The Weariness of the Word

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church

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Amen Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 28.

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We are continuing in Isaiah 28 today And if you remember Isaiah 28 begins a new section that talks about the folly of trusting in the nation's

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Folly of trusting in the nation's God had told the people that they should not make covenants They should not make alliances with other nations

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And that is what they've done both the northern kingdom of Israel The southern kingdom of Judah had both made their own alliances rather than trusting in the

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Lord and this set of chapters that we're in the middle of looking at address that particular sin of Trusting in the nation's rather than trusting in the

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Lord in his word Please stand when you have Isaiah 28 and we will begin reading in verse 7

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These also real with wine and stagger with strong drink the priest and the prophet real with strong drink

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They are swallowed by wine. They stagger with strong drink a real and vision

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They stumble and giving judgment for all tables are full of filthy vomit with no space left

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To whom will he teach knowledge and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk those taken from the breast for it is precept upon precept precept upon precept line upon line

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Line upon line here a little there a little For by people of strange lips and with foreign tongue

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The Lord will speak to this people to whom he has said this is rest give to the weary and this is repose

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If they would not hear The word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line

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Here a little there a little that they may go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken

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May be seated dear Heavenly Father We thank you for your word.

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We thank you for its guidance. We thank you that it speaks of Great things and it points us to our

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Savior Jesus Christ I pray that today as we Look at this passage that we would be pointed to him all the more and that we would find everything we need in him

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And Jesus name. Amen We live in a world that Despises the

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Word of God now that probably resonates very true with you You know, most people care very little about what

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God has said in his word However, that is also true among those who are supposed to be the people of God as also true among many churches

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You know, very few churches have a focus on the Word of God They may say that they do but very few churches actually have a focus on the

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Word of God You know a lot of people say that they love God's Word, but they are find this very dissatisfying they want

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Prophecies to their life that that speak in ways that aren't so boring and wearisome as this

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Bible You have people who are dissatisfied with God's Word gives and so they want to turn for help from secular experts you have all kinds of people who

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Though they call themselves Christian though. They say they love the Word of God Find the word very boring very useless very wearisome.

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I was looking at a couple of studies among evangelicals, and I don't know what the requirements were to be counted as an evangelical

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But it was a couple of studies that Lifeway and Barna had done and they discovered that 11 % of Christians Have never read the whole

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Bible and 14 % Do not read the Bible daily we live in a world of Just a wonderful blessings and having this and having this book in this form having it in our pockets having

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Having God's Word with more access than ever before It's it's practically falling down from heaven like manna and yet we live in a famine

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How is this possible is because so many? Despise the

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Word of the Lord. Let me just give you one example of this when I was In high school the church that I went to for the most part considered itself a church that loved the word and often the point of the message was

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Look at the word. However, there was one Sunday where they decide they were gonna take a break from looking at the word instead

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They were gonna bring in Tom Wilson. Does anyone know who Tom Wilson is? This is not the Puritan Thomas Wilson.

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It's a different guy So Tom Wilson is an actor who's probably most famous for playing the role of Biff in Back to the future.

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And so Tom Wilson came and gave a stand -up routine that occasionally said a few things about Jesus and That was what we had that day instead of a preached message from the

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Word of God And at the time I had little discernment. I didn't realize there was anything wrong with that I knew there were some older people in the church who had a problem with it

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But I thought they were being old fuddy -duddies. I didn't understand what the issue was but the more

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I have learned from Scripture the more I realized how precious it is and How how much one has to despise it to decide that on a

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Sunday? You're going to replace it instead with a stand -up routine this is a passage about how people feel about the word that it is very wearisome and God says that those who find his word wearisome as Be a self -fulfilling prophecy.

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It will indeed become wearisome to them as the judgments of it fall upon them Those who say it is just precept upon precept line upon line here a little there a little it will indeed become

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Wearisome to them as the judgments fall upon them But those who trust in this word those who are not turned away from it those who do not find it boring they will find rest for their souls and Ultimately, this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who is the

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Word of God? He is the one who gives rest. He is the one who enacts judgment. He is the

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Word of the Lord This is a very it's a very beautiful passages passages somewhat mysterious, but at the same time has very clear meaning

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It has a little of both, you know, there's it's there's very clear themes and emphases at the same time

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It's phrased in a way that's somewhat mysterious and I really love this passage and I fear today that I won't do it justice and presenting it to you, but Let's look at this together, and I hope that you can see

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What it says about the Word of God the Word is something that we should cherish Something where we should find rest not something that we should find wearisome beginning with this first verse these also real with font wine and Stagger with strong drink

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The priests and the prophet real with strong drink. They are swallowed by wine. They stagger with strong drink

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They real envision they stumble in giving judgment For all tables are full of filthy vomit with no space left

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Who is it that Isaiah is speaking of? There's a little bit of debate on this

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But it's generally thought that at this verse he switches to talking to the people of Judah and verse 1

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He had talked spoken of the drunkards of Ephraim. That is the northern kingdom of Israel at this point

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I believe he switches to speaking to the drunkards of Judah the drunkards of the southern kingdom of Israel And I'd say that for several reasons one you see this focus on the prophet and priest

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Judah is the one that has the true priesthood. That's that's focused on the true temple and It is it is

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Ephraim that has false worship So as he as he addresses the prophet and priest it would make sense that he has particularly in mind

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Those who should be true prophets and priests those who should be Here in the land of Judah and then on top of that you have in verse 15 it says because you have said we have made a covenant with death and with Sheol we have an agreement

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Now Later on this passage when it discusses this covenant of death and talks about that covenant coming and flooding over them

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It very much sounds like the language of Isaiah 8 if you remember Isaiah 8 God Promises to Ahaz that this covenant that he has made with With Assyria will overwhelm him.

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Ahaz being the king of Judah And so this this covenant that he's made with Assyria will come and overwhelm him

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It will come like a flood all the way up to his neck So because a lot of this language seems very similar to the language of Isaiah 8 because of several of the emphases

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I believe that along with what would probably be a majority of people who have really studied this passage that That this is talking about Judah at this point

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He transitions from talking about Ephraim about the northern kingdom of Israel to talking about Judah the southern kingdom of Israel Says that these also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink

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Now who particularly the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink they are swallowed by wine a priest and the prophet there are three offices in Israel prophet priest and king and These two are the ones that are the most religious, right?

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They're the ones that are the most important for the spiritual condition of Israel. Of course, the king is as well

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But these are most directly in line with either Representing God to the people. It's a prophet or representing the people to God as priest and The people have no fit mediator.

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They have no fit priest They have no fit word from the Lord one to deliver God's Word to them because prophet and priest are drunk

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This may even be a real scene that Isaiah witnessed in the land of Judah. It may be that he saw tables full of vomit as Prophet and priest who should be ministering the

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Word of the Lord who should be ministering for the people in temple or rather satisfying their own pleasures and Becoming more and more senseless, you know one who is to deliver the

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Word of the Lord one who is to Represent the people to God. He is one who is supposed to be full of spiritual sense and yet these are a senseless people

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Now if you are not one who drinks do not think that you are in the clear This is speaking of all sorts of spiritual senselessness.

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Not simply those That come about by wine. There are many ways that people make them spiritually since make themselves spiritually senseless

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Yes by wine and by alcohol by drugs But also by filling your mind with all sorts of things that the world has to distract

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Away from the truth of God We are to be a people who have much

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Spiritual sense we are supposed to be a people who know the Word of the

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Lord not a people who are dull to the Word of the Lord and yet this is what this people have become and Moreover, particularly the leaders of this people are so you know,

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I was talking about how few churches Really care about the Word of God if you think about just how many have expository messages

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It is not many that have expository messages expository preaching It's where you're looking at a particular passage

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Drawing the meaning and applications from it like we do here a lot of people that I talked to seem to think expository preaching means that you're going

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Week by week through a particular book that doesn't have to be how expository preaching is done For example,

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I'd say Spurgeon was an expository preacher, but he he was not consecutively going through scripture

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Anyway, so few churches so few churches have a focus on the Word of the Lord and why does that happen?

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It is because their leaders are spiritually senseless here. You have the leaders of Judah being spiritually senseless and Moreover, they're full of pride just like in this passage

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We've read about Ephraim full of pride about their their glorious city and their beautiful valley or places of worship and They do not understand.

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They do not understand that they have nothing that they Do not have more sense they actually have less sense

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This is a people who in a moment will mock anyone who follows Isaiah and his words as being childish and yet They are the ones who are truly childish

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It's a generally a trope this idea of the stone philosopher, you know who's sitting there high inebriated and pontificating on our all sorts of things and What makes that scene?

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Humorous is the fact that he knows so very little the things that he's saying that he thinks are so deep are

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So empty and meaningless This is often what happens with religious leaders

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They aren't going to the Word of God there instead going to other sources there instead Satisfying their own pleasures and instead of delivering the

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Word of God to people They are pontificating nonsense out of their own spiritual senselessness

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So we must be

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Bereans. We must be the kind of people who? do not Automatically trust anyone who has some title anyone who?

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Claims to be bringing the Word of God because so many people claim it it is true of so few people These are prophets.

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These are priests These are people who truly hold that office and are they sensible are they ones who are rightly leading the people?

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They are not we must be those who go to the Word of God and test anything that is taught by the

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Word of God in the next verse Verse 9 it says to whom will he teach knowledge and to whom will he explain the message those who are weaned from the milk?

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Those taken from the breast for his precept upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line

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Here a little there a little they are accusing anyone who would

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Go to Isaiah's word as essentially being childish. This is you see this in quote marks here.

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This is most likely the prophets and priests speaking who is he supposed to teach they see

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Isaiah's message as too wearisome as too Simple as to Not not sophisticated enough to accommodate their particular sin, you know

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This is this is often what happens people have sin they want to justify that sin They don't like the word of the

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Lord because it speaks too Clearly to the matter and they don't like people who point to the word in such a way it speaks too clearly to the matter

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All right, they say no there's you got to understand. You can't see everything in black and white. There's so much gray well

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Between someone who has good eyesight Someone has poor eyesight someone who has glasses and someone not wearing their glasses

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Which one is the one that sees the clear black and whites and which one is the one that sees the gray?

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it is It is not the one with clear eyesight that sees the gray now certainly situations can be very complex

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Situations can be complicated but often people speak like this People despise the clear word of the

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Lord people despise clear teaching the word of the Lord Because they want to justify their own sin

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They call it precept upon precept line upon line here a little there a little so wearisome so wearisome all this word

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Well praise be to God Matthew 11 25 says that God while he blinds the wise he opens the eyes of children

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The word is for children indeed it is for children. It is not merely for adults It is not merely for the the high those able to understand we were talking in the confession class this morning in the orientation class about about how

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Roman Catholicism used to keep the Word of God from the common people because they said it was only for those who were

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Educated only for those who are intelligent enough to handle the Word of God But no the

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Word of God is for everyone. In fact, it is even for children and he will open children's eyes He will open your eyes if you come to scripture like a child not treating it as something too low for you but as something that is precisely for you and consider

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Consider how it is that Isaiah must have been treated He is he is teaching in a way according to his commission

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Isaiah 6 said that his commission was to teach was to preach this message so that the people's ears would become dull

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In fact, he is giving indeed simple messages. He is preaching in a way of line upon line here a little there a little

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This is something that people would find find boring But yet it is precisely what someone needs if they come to it with humility

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Maybe you have even had this thought as we have gone to Isaiah. There is a lot of repetition in this book

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I don't know what you think of the messages each week, but This book is what we need.

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We need the Word of the Lord and it doesn't matter Ultimately, you know, the preacher is not so important God chose to use weak and fallen vessels to deliver his word

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But it is the word itself that has the power not me Not any of the preachers here.

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It is the word of the Lord itself that has the power So do not do not despise the preaching of the word

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Often it is meant to be line upon line here a little there a little So even if you find even if you find the preaching of the word to be not to your satisfaction

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Remember that it's the word itself that has the value and God has chosen to use

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Means that sometimes might not be easy He has chosen to use preaching to deliver his word and as such we should come to it wanting to have

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Everything it offers, you know, we never grow beyond this word We never grow to a point where we don't need it anymore

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A lot of times you'll see certain passages as being just milk You know, just this is just milk a lot,

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I believe people abuse that person in Hebrews 6 and other places that speak of speak of teaching as milk to refer to Just the easy to understand passages.

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I think it's talking about something else specifically a view of Scripture apart from Christ All Scripture is deep.

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All Scripture is deep. I remember as a kid one of the first memory verses I learned was Ephesians 2 8 Grace you have been saved through faith.

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And this is not your own doing It's a gift of God not of works so that no one can boast and then I Memorized it.

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I had that memorized in college. Sometimes someone explained to me My belief that so I believe that you could lose your salvation

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How inconsistent it was with that verse the idea that you could lose your salvation if it's not of works so that no one can

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Boast then on what basis could you lose it if you losed it? That means you have to maintain it

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I realized wow that that really is inconsistent. I had memorized that verse. I knew that verse. I kept that verse in my heart

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I I thought it was a very easy verse and that you know, I didn't need anyone to explain it to me. But wow there was so much more depth to it and then later on people explained the importance of not being able to boast and how that shows that the thing that Distinguishes man from man in terms of salvation must be something outside of them.

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Not something within them There's just so much more to learn about any given passage any given passage that you might find line upon line here a little there a

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Little God's Word is deep and meaningful. Let us not despise it and so Has a punishment to this people

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God fulfills their own words. They say the word is too wearisome. It becomes wearisome

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They say that it's too easy to understand God gives them something hard to understand and here is the prophecy

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For by people of strange lips and with foreign tongue, the Lord will speak to this people

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By people of strange lips and with foreign tongue, you know, Jeremiah 515 uses a similar phrase to describe

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Enemy nations coming against the people. This is talking about the foreigners who will attack the people specifically the people of Assyria will attack

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They will attack and they will Reach all the way up to the neck as it says in Isaiah 8 now the

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Lord does spare Judah ultimately But it is not without any kind of bloodshed.

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There is there is indeed Bloodshed as Assyria comes against the people and so what if the people said people have said this is too simple

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This is too this is too easy. This is something for little children. Now, that's often what people say about the

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Word of God That's what often what non -believers say about Christians that they would they would you know

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I understand that children need this, you know being told what right and wrong is but we who are more sophisticated have grown beyond the need for such things well

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God fulfills that prophecy if people if people say that it is too easy to understand he makes them senseless to a point where They cannot comprehend where they are overwhelmed by his word here

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You see that take place and the attack from the land of Assyria But overall this prophecy is fulfilled in other ways as well is fulfilled even when even when someone becomes more and more engaged in their own senselessness more and more as they seek the pleasures of this world and they become more and more senseless to the

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Word of God as They reject it, you know, you should not When you hear the tug of the word

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Heated quickly every moment that you cease to heat it is another moment that God could use to harden you to make you more senseless against it

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Paul cites this passage in 1st Corinthians 14 if you did not know if you look in 1st

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Corinthians 14 He has some interesting things to say about the relevance of this verse to the gift of tongues

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Says brothers do not be children in your thinking be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature

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That was verse 20 of 1st Corinthians 14 and the law it is written by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners

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I will speak to this people and even though they will not listen to me says the Lord Thus tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers.

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Well prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers You know, even the gift of tongues was a sign about God's judgment

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God's people had rejected his word by and large and there are many Jews who who did believe but many who didn't and so God And sending the gospel out to the nations begins with Pentecost Giving people this gift of tongues so that now

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All different languages are being spoken and yes, it is a sign of God's mercy on many

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But it was a sign of judgment against that people who should have believed

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So many people Reject the word of the Lord. They think they understand it. They think they Believe the word of God, but in practice they are with their lives with the way that they conduct themselves failing to come to God's Word for help failing to recognize when someone offers them the

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Word of God failing to heed it Because they reject it God hardens them and hardens them makes them more and more senseless to his word

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Do not delay do not delay and heating his word heating his calls to repentance because he is merciful

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He's very merciful as it says here describing his great mercy

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This is to whom he has said this is rest give rest to the weary and this is repose if they would not hear it

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He has offered the people rest He has commanded the prophets and priests to give to the people rest and yet they have not

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God gives rest God gives rest to all who repent You know repentance is not just once again something we were talking about this morning repentance is not just turning away from sin because it's the right thing to do of repentance is

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Recognizing the mercy of God and trusting that as you come to the Lord, he will be merciful

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It doesn't matter how great your sin is if you run from him. He will find you if you run to him

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He will be incredibly Merciful and this mercy is found ultimately in Jesus Christ Please if you will just turn a few

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I'm not sure how many pages it is. Maybe a few dozen pages back to Isaiah 8 I would like you all to see that this when it talks about the

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Word of the Lord is prophesied through Isaiah It is not merely talking about the spoken word.

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It is pointing forward to Jesus Christ and that's Thankfully Isaiah there are so many hints and so many ways of seeing this other prophets

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It's a lot more difficult to see here in Isaiah. There's so much that clearly shows this

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So in a moment in verse 13 of Isaiah 28 Isaiah is going to talk about those who reject this line -upon -line word that they will go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken and then here in Isaiah 8 it says but the

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Lord of hosts him shall you honor as holy let him be your fear and let him be your dread and he will become a sanctuary in the stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel a

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Trap and it's in a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken

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They shall be snared and taken They shall fall and broken. They shall be snared and taken.

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That's the same language. We see in Isaiah 28 verse 13 This stone of offense is the same as the

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Word of the Lord Given in Isaiah 28 and Matthew 11 44 interprets who that is.

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That is Jesus Christ He is the stone of offense that many stumble on. He is this Word of the

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Lord He is this thing that people consider line upon line precept upon precept

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He is this one who offers rest he offers rest to the weary, you know and that comes right after the passage in Matthew 11 25 that says

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God opens the eyes of children that he blinds the wise as You see here the prophet and priests who consider themselves

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So wise they are blind and he opens the eyes of children as they're accusing this word is being fit for children and indeed it is a word for those who come spiritually as children and Then immediately after that in Matthew 11 and verses 28 and 29

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Says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light Come to me all who desire rest

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Those who come to Jesus Christ find rest. It doesn't matter What the world says about Jesus that he's he's just something for children.

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He's for those who need Psychological comfort in this difficult world

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It doesn't matter how much he is despised how much his word is despised It is still the case that Christ is good and he offers rest and as it gives this command give rest to the weary It's a command for us as well

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This is not just for those who are the highest of leaders It was to hold the office of prophet or priest or even the modern office of pastor or elder

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It is instead for everyone give rest to those who are weary offer Jesus to everyone

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Especially if you have some role of authority if you are a parent Your child needs to hear

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Jesus Christ. Your child needs to hear of this word It might feel to you like line upon line

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Precept upon precept but it is what they need to hear and as you speak to adults might feel like line upon line precept upon precept, but it is what they need to hear and those who reject it

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It does indeed become wearisome those who reject it as wearisome It becomes wearisome to them those who reject

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Jesus Christ as wearisome He will become wearisome to them in judgment and the Word of the

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Lord will be to them precept upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line here a little there a little that they may go and fall backward and be broken and Snared and taken and this is what happens to all who stumble on that stone of offense

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This is what happens to all who reject the Word of the Lord Their statement becomes true.

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They say it's too wearisome. It becomes too wearisome to them They say he is too wearisome.

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He becomes too wearisome to them But those who come as children those who come to Jesus Christ looking for forgiveness looking for forgiveness from their sins

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Recognizing how much in need they are of him that every day They need to hear the simple words said over and over else.

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They will lose it to them They receive rest you need these simple words over and over you need to be pointed to Jesus over and over Go to his word daily go to the

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Bible daily there you will find Jesus Christ there You will find his simple words over and over both his warnings

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But more importantly his promises of salvation is something you need to hear We never get to a point where we know it and we don't need it anymore because sin still hides the truth

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Sin suppresses the truth and we in our own sinfulness Suppress the truth that we know that is why we need the

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Word of the Lord to pierce through that cloud to pierce through that fog That's spiritual inebriation. We need to keep sober minds going to the

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Word of the Lord and finding Jesus Christ for rest Let's pray Dear Heavenly Father.

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I Pray that we would not find your word wearisome I pray that we would not find your son wearisome, but that we would find your word

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It's a place that points us to your son one who gives rest and God So we come to him today

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Acknowledging his great work of salvation Anticipating his forgiveness and his mercy

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Anticipating eternal life and dwelling with him I pray that you would reassure us of these things as we are people who need that constant reassurance and That you would give us a great joy as we hope for his return in Jesus name.