Isaiah Lesson 33

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. So Father, thank you so much for the chance to open your holy word. Thank you that you have spoken. You have given us your word and it is trustworthy and every promise that you make is yes and amen.

And we thank you this morning that we can celebrate your good promises to us for the coming millennium. We thank you that you give reward to those who have faith as Hebrews 11 teaches us, Lord. Thank you that you are so good to us and we look to you now in faith as we open your word in Jesus' name, amen.

Isaiah is a phenomenal book. It takes us through a lot of directions, if you would. As the book opens up, there appears to be some concerns and strong exhortations that God communicates through the prophet that the peoples, even when they pray and their sacrifices are done without the heart, without any depth of meaning, they're just rituals.

And so there is strong discussions and strong comments against those practices. We fast forward as we learn through them to the prophet actually somehow being placed in the very throne room of God and I believe that this was an actual physical presence in some way that God ordained and established.

It wasn't a dream or a vision. I believe that there was some connection, some presence there and we know that the prophet will woe is me, I'm a man of unclean lips, the coal placed on his lips. And then who will I send?

And the prophet says, send me, send me. And there's this picture and there's this presentation that there is word that needs to be promoted, that needs to be sent out. And God in his wisdom chooses the verbal communication of people to other people to bring even people into it.

How can they hear? How can they believe unless they hear? How can they hear unless somebody preaches? How can they preach unless they are sent? So this reality of God using people, we then eventually we start to study things like Babylon.

And then I believe it's chapter nine of Babylon and the pronouncements against Babylon have a dual meeting and we learn about Satan and his fall. We then go into all of these oracles and how God, he condemns people for what they would do even though God uses them to do it, compatibilism.

And how Jeff has taken us through, and it's a picture how Assyria has gone and just continually enacted God's judgment upon people. We're moving into now a section. Last week, Jeff talked to us about the future day of judgment that's coming.

We know how in revelation, the judgment against those who oppose God cannot be stopped. And then as we get into this chapter 25, and I think for the next couple of chapters, this is, it's almost a song, a song of praise for the reality of the promises that God has in store and that he will, through his sovereign will, he will enact and how his people are going to experience blessings.

We can't even fathom understanding those blessings. This morning, Jeff and I were spending a little bit of time talking about the reality of what we're experiencing here in our country right now, where there appears to be, there appears to be things being set up that would be contrary to the church.

Well, in the reality, this is still God's will. If it's desire to do these things, and if the church needs to be cleansed, then we pray that this will happen. And in fact, our specific prayer this morning was, allow us as Cornerstone Church to go before the throne and say, show me my heart.

Because we're not pure by any stretch of the imagination, but it's all wrapped around this sovereign promise of God because we know that although we go through trials, tribulations, difficulties now, what is it that we get to look forward to?

What is our hope?

Glory. Glory. Glory. Eternal life.

Eternal life.

To be with the Lord forever.

To be with the Lord forever. Anybody here like to read for recreation and enjoyment? Okay, I get some people, yes. Anybody here like the mystery genre? I got fewer hands. Anybody here who likes mystery genre goes to the end to find out how it ended before they.

Just in case you're dying to read.

Just in case you're dying to read.

Book.

We've got the last chapter. As God's children, we've got the last chapter. And oh, by the way, I don't think you can deny that even if you are a denier, the last chapter's already been written, whether you acknowledge it or not.

Then we know that in that day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, whether in adoration or whether in fear, one way or the other. We're in chapter 25 right now. We're gonna attempt to do the whole thing.

And it's a picture. Chapter 24 was the future judgment against the enemies of God. And it's pretty heavy. And then we move into chapter 25. And this now takes us into a section of the future blessings for his people.

So pastor, I'm gonna ask, give me the first five verses if you would. And while I'm doing that, I'm gonna assign some readings. If you'd rather I don't give it to you, just say pass. Bob, you're gonna have Psalm 118, Psalm 16, Bob, and Psalm 31, Neva.

We'll stop there for now.

Go ahead.

Oh Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you. I will praise your name for you have done wonderful things. Plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For you have made the city a heap. The fortified city a ruin.

The foreigner's palace is a city no more. It will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify you. Cities of ruthless nations will fear you. For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners as heat by the shade of a cloud. So the song of the ruthless is put down.

The picture and the presentation of what God has, who he is and how it's gonna play out in those five verses, I kind of labeled this a song of praise for God as his kingdom comes. And there is no stopping the fact that his kingdom comes.

If you follow various passages in the Old Testament and as you follow world history as we know it, one of the things that Satan clearly has attempted to do is to prevent this from happening. He felt that if he could eliminate God's people, perhaps he could stop the Messiah from coming.

I mean, there are so many places, even the book of Esther. Was it Mordecai who had this decree? We're gonna kill all.

Haman.

Haman, thank you. We're gonna kill all Jews. Well, that didn't work out well for him because our God is sovereign. I think Jeff, you mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Stalin in the reign of terror. Anybody that stood up against Stalin was in trouble.

Anybody who knew somebody who stood up against Stalin was trouble. And Satan put it in his heart, I am going to, okay, here's a piece of history. Russia developed the hydrogen bomb before the United States did.

And Russia wanted to get into a war against the United States, knowing they had the technological advantage and perhaps never have to use it, but to defeat the United States. But Stalin didn't want to be the instigator and have to live under the judgment of the world court, if you would, world opinion.

So he came up with a plan. Satan put a plan in Stalin's heart that he believed would encourage the United States to attack Russia. And he put out an edict that all Jews would be killed.

Said Hitler attacks first.

No, no, actually this is after Hitler.

After?

This is after Hitler. We are talking, we're talking in the 50s, all right? Mysteriously, he died the night before he was to sign that edict. Satan put it in his plan. God overrode it, okay? My point here is that, and we're going to see in here, the judgment that goes on, the ungodly, it's our song of praise because as we look to the millennial time, he starts out by saying, and I'm going to be looking at this passage, these first couple of verses in a few ways.

The first is, in the coming kingdom, in the coming kingdom, universally, God will be praised. God will be exalted in the coming kingdom. Now, I'm going to put a little paraphrase on that because we know at the end of the millennial reign, what actually happens?

He lets Satan loose for a while, a little steeper.

Satan is loosed, and what does he do?

He's being saved.

He causes another God to make a conflict.

To try to overthrow Jesus, which is a losing battle. Which is going to be a losing battle, but if you put this together, the reality is that in the millennial kingdom, those who come in, come in, and the only ones who come in are followers of Jesus, but there is procreation, and there still has to be individual decision to follow God or not to follow God, but for that thousand years, we have the king of all kings judging and ruling in righteousness on the throne, but the wickedness of man is made evident because even after a thousand years of that, Satan is going to be able to deceive a portion of those into opposing him, yeah.

And that answers the question that people ask, why does God let Satan loose? Because man's heart is that wicked. You know, it's still unchanged unless they're born again.

Yeah. Yeah.

During the thousand years, it does not appear that there will be an overt opposition to Christ. There will be covert where people don't go and be part of the worship, but during those thousand years, Psalm 118, who's got that?

I do. Please.

Verses 28, 29. You are my God, and I will give you thanks. You are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

These are prophecies that are given way, way before Christ is even born, the reality that for truth and for real existence to occur, it's God who will reign. Psalm 16, two, Bob.

I said to the Lord, you are my Lord. I have nothing good outside of you.

The profession that will be occurring is going to be purely to God and giving credit where credit belongs. It belongs to God. That being said, we do know at the end of it, those whose hearts aren't turned, they're going to be exposed by the next great deception.

Psalm 31.

14 through 16. But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord. I say, you are my God. My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Make your face to shine upon your servant.

Save me in your loving kindness.

The imagination just is so amazing to be able to think, to live in a time and in a society, in a world where there is no open opposition to God, because he is God, because he is God. Now, we do, again, I put that recognition that even in that point in time, there are going to be those who haven't surrendered, but there will be no open opposition to God.

The thing about his presence is that his faithful sovereignty is going to lead to trust and to worship. It says, you have done wonderful things. Your plans are sure. We have a reality that this mishmash we got right now is going to be, it's going to be made better.

Sandy, if you would get Psalm 126. I'm going to skip Psalm 22 just for time. Psalm 37, Ralph, if you would, Psalm 37, get that. Sandy, if you've got 126, one to three.

When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.

The Lord has done great things for us. We are glad.

Because of God's sovereign and unstoppable will and his provisions in time past, redeeming his people out of Egypt, although Pharaoh did everything he could to stop him, redeeming it, we can trust that he's going to do it in the future.

His faithfulness in the past is a testament to what we can trust in the future. Psalm 22 is going to start out as a lament. Psalm 22 is going to start out, why have you forsaken me? We have David who's being chased by Jonathan and it's, at that time, perhaps Saul.

Jonathan was his friend.

Yes, yeah.

Absolutely.

Their souls were nicked again.

But he starts out this with just opening up his soul to God, why God, why have you forsaken me? But the beautiful thing about it is as the psalm progresses, then we get into verses three through five, you are holy and I trust in you.

So the issues of the world should not be detractors from our understanding of the holiness, the sovereignty and of the provisions that God has to give us.

Psalm 37, one through six. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong. For like the grass, they will soon wither. Like green plants, they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good.

Dwell in the land and it will be saved faster. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in him and he will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn.

The justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

There is, the expansive of God's provision leads us to understand and living in that time, the response to who God is is going to be trust, worship. His ways are true. His plans are sure. What he's gonna do is going to be based on righteousness and all for our good.

That being said, there now is a promise because as we approach this time, there are those who oppose God. And the message here is going to be, it's not my responsibility to fix that. It's my responsibility to keep my eyes and my focus on God.

It says here, the strongholds of God's enemies, and this is my paraphrase, they're left in ruin. The strongholds of God's enemies are left in ruin. And in fact, they will never be rebuilt. The intensity of what we stand in fear of perhaps is nothing in the very presence of God.

2 Peter 3, 1 -7, and I'll talk to Psalm 19 when we get there. While he's looking that up, one of the beauties of the hope that we have is actually looking at how things are today and perceiving what the implications are of what we see today.

And here's a prayer that I encourage you to add into your prayer list, that God's sovereign will, boldly pray, that God's sovereign will is to put grace in the heart of our president and vice president so that they will rule in truth, okay?

At this point in time, we're not seeing that. There is a time, this millennial reign, where Jesus, he reigns on the throne and his very rule is righteousness and only righteousness. Go ahead, read if you would.

God, okay, beloved, I now write to you this second epistle.

That's 2 Peter 3, not 1.

2 Peter 3, 3 -1, 3 -1, I'm sorry.

Is that verse 1 in chapter 3?

Yeah.

Okay, go ahead.

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle.

No, he's right, he's good.

Go ahead.

In both ways of which I stir up your minds by way of reminder that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and the Savior.

Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the father fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

For this they willfully forget that by the word of God, the heavens were of old and the earth, standing out of the water, in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

There are mockers who say it can't be, there are mockers who say, you guys have been talking about this and it ain't happening, and there are mockers who say, we're actually doing quite well, thank you.

And the truth is that there is, there is coming a day. There will be judgment and eventually there will be this sovereign God ruling in righteousness. And in that day, in the day, and as God's culmination comes, the reality that every knee will bow before him.

Now, for the strong, their strength will be shown to be nothing, for the ruthless, their evil will be torn apart. But in every instance, it's going to be glorifying God. And this word here, and fearing God, is a word that can be used to say, this doesn't sound like a fun thing to do.

What does it mean from a scriptural standpoint? Reverence, Richard says.

It depends on where it's used and how it's used. So I think there's the fear, which is a terror type of fear. There's also a fear of reverence, as Rich has said, and respect and love for the Lord.

Both sides are true. If you are on the wrong side of God as this comes, it's going to be a scary time. But even if you're on the right side, this reverence, this awe, this respect, is going to be shown to be Isaiah 45.

Joe, if you could pull out Isaiah 45. I don't know who's going to get to teach Isaiah 45,.

But that's a great task.

I'll have St. Laurie volunteer.

Sorry about that.

Go ahead.

I didn't find it yet.

All right. I should have given it earlier. While we're doing that, Christine, eventually get Proverbs 14 ready, and I'll talk to Axe. If you've got it, go ahead.

If you have it, yes.

Isaiah 45, 22 to 24 says, turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, for my mouth has gone out in righteousness, a word that shall not return.

To me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance. Only in the Lord it shall be said of me, our righteousness and strength. To him shall come and be shamed all who were in sense against him.

This passage is, I think, very appropriate in our day and age in the woke culture. If you are willing to stand up to speak to truth, truth is not accepted if it doesn't meet paradigm of what, I mean, there are teachers who have lost their job for daring to challenge the lie of the woke community.

Just because you're standing on the side of righteousness in our current day and age doesn't give you any kind of protection. But it's coming, but it is coming, and that righteousness will be, it will be the standard by which things will be rightly, rightly understood.

That's why it's righteousness and strength, because you need the strength to speak the truth in righteousness. That's what it says there.

To be able to perceive this point in time where because God is ruling in truth and in righteousness and in love, that the world will glorify him, but at the same time fear him because they respect him and they're in awe before him.

The last aspect of this is that God is really the one who cares for the needy, but at the same time subdues the ungodly. It's going to say in here, you subdue the noise of the foreigners and the song of the ruthless is put down.

The exuberant, if you say it loud enough and often enough, it must be true. If you can throw a better party than your neighbors, you must be living the good life. Proverbs 14, 19, did you have that, Chris?

Go ahead.

I do.

The evil bowed down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

The evil bowed down. Now, here's the truth and it's in Acts 17. There is a time, we are in this time, where it seems that God is incapable of stopping the evil. He's choosing in his sovereignty to allow evil to go with a restraint.

It is, as hard as it is to believe, what we're experiencing now with evil is with the restraint that, if you're part of this theological approach, which I happen to have a very good friend who is, the church is removed, the rapture, and at that time, there is a removal of a restraint to where wickedness just becomes more and more wicked.

I find it fascinating as you get towards the end of, at the end of the book of Revelation, an angel is sent down with the keys to Hades. And there are demonic beings that have been captured for the history of the world because they are so wicked that they've been chained in this place.

And that door is open. And these really, really wicked fallen angels, their nose is so bent out of joint because they've been down there for who knows how many years. And now they're left free to create habit.

With all of this happening, when Christ comes down, the Parsia, the Mount of Olives, and he sets foot on the Mount of Olives, and we've talked about how the Mount is split in two and the river that goes from east to west, and all of the mountains of the world are made flat so that people can come and come to Jerusalem.

But when Jesus comes down, the ability for Satan to do his thing has got a problem because his time has come, his time has come.

And that's why he's full of rage because he knows his time is short.

Acts 17 says that for a time, it appears that God is overlooking it. It's in his sovereign will. But there is a day fixed in his mind when all of this comes to be. And his people will be cared for and the wicked are gonna be judged.

Give me six through eight, please.

Isaiah 25, six to eight. On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine, well-refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and the reproach of his people, he will take away from all the earth for the Lord has spoken.

There was a time where creation, as it was established in those six days, was established in beauty and in submission to him. Lori, I'm gonna have you get Genesis 3 .17 ready, please. If you follow the creation story as it's recorded, Genesis 12, God created, and there's vegetation, and it was very good.

And Genesis 1 .25, and God created animals and it was very, very good. And 29 and 30, God created, it was very, very good. What God created in his establishment was without flaw, but he did allow man to make a choice.

He knew their hearts. Somewhere along this line, Satan falls from heaven and he is sent to earth. And so Satan starts his journey and he deceives Eve. You really don't think God meant that, do you? He's just trying to hold you back from being all that you can be.

I don't know that he would have said, you're a woman. I don't know if he would have gone there, but the lie was what it was. And he fell, and man, he went right along with it. Adam is the one held accountable, oh, by the way, because he was supposed to be the spiritual leader.

And he was nothing more than a weak lap dog for it. So the sin of Adam follows all men, but it doesn't just impact humanity. Give me 3 .17, please.

3 .17, then to Adam he said, because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground for your sake, in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

The ground, the actual earth has been cursed. We go to Romans 8, starting in verse 19. Creation waits and groans in eager anticipation of what is to come. The earth is corrupted, and the earth groans in waiting for that time when it will be set free.

The curse of Adam falls upon creation. And if we read this picture here, it's a picture of restoration. It's a picture of the very creation producing the fruit and producing the food and being protective, the heat from, it's a picture of, it's almost to me a picture of what it might have been like in the Garden of Eden.

The creation is actually going to be restored. Not only do people get to live under the rule of a sovereign and righteous Lord, but they get to live in a world that has been restored. I don't know that we're gonna have thorns and thistles to worry about.

We're gonna be working as Adam and Eve were supposed to be working, but I do believe that there is restoration. The blessings to come, the things that are listed in here, I see food, I see protection, I see removal of sadness, I see cleansing of reproach, I see just this amazing tidal wave of cleansing that goes over everything.

Matthew, starting in verse one, chapter four, verse one, Jesus goes into the wilderness. Why does he go into the wilderness?

The Holy Spirit sent him.

The Spirit of God, yeah.

Give me verse one, Carol, if you can, if not, John DeTorre, give me Matthew four, verse one.

Matthew four, verse one, the temptation of Jesus. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

He was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. And this is for our instruction and for our education. There was no reason for Jesus to be tested. That was already, we already knew how that was gonna work out.

But it was for our instruction. Jesus was tempted and he was tempted in various ways, various enticements. Turn these into food because you're hungry. Jump off and show that you are important enough that God will send his angels.

Or bow down before me and I will give you authority. And how does Jesus answer every temptation?

The Word of Scripture.

He stands true. There is gonna be a time where the temptations, the difficulties, and you can look at the various temptations as almost typical of the types of things that we go through. Think about Job.

What did Job go through?

Great testing.

How does that story end? Okay, Job loses his wife. I think he loses his kids.

He doesn't lose his wife.

Oh, he doesn't lose his wife.

That's the funny part.

He lost his kids.

She was a great encouragement.

I think it would have been good.

I'm hearing this from the women's side. The guys are afraid to say that.

Well, they're identifying with what she said, curse God and die.

Yeah.

She's definitely not a Proverbs 31 girl.

Although God would use her to give him children.

Thank you, because how does the story of Job end? Twofold. Whatever he used to have, he gets back twofold. God is a God of love. If we think about the temptations that can bog us down right now, we get into this millennial kingdom, we're gonna have food, we're gonna have protection.

Our sadness will be gone. We're gonna have all of these blessings that Satan is attempting with his lie to distract us. We're gonna get the true blessings that come from God. And then it says, on this mountain, the Lord has spoken.

Now, one of the things that happens frequently, especially in the Old Testament, is the picture of a mountaintop is the picture of authority and rule. And that's where Jesus is going to be. He's on the mountain, and he is the one who is going to speak.

The things that are against him will be swallowed up and gone forever. Psalm 37, seven. I'm gonna go, Gus, if you could, can you pull up Psalm 37, seven for me? I should have given you a heads up on that.

I do apologize. James 5 is gonna tell us to be patient and watch. Strengthen your heart, because the day of the Lord is coming. Whatever you see around here, be of strong heart, be prepared, be watching, because the Lord is coming.

And then Hebrews 10 is gonna tell us, don't throw away your confidence, endure, because we have promises, and we are going to receive those promises. Do you have 37, seven yet, Gus?

37, seven.

Yes, please.

Psalm 37, seven.

Psalm 37, verse seven.

Okay.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Free not thyself because of him who prophesies in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices for pass.

I just recognized, I jumped paragraphs.

Yeah, what happened to verse one through six?

I apologize, I just jumped paragraphs. On this mountain, Jesus reigns. In Daniel 2, we have Nebuchadnezzar who has a dream, and he sees all these things, and he's distressed. And along comes Daniel, and Daniel gives him the interpretation.

And part of that interpretation is in those days, all of these other kingdoms are put to bed, and God's kingdom reigns forever. Psalm 128 is gonna tell us, blessed is the one who fears in the Lord. You will be happy, and all will be well with you.

On this mountain, Jesus reigns. The earth is returned to its plentiful state from before the curse. And what mankind is gonna receive are these blessings of food and protection with God reigning and his word spoken and true forever.

Give me verse nine, please.

It will be said on that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

November 10th, 1973. No, no, it's not Roe v. Wade. I got woken up with a banging on the door with my best man, and he said, it's time. It's time.

And

You sound more devastated.

No, I'm not going down that path.

You need to talk to him.

Yeah.

There's no hope.

The realization that I'm standing in the front of this chapel, and the back door opens up, and this vision of beauty and grace.

And peace with her arm around her father.

Is coming down the aisle toward me.

Ah.

The Lord is good.

Yes.

That is not even worthy to be compared to what we will know, personally experience, as we are partakers in this millennial reign. It will be said on that day, behold, this is our God who we've waited for.

We recently have met an individual who has, in later years of life, experienced some severe physical limitations, wanting to serve, and it feels achy not to have it. And I think of people who have lost a loved one who's been saved, and to know that there is this transformation when we get with God to see God.

This millennial kingdom is gonna be set up even as a shadow of the New Jerusalem. And that blows your mind, what we're gonna see in that kingdom as a shadow of the New Jerusalem, but it will be said on that day, behold, this is our God, and we have waited for him.

And now we get to live with him. This is our Lord, let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Everything that we're experiencing now is somebody last night, Neva, what did you say about life? You had a description for it.

It's a hiccup. This is just a hiccup, what we're going through. People today live maybe 100 years, maybe the millennial kingdom, and then eternity. This is just a hiccup. Behold, this is our God. Give me 10 through 12 as we close.

For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place as straw is trampled down in a dunghill. And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim, but the Lord will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands.

And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground to the dust.