things
Speaker 1: like verse eleven of sixty two. Behold, the Lord has
Speaker 1: proclaimed to the end of the earth. Like He's not
Speaker 1: being quiet about his promises. He's not being COI. And
Speaker 1: then there's all the bridegroom and the betrothal language, right
Speaker 1: like verse five, like the bride as the bridegroom rejoices
Speaker 1: over the bride, so that God will rejoice over you. Right,
Speaker 1: God is leaning in on the promissory nature of this destination.
Speaker 1: He's saying, I'm real taking you there. I'm really taking
Speaker 1: you there. You can count on me. It's like the
Speaker 1: like the dad telling the kids we are really on
Speaker 1: our way, and they're like, how long till we get there?
Speaker 1: It's like, we're getting there. You can count on me.
Speaker 1: And the question is can you count on him? I mean,
Speaker 1: when when God is saying they shall be called the
Speaker 1: redeemed of the Lord, when God is saying you can
Speaker 1: count on me, how do you know in your heart
Speaker 1: that you can count on him? Well, he's already started
Speaker 1: keeping his promises. He's been keeping his promises. He kept
Speaker 1: his promise to us in the death and resurrection of
Speaker 1: his son. I mean, God said he would send a redeemer,
Speaker 1: and Christ came and said in John four, I who
Speaker 1: speak to you am he? And God said that that
Speaker 1: redeemer would be rejected. And when Christ identified himself right
Speaker 1: there and luke for they tried to throw them off
Speaker 1: a cliff, and God said that the redeemer would die
Speaker 1: for sins and rise, and Christ laid down his life,
Speaker 1: and when he rose, he said, these were my words
Speaker 1: that I spoke to you, that all that was written
Speaker 1: about me, and the law and the prophets must be fulfilled.
Speaker 1: That I would die, and that on the third day
Speaker 1: I must rise. And God said that he would draw
Speaker 1: all nations to him. And Jesus said, and that repentance
Speaker 1: and the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in my
Speaker 1: name to all the nations. Now go, and here we
Speaker 1: are half a world away in San Antonio, Texas. And
Speaker 1: so many of us that are sitting right here have
Speaker 1: already been joined to the zion of God that Christ
Speaker 1: will one day complete. And even those who have not
Speaker 1: come to trust him. Christ is calling to you right
Speaker 1: now to trust him, to lay down the sin that
Speaker 1: you think will actually make this ride better. It won't.
Speaker 1: And the stubbornness that keeps you from even looking at
Speaker 1: the destination that God has for his people. Calling you
Speaker 1: to receive grace and sonship. I can tell you every grace,
Speaker 1: every joy he has led me to expect. He has
Speaker 1: put in my hand, and he has put in my
Speaker 1: heart in great fullness, every step of obedience he's called
Speaker 1: me to so far he has strengthened, and he has rewarded.
Speaker 1: If you don't know him, or if some sin or
Speaker 1: some hurt has clouded over your view of his face.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you, let Isaiah tell you, Let the
Speaker 1: Cross tell you a clear picture of him. To know
Speaker 1: him is to trust him. I will gladly put my
Speaker 1: biggest hopes in his promises. You should too. Let's do
Speaker 1: it together. Let's take this ride together, hoping in what
Speaker 1: God has promised. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
Speaker 1: so shall God rejoice over you. The Lord has sworn
Speaker 1: by his right hand, and listen. Trusting his promises doesn't
Speaker 1: mean just stoically sitting throughout the travel of this life,
Speaker 1: as if God doesn't want to hear from you. He's
Speaker 1: like I told you, we'll get there when we get there.
Speaker 1: That's not his character at all, he saysn't in verse
Speaker 1: six here, let those who put the Lord in remembrance
Speaker 1: in prayer right. Let those who put the Lord in
Speaker 1: remembrance take no rest, and give him no rest. Go
Speaker 1: to him the prayer. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. It's
Speaker 1: right and fitting. Throughout every misery in this journey. Lament
Speaker 1: isn't a mere complaint. It's honesty before the Lord. And
Speaker 1: as we're honest before the Lord, we don't pretend that
Speaker 1: everything is perfect on this ride. Far from it, far
Speaker 1: from it. It is far from perfect, and pretending is
Speaker 1: far from the calling we've received. We can look in
Speaker 1: the face the miseries of this life, the lostness of
Speaker 1: this world, the weakness of our flesh, and yet none
Speaker 1: of those define our destination, and they certainly don't define
Speaker 1: our God. He's told us what defines him, his character,
Speaker 1: his grace, his cross. And he's told us what defines
Speaker 1: our death, the nation. He's given us these pictures to
Speaker 1: stare at. How do we rightly travel this life by
Speaker 1: knowing at heart he is not and we are not
Speaker 1: defined by this ride or defined by this destination? Would
Speaker 1: you stand with me and pray? Lord? I I want
Speaker 1: to start this prayer thanking you for people like Ben
Speaker 1: Sass who, on the threshold of death, on the threshold
Speaker 1: of getting off this train, have so thoroughly stared at
Speaker 1: your promises that they can eagerly place themselves in your hand. Lord?
Speaker 1: Would we all? Would we all so rightly travel this
Speaker 1: life that we recognize it's this destination that defines us,
Speaker 1: It's this destination that defines you. Lord. We desire that
Speaker 1: would you help us to put our biggest hopes in
Speaker 1: your promises. That's what we ask in Jesus' name. Amen,