1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,280 Invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the Old 2 00:00:02,280 --> 00:00:07,160 Testament book of Isaiah. I'm looking at chapter 59 today 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,000 as we continue our study through this book. 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:13,160 You can find where that's located in the red Bibles around 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,120 you in the bulletin. The pages are listed for you 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:19,960 there if you'd like to use that. Isaiah 59. 7 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,440 I'm going to begin reading in verse one and read down through 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:31,760 the end of the chapter. Behold, the Lord's hand is not 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,080 shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,880 hear. But your iniquities have made a 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,920 separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden 12 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,360 His face from you so that He does not hear. 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,480 For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with 14 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:52,040 iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, your 15 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,520 tongue mutters wickedness. No one enters suit justly. 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:01,240 No one goes to law honestly. They rely on empty pleas. 17 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,200 They speak lies. They conceive mischief and give 18 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,680 birth to iniquity. They hatch adders eggs. 19 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,680 They weave the spider's web. He who eats their eggs dies, and 20 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,120 from and from one that is crushed a Viper is hatched. 21 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,560 Their webs will not serve as clothing. 22 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,240 Men will not cover themselves with what they make. 23 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,560 Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence 24 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,160 are in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they 25 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,400 are swift to shed innocent blood. 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,040 Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. 27 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,880 Desolation and destruction are in their highways. 28 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,720 The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in 29 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,880 their paths. They have made their roads 30 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,640 crooked. No one who treads on them knows 31 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,600 peace. Therefore justice is far from 32 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,520 us, and righteousness does not overtake us. 33 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,960 We hope for light and behold darkness and for brightness, but 34 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,040 we walk and gloom. We grope for the wall like the 35 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,440 blind. We grope like those who have no 36 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,320 eyes. We stumble at noon as in the 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:06,800 twilight, among those in full vigor. 38 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,440 We are like dead men. We all growl like bears. 39 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,760 We moan and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but there 40 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,880 is none for salvation. But it is far from us, for our 41 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,960 transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify 42 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,880 against us. For our transgressions are with 43 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:31,280 us, and we know our iniquities. Transgressing and denying the 44 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,480 Lord, and turning back from following our God, speaking 45 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,720 oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the 46 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,520 from the heart lying words. Justice is turned back, and 47 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,320 righteousness stands far away, for truth has stumbled in the 48 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,120 public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. 49 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,520 Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself 50 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:58,240 a prey. The Lord saw it, and it 51 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,800 displeased him that there was no justice. 52 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,320 He saw there was no man, and wondered that there was no one 53 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,720 to intercede. Then his own arm brought him 54 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,640 salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. 55 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,840 He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of 56 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,320 salvation on His head. He put on garments of vengeance 57 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,320 for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak 58 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,000 according to the to their deeds. So will he repay wrath to his 59 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,720 adversaries, repayment to his enemies. 60 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,200 To the coastlands He will render repayment. 61 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,200 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the West, and His 62 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,160 glory from the rising of the sun. 63 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,400 For he will come like a rushing stream, which which the wind of 64 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,680 the Lord drives, and the Redeemer will come to Zion. 65 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,120 To those in Jacob who turned from transgression, declares the 66 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,000 Lord. And As for me, this is my 67 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:53,840 covenant with them, says the Lord. 68 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,560 My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your 69 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,560 mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth 70 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,280 of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's 71 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,840 offspring, says the Lord. From this time forth and forever 72 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:15,120 more, let's pray together. Father, as we come to this 73 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,880 portion of Your word, we pray that You would open our eyes and 74 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,400 prepare our hearts that we might hear Your Word, that we might 75 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,920 understand it, that we might receive it, that we might be 76 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,160 changed by it through the work of the Holy Spirit. 77 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,760 We ask You to do this, and we ask it in Jesus name, Amen. 78 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:43,840 Have you ever had the privilege of talking to someone who's not 79 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:47,960 a Christian about the good news of the gospel? 80 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,280 That's what we call it, right? The good news of the gospel. 81 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,920 That word gospel in the Greek, actually the the Greek word you 82 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,080 angelion, it literally means good news. 83 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:08,000 And it is good news, isn't it? A Redeemer has come to save his 84 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,560 people from their sins, to give the gift of eternal life to, to 85 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,560 purchase an eternal inheritance that is being kept for us in 86 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,760 heaven. It really is good news. 87 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,120 But before we share the wonders of the good news of the gospel, 88 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,000 we have to talk about the bad news. 89 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,000 People need to hear and understand and embrace the bad 90 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,160 news. And it is bad. 91 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,360 The Bible tells us that the heart is desperately wicked. 92 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,560 Who can understand it? People must understand what sin 93 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,400 is and the the depth of the depravity of the human heart. 94 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,040 They have to understand that the standard by which they judge and 95 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,680 evaluate themselves isn't comparing themselves with other 96 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,120 people, it's comparing themselves with God himself. 97 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,440 He calls on his people. He calls on all people to be 98 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:08,040 holy as He is holy, Every command, every rule, every law 99 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,720 being kept both outwardly and also inwardly in our hearts 100 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,880 every moment of our lives Perfectly. 101 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:22,120 That's the standard. Once we use the right standard 102 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,080 to evaluate ourselves, we see the depth of the depravity of 103 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,000 our hearts. We see the extent of the bad 104 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,080 news. But once that bad news is 105 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,720 understood and agreed upon, we're ready for the good news. 106 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,040 How Jesus has come to pay for this our sins in full and that 107 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:43,040 by putting our faith in Jesus, we are given eternal life in 108 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,600 heaven. We confess and repent of our 109 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,560 sins and put our faith in Jesus and believe and experience 110 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:56,160 redemption from the Lord. That's the common pattern of 111 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,520 sharing the gospel, the good news with someone. 112 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,280 It's the pattern we see throughout the Bible and it's 113 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:06,560 the pattern we see in our passage today in Isaiah chapter 114 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,160 59. Let's take a few moments and 115 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,440 look and see several things from this chapter in Isaiah. 116 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,160 Let's look and see what it tells us about the depravity of the 117 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,840 human heart. What what it tells us about the 118 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:25,480 appropriate response of confession and the promise from 119 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,360 a covenant keeping God of a Redeemer who would come. 120 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,040 And then we'll finish by asking, So what? 121 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:33,880 Now a couple things before we jump into the passage. 122 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:38,800 First, if you are here today and you are not a Christian, maybe 123 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,400 you've never heard the gospel before, or maybe you have heard 124 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,240 it and don't believe it, then first of all, I want you to know 125 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:46,400 that we're glad that you're here. 126 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,120 And secondly, I want you to know that the next 30 minutes might 127 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,480 be the most important minutes in your life. 128 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,160 And if you're here and you are a Christian, we're glad you're 129 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,280 here too. And the next 30 minutes will be 130 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,520 important for us as well as we remember what is true, that the 131 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:09,680 the good news of the gospel and the appropriate response to the 132 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,720 gospel. Second thing before we jump in 133 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,480 is we need to remind ourselves of the context of the passage 134 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:17,240 that we're looking at in Isaiah 59. 135 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:19,880 If you've been with us through our study of the book, you know 136 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:24,120 that the first part of Isaiah was addressed to God's people in 137 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,920 Israel and Judah during the days of Isaiah. 138 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,040 Also the nations around them. Most of it was taking place in 139 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,760 the 8th and the 7th centuries BC, before they had been sent 140 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,880 into exile. The the last part of Isaiah, 141 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,240 including where we are today, is addressed to God's people who 142 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:46,120 were in exile in Babylon. In the future, they're awaiting 143 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,320 the promised servant of the Lord to come and to rescue them and 144 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,600 to redeem them. And Isaiah 59 is addressed to 145 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,440 those people as they wait in exile. 146 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,080 And notice how he begins by addressing the depravity of 147 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,960 their hearts eight times in the 1st 8 verses. 148 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,120 Verses one through 8 eight times the words iniquity, sins, 149 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:13,440 wickedness, and evil are used. I think the point was being 150 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,800 made. The depravity of their hearts, 151 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,920 the extent of their sin, and notice some of the specific 152 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:22,720 things that are laid out. Verse 3. 153 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,320 Their hands are defiled with blood, their fingers with 154 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,400 iniquity, their lips speak lies and their tongue mutters 155 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:35,640 wickedness. The totality of their being is 156 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,880 involved with their sin. Verse 4. 157 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,280 Their system of justice was totally corrupt. 158 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,680 There's a lack of honesty. There are empty pleas, lies and 159 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:50,920 mischief. The end of verse 6. 160 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,320 There are deeds of violence in their hands. 161 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,560 Verse 7. They're not slow to do evil. 162 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:02,200 They run to evil, it says they are swift to shed blood. 163 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,720 They think thoughts of sin, and their pathway is one of 164 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:11,160 desolation and destruction. Isaiah is painting a picture of 165 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,560 the depth of the depravity of the human heart, the depth of 166 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:17,880 the sinfulness and the wickedness of the heart and the 167 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,960 actions of the people. And notice he doesn't just point 168 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,440 them to their sin, he also reminds them of some of the some 169 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,720 of the effects of their sin. As we read verse one, apparently 170 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:32,960 the people were blaming God for not answering their prayers, 171 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,920 feeling like God was distant and and keeping distant from them, 172 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:38,600 and they were blaming God for that. 173 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,360 But as Isaiah says in verse one, the Lord being distant, the Lord 174 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,240 not answering their prayers, that's not God's fault. 175 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,600 That is the people's fault because of their sin, their 176 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:55,000 iniquity, their sin has made a separation between them and God. 177 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,960 We read in verse 2. That's one of the effects of 178 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,840 sin. Their sin, their rebellion, 179 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,720 their wickedness has caused God to hide His face from them. 180 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,720 That's what sin does. It separates people from the 181 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:10,840 Lord. It isolates people from the 182 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,760 Lord. But notice the other effects 183 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,520 that we see here of their sin. There was a lack of justice and 184 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,680 truth, a breakdown in their system of justice. 185 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:26,280 There's corruption, no honesty. Another effect we see is 186 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,360 violence. There's blood on their hands. 187 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,920 They were swift to shed not just blood, but innocence, blood. 188 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,840 It says desolation, destruction. Are there ways? 189 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,920 And as we would expect, another effect, there's a lack of peace. 190 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,040 Verse 8, The way of peace. They do not know their their 191 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,640 paths, their roads, their highways, their ways of life are 192 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,240 crooked. No one walking on their paths 193 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,880 knows or experiences any kind of peace. 194 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,080 These are the effects of sin, what God's people were 195 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,640 experiencing in Isaiah's day in exile. 196 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,960 And we see the same effects in our world and in our country 197 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,120 today. People living separated from the 198 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,720 Lord, a lack of justice and truth, violence and innocent 199 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:17,640 blood being shed, crooked ways, a lack of peace. 200 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:21,960 But we see the depravity of the human heart not just as we look 201 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:26,000 at God's people back then, but we see it with people today, 202 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:31,480 even with ourselves. But then notice what happens as 203 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,760 we move into the center part of the chapter. 204 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,400 The depth of depravity of the human heart has been described. 205 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,440 The sins of the people have been laid out before them and 206 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,520 revisited. And then notice what happens 207 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,560 when we come to verse 9. There's a change from a focus on 208 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:51,840 depravity and sin to the people confessing their sins. 209 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,960 First of all, notice just the change of how the pronouns are 210 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:01,200 used in verses 2 through 8. It was your, your, your, they, 211 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,000 they, they. But when we come to verses 9 212 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:09,920 through 15, it's us. It's we first person plural 213 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,120 pronouns, Isaiah and the people are now speaking. 214 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:19,840 And what do they say? They acknowledge their sin. 215 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,120 Beginning of verse 9, verses 14 through 15. 216 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,160 They acknowledge that justice is far from them, that 217 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,880 righteousness is not with them, that justice is turned back and 218 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,640 righteousness stands far away. Truth stumbles, it says. 219 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:40,160 They say truth is lacking. Verses 12 and 13. 220 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,600 They acknowledge their sins. They acknowledge their 221 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,920 transgressions are many before the Lord. 222 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:49,720 Their sins testify against them. They they know their iniquities. 223 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:54,040 They know their sins. They acknowledge that they have 224 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,080 denied the Lord and turned back from following Him. 225 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:00,080 And then notice the end of verse 13. 226 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,000 They know that their sin isn't just in their outward actions. 227 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:04,720 It's not just in how they're behaving. 228 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,840 They know that it's coming from their hearts, that their hearts 229 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,960 are deceptive. What are we reading here? 230 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,360 We're reading Isaiah and the people of God confessing their 231 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,520 sins. The Lord laid their depravity 232 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,320 and their wickedness and their evil and their sinfulness before 233 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,560 them. And the people heard it and they 234 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,520 saw it. They acknowledged it. 235 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,560 They admitted it, and they confessed it. 236 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,600 Notice what else they acknowledged verses 9 through 237 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,040 11. They acknowledged that they are 238 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,480 completely and utterly helpless to fix their problem. 239 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:47,600 They can't fix themselves. The end of verse 9 they they 240 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,920 hope for light, but only have darkness. 241 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,920 They hope for brightness, but they walk in gloom. 242 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,160 Verse 10. They say we we're like the 243 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,800 blind, or even worse, we're like people with no eyes groping the 244 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,800 walls. They stumble in midday as if it 245 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,720 were the middle of the night. They're like dead people among 246 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:14,240 the living. Verse 11 They're reduced to 247 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,720 growling and groaning, moaning noises. 248 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,680 They hope for justice, but they can't produce it. 249 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,960 They hope for salvation, but they know that that's far from 250 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,080 them. They can't get salvation for 251 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,440 themselves. Not only do the people 252 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,400 acknowledge and confess their sins, they also understand their 253 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:41,000 complete helplessness to fix their problem, to make things 254 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,840 right with the Lord, to achieve salvation for themselves. 255 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,720 We see a third and final shift in the passage when we get to 256 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:55,440 the last half of verse 15. Now the Lord will speak and act. 257 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,760 Look at first, the second-half of verse 15. 258 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:04,360 The Lord saw it. He, he, He saw the depravity of 259 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,400 their hearts. He saw their sinfulness. 260 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,600 He saw the lack of justice. He saw it and it displeased him 261 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,680 that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, 262 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,240 and wondered that there was no man to intercede. 263 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,400 Then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness 264 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,840 upheld him. He put on righteousness as a 265 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:26,920 breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. 266 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,640 He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped 267 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,600 himself in zeal as a cloak according to their deeds. 268 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,920 So will he repay wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his 269 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,200 enemies. To the coastlands he will render 270 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,480 repayment. So they shall fear the name of 271 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,680 the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the 272 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,240 sun. For he will come like a rushing 273 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,880 stream which the wind of the Lord drives. 274 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,640 And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those and Jacob who 275 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:00,720 turned from transgression, declares the Lord. 276 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,640 And As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the 277 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,040 Lord. My Spirit that is upon you, and 278 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:11,800 my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of 279 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,720 your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the 280 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,160 mouth of your children's offspring, says the Lord. 281 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:25,200 From this time forth and forever more, the people are reminded of 282 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,880 their sins, the depravity of their hearts. 283 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,040 They hear it, they acknowledge it, they confess it and confess 284 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,040 their helplessness to do anything about it. 285 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,920 And then the Lord tells them the good news. 286 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,480 He would fix the problem. The end of verse 15 He saw the 287 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:46,200 problem, the sin and depravity and lack of justice displeased 288 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,240 him. Verse 16. 289 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,680 He saw that the people couldn't solve the problem and couldn't 290 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,000 make things right with him. There's nobody to intercede for 291 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:56,400 them. And So what would he do at the 292 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,080 end of verse 16? He would provide salvation. 293 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,160 His own arm would bring salvation to the people. 294 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,720 And notice how he and his work of salvation are described here 295 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,480 in these verses. That phrase his arm of salvation 296 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,160 or his arm would bring salvation. 297 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,240 That's a phrase that's used in the Scriptures to refer to the 298 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,720 power, the might of the Lord. And so it makes sense. 299 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,880 As we read in verses 17 and following, we get a picture of 300 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,080 the Lord putting on his battle clothes. 301 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,080 He's getting ready to go to war. He puts on a helmet, a 302 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,240 breastplate, clothing, and a cloak. 303 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:39,600 But his uniform, we're told, is righteousness and salvation and 304 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,720 vengeance and zeal. This is a picture of the Lord as 305 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,680 a warrior who is going to battle against sin and wickedness and 306 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,000 evil. Verse 18, He would bring 307 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,640 vengeance on his opponents, wrath to his adversaries, 308 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:58,000 repayment to enemies such that as we come to verse 19, all of 309 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,720 the enemies of the Lord will end up fearing him and honoring his 310 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,920 glory. And, and notice we're given this 311 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,240 picture here in verse 16 of the Lord not just being a warrior 312 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,080 for us, He's also an intercessor. 313 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,840 The Lord was amazed that there was no one to intercede for the 314 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,240 people, so He became the intercessor. 315 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,000 That's what we're told in the New Testament about Jesus, isn't 316 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,240 it? Hebrews 7 verse 25 Jesus is able 317 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,440 to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through 318 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,080 Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 319 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,360 Romans 8, verse 34. Who is to condemn Christ? 320 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,520 Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, 321 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,480 who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for 322 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,560 us? And of course, the wonderful 323 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:55,720 picture we get of Jesus praying in John 17, praying to his 324 00:19:55,720 --> 00:20:00,120 Father, interceding for his people, present and future. 325 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,960 That's what the Lord is. He is the one who intercedes on 326 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,520 behalf of His people. He does so by providing 327 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,000 salvation that we couldn't achieve by ourselves. 328 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:11,880 He defeats sin, which we are helpless to do on our own. 329 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,800 He cancels our debt with God, which we were incapable of 330 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:21,280 paying and even to this day. Jesus functions as our 331 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,600 intercessor in for us in the heavens. 332 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:27,320 He's a warrior, He's an intercessor. 333 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:31,360 And then God tells his people very plainly who he is in verse 334 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:36,480 20. He is the Redeemer, the Redeemer 335 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,720 that would bring salvation to his people through the second 336 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,880 person of the Trinity, Jesus, that the Lord God Almighty would 337 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:47,040 come into this world as a Redeemer, a faithful Redeemer, 338 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,400 the one who was long promised and and long-awaited for and 339 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,360 notice He reminds his people he's not just a Redeemer. 340 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:56,880 He is the faithful covenant keeping Redeemer. 341 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,800 Our chapter ends in verse 21 as the Lord once again reminds them 342 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:03,640 of the covenant that he is in with him. 343 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:07,480 He reminds them of the Spirit, that His promise that His Spirit 344 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,520 will be upon them and that His Word would be in their mouths 345 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,600 and hearts, that He would not depart from them, that He would 346 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,040 not leave them or forsake them, and they would. 347 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,520 This would be true for generations to come. 348 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,720 The Lord had established a covenant, a relationship with 349 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:28,160 His people, and He would always be the faithful Redeemer to 350 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,240 them. Well, So what do we do with this 351 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:33,520 today? What are some takeaways? 352 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:42,000 Three things. The first is this we we need to 353 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,440 meditate on the fact of the depravity of the human heart in 354 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:51,560 this world is real. We have to acknowledge and 355 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,480 understand that the depravity of our hearts and the depravity of 356 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,640 this world is real. It's probably not difficult for 357 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,080 us to look out into the world and to see it. 358 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,680 It seems like anywhere, anywhere we look, we can see depravity, 359 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,280 but we also need to see and to acknowledge the depravity of our 360 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:12,200 own hearts. We're not just talking about the 361 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,000 hearts of an unbeliever, someone who's not a Christian. 362 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:19,080 The description that we have here in Isaiah 59 is about the 363 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:24,040 hearts of God's people. And we see similar descriptions 364 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,520 in the New Testament about the people that are in the church. 365 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:33,360 The problem is, is that we often use the wrong standard to 366 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:35,480 evaluate and judge our hearts and our actions. 367 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,920 Often we evaluate ourselves based on how we compare with 368 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:43,360 others, and we usually can find someone that we feel we're doing 369 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:48,280 better than and so we think everything is OK. 370 00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:51,880 But the Lord is clear that is the wrong standard. 371 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,640 The right standard is to compare ourselves with the Lord God 372 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,120 Almighty Himself. We are to be holy as He is holy. 373 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:04,080 His standard is nothing less than perfection, keeping every 374 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:06,680 law, command and rule, every moment of our lives and our 375 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,040 actions and in our hearts perfectly. 376 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,760 When we use that standard to evaluate ourselves, we see the 377 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,720 depravity of our hearts and our actions. 378 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:23,760 We should never underestimate what our hearts can conceive. 379 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,520 That's what the Bible tells us. Jeremiah chapter 17. 380 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:34,040 The heart is deceitful above all things, desperately sick. 381 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:40,040 Who can understand it? Genesis chapter 6 The Lord saw 382 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,040 that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that 383 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,280 every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 384 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,240 continually. Matthew chapter 15. 385 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,400 Jesus speaking says, But what comes out of the mouth proceeds 386 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,520 from the heart, and this defiles a person. 387 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,760 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, 388 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:06,120 sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, these are what 389 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:10,320 defile a person. Paul in first Corinthians 390 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,560 chapter 10. No temptation has overtaken you. 391 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:18,360 That is not common to man. We must constantly be discerning 392 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:23,960 the depravity of our hearts. And then as we, as we discern 393 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,520 the depravity of our hearts, as we as we see the extent and the 394 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,040 depth of our sins, we should follow the model of God's people 395 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,560 in Isaiah, here in Isaiah 59, acknowledging it, confessing it, 396 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,640 repenting of it. As Martin Luther famously said, 397 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:43,480 all of life is repentance. Repentance is not something we 398 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,800 do just once. It is something we do every day 399 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,240 as our depravity is our sin is brought to our attention. 400 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:58,720 We confess it and repent of it, acknowledge that we're helpless 401 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:04,320 in and of ourselves to overcome our sin and to cry out to the 402 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,400 Lord, to forgive us and to motivate us and to give us the 403 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,640 strength that we need to fight and to lean against it. 404 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,360 The depravity of our hearts and the world is real. 405 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:22,320 But secondly, the faithful Redeemer is real, and we as 406 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,000 God's people today, we have the full story. 407 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,560 We know not just that a Redeemer will come, as the people were 408 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,680 being told and reminded here in Isaiah chapter 59, but that the 409 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,880 Redeemer has indeed already come and has finished his promised 410 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,640 work of redemption and salvation. 411 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:43,760 Not only is he real, He did what He said He was coming to do to 412 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:48,680 redeem us from our sins. Through Jesus's work and His 413 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,960 death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, He 414 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,800 secured an eternal inheritance that is being kept in heaven for 415 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,200 us. This is the good news of the 416 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,160 Gospel. This is God's grace to us. 417 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,760 We are made right with God. We have full and final 418 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,600 acceptance with God at no cost to us. 419 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:15,480 That through faith in Jesus, by grace alone, our relationship 420 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:20,360 with the Lord is re established and sustained forever. 421 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,560 And listen, brothers and sisters in Christ, when we remember 422 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,480 God's grace to us, when we remember his kindness to us in 423 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,520 the gospel, when we meditate on the good news of the gospel of 424 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,320 Jesus Christ, that is meant to lead us to be even greater 425 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,040 people of confession and repentance. 426 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,440 That's what the Bible says in Romans chapter 2. 427 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,000 Or do you presume on the riches of God's kindness and 428 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,800 forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is 429 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:56,160 meant to lead you to repentance? How much do you understand God's 430 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,080 grace to you, his kindness to you, his forbearance to you, his 431 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,800 patience with you, the good news of the gospel? 432 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,960 To the extent that you know and understand the gospel, to that 433 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:11,040 extent you should be moved to be people of repentance, confessing 434 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:12,680 your sin and turning away from it. 435 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:16,640 It says also in Titus chapter 2. For the grace of God has 436 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:21,800 appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to 437 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,400 renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self 438 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,960 controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. 439 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:34,280 What is it that causes us to say no to our sin and yes to living 440 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,520 in a God honoring way? What is it that trains us how to 441 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,040 do that? The grace of God that has 442 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:45,040 appeared. The more that we see and 443 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:48,160 understand the depravity of our hearts and the depth of our 444 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,760 sinful hearts, and the more that we see the extent of God's grace 445 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,080 to us and the gospel, and the more that we see our faithful 446 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,880 Redeemer is real, the more we should be moved to be people of 447 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,400 confession and repentance. That leads to our third and 448 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:09,320 final take away for today. Covenant means relationship. 449 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,080 Covenant means relationship, right? 450 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:18,920 He he ends this chapter in verse 21 by by reminding his people 451 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,440 that He has established a covenant with them. 452 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,880 It started all the way back in the Garden of Eden with Adam and 453 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:26,640 Eve. And when they broke that 454 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,840 covenant through their disobedience, the Lord told them 455 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,640 that though they had been unfaithful to the covenant, the 456 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:36,320 Lord would be faithful to it and He would fulfill it. 457 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,640 And he gave Adam and Eve a promise of one who would come, 458 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,040 this same Redeemer that is promised to the people in 459 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,960 Isaiah's day, who we now know is the Lord Jesus Christ. 460 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,280 And now everybody who is in Christ, who believes in and has 461 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,320 faith in Jesus, is in covenant with the Lord. 462 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,040 And what we see throughout the Bible is as we look at this idea 463 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,840 of the covenant being in covenant with the Lord, it means 464 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:07,840 being in a relationship with the Lord. 465 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,480 Sometimes it's difficult for us to think of the Christian life 466 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,560 as a relationship, but that's what it is meant to be, a 467 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:19,240 relationship with the Lord. And just like any human 468 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,400 relationship we have, if we want it to be a strong, meaningful, 469 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,440 satisfying relationship, we have to cultivate it. 470 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,840 We have to put time into it. We have to be intentional about 471 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,520 it. Our our Christian faith should 472 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:37,480 be about growing in our knowledge of the Lord, who he 473 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,200 is, what he has done, his character qualities, his 474 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,720 attributes. But Christianity is not just 475 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:49,120 about growing in knowledge. Like any meaningful 476 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:53,160 relationship, if it's to grow and cultivate, it means growing 477 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:57,440 in love for the other person. As we grow in our knowledge of 478 00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,840 the Lord, it should lead us to growing in our love for the 479 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,760 Lord, our devotion to Him, our wonder and awe at who He is and 480 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:08,360 all that He has accomplished. And as we grow in our knowledge 481 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,800 of the Lord and our love for the Lord, our understanding and and 482 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,680 being thankful for his grace, it should leave lead us more and 483 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:20,600 more to be people of confession and repentance should lead us 484 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:25,040 ultimately to living lives more and more of of more and more 485 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:30,640 love motivated obedience. So as we conclude today, it's an 486 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:36,120 opportunity for each of us to reflect, each of us to ask 487 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,320 what's the status of my relationship with the Lord? 488 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:44,720 How's my relationship with the Lord doing? 489 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:46,840 Do I even think of it as a relationship? 490 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:52,400 And as we talk about so often, we can ask ourselves, am I 491 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,640 making use of the God-given means of grace, the tools that 492 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,680 he's given to cultivate the relationship with the Lord? 493 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:01,800 Are we spending time in His Word? 494 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,080 Are we spending time talking to the Lord in prayer? 495 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,160 Are we regularly worshipping together corporately with God's 496 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:13,960 people? Are we participating in the 497 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,000 sacraments? Are we intentionally 498 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,400 participating in the fellowship with God's people? 499 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:24,280 God has given us the very tools that we need to cultivate and to 500 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,400 deepen and to strengthen our relationship with Him. 501 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,080 Are we making use of them or are we neglecting them? 502 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:35,360 Let's pray together.