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 --> 00:00:05,400 Testament book of Isaiah chapter 56. 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,320 Isaiah chapter 56. If you're using the red Bibles 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,480 in the chairs around, you can find the page listed for you in 5 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,440 the bulletin where you can find Isaiah chapter 56. 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:21,720 We're going to be looking at the 1st 8 verses of chapter 56. 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,800 If you grew up or if you come from a tradition that used the 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,960 Heidelberg Catechism, then you may be aware that the Heidelberg 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:35,480 Catechism is organized in the kind of three main sections can 10 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,320 be loosely called guilt, grace, and gratitude. 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,400 Guilt, grace and gratitude. There are questions and answers 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:50,120 in the Catechism about our sin, about the Gospel, and about the 13 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,600 proper and necessary response to being converted. 14 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,760 It's interesting that in some ways we could organize the book 15 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,280 of Isaiah under the same 3 headings, guilt, grace and 16 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,240 gratitude. Chapters one through 39 is all 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:11,680 about guilt, focused on the sin of the people, both Israel as 18 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,520 well as the nation's, their rebellion against the Lord in 19 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,960 His word. Chapters 40 through 55 speak 20 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:25,280 much about God's grace, the promise of a coming servant who 21 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,720 would redeem God's people from exile and from their sins. 22 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,360 And now we come to the final section of Isaiah's book, 23 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,640 chapters 56 to 66, and we can think of that as gratitude. 24 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:44,720 How should God's people live in response to being redeemed, in 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:49,240 response to God's grace? Let's look and see how Isaiah 26 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,080 and the Lord through Isaiah brings us to that sense of 27 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,800 gratitude. Isaiah 56 beginning in verse 28 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:01,960 one. Thus says the Lord keep justice 29 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:08,000 and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come and my 30 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,640 righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does 31 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:15,800 this, and the Son of Man who holds it fast, who keeps the 32 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,880 Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any 33 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,000 evil. Let not the foreigner who has 34 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,040 joined himself to the Lord say, The Lord will surely separate me 35 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,320 from his people. And let not the eunuchs say, 36 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,960 Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the 37 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,480 eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that 38 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:42,480 please me, and hold fast my covenant. 39 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,960 I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a 40 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,640 name better than sons and daughters. 41 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,640 I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 42 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,560 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to 43 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,000 minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his 44 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,680 servants. Everyone who keeps the Sabbath 45 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,520 and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant. 46 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,320 These I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in 47 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,120 the House of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their 48 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,760 sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be 49 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,440 called a House of prayer for all peoples. 50 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,600 The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares I 51 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:31,160 will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. 52 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,560 Let's pray together. Father, we do thank you for Your 53 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,680 word. We thank You for giving it to us 54 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,680 and we pray that through the work of Your Spirit, even in 55 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,640 these very moments as we read Your word and as we reflect on 56 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,720 it, that you would open our eyes, that You would prepare our 57 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:53,720 hearts that we might know and understand and believe what You 58 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,680 want us to know and understand and believe from this portion of 59 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,960 Your word. This we ask in Jesus name, Amen. 60 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:09,440 Most of us are familiar with John Newton, 18th century former 61 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:14,160 slave trader who was converted and changed his views, 62 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:15,800 eventually became an abolitionist. 63 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,519 He was a great hymn writer, hymns like Amazing Grace, 64 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:23,800 Glorious, the things of the are spoken. 65 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:31,000 But he was also a pastor and from 1764 to 1780 he pastored a 66 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,440 small parish church in the British town of Olney. 67 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,920 Now, Olney was not considered an impressive or even desirable 68 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:45,400 place. It was known for great poverty 69 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,480 and alcoholism and really rough living. 70 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,080 Many considered the people of Olney as morally and socially 71 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:58,120 unacceptable, outcasts the margins of society. 72 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,400 But Newton believed that the gospel of God's grace was for 73 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:08,920 those kinds of people too, those who felt excluded and forgotten 74 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,640 and marginalized. Instead of focusing on only the 75 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,000 respectable and desirable people of society, Newton intentionally 76 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:23,000 opened the door of the church and his own home to the poor and 77 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,560 to the destitute, to the workers, to the former 78 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,120 criminals, to those who were considered outsiders and 79 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,720 outcasts. The church became known as a 80 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,160 place that welcomed the spiritually overlooked. 81 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,960 Newton partnered with William Cooper to write a number of 82 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,840 hymns for what they called the ordinary people became known as 83 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:49,960 the Olney Hymnal That's still around today. 84 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,880 Newton said of his time as the pastor in Olney. 85 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,600 My grand point in preaching is to break the hard heart and to 86 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:03,520 heal the broken one. In the beginning verses here of 87 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,720 chapter 56 of Isaiah, the Lord says something rather 88 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,800 surprising, even shocking. He says that foreigners who join 89 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,320 themselves to the Lord will be included in the covenant 90 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,600 community of God's people. They will fully participate with 91 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,440 God's people. That eunuchs who normally were 92 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,040 prevented from full participation in the covenant 93 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,480 community would be included. And they too would fully 94 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:33,080 participate that the Lord's house will be a House of prayer 95 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:39,480 for all peoples, even those who are marginalized, the outcast, 96 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,120 the undesirables, the unacceptables, the the 97 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:47,680 overlooked, the destitute, even greater than John Newton, the 98 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:52,960 Lord God Himself welcomes into his Kingdom those that are once 99 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,760 excluded from the covenant community. 100 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,200 And why? What's the reason? 101 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,720 It's because of his grace. It's because of his mercy and 102 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,720 love. God's grace is powerful and it 103 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,840 changes people and it gives them a new status. 104 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,160 It it brings them in to the covenant community of God's 105 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,240 people. So let's look at these verses 106 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,520 this morning and see several things. 107 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:25,880 First of all, that grace, God's grace leads to change. 108 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,720 It leads to righteousness. Secondly, that God's grace 109 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:37,920 transcends all boundaries. Thirdly, that grace creates a 110 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:42,040 global church. And then let's finish by asking, 111 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:44,120 So what? What difference does this make 112 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,720 for us today? First of all, grace leads to 113 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,360 righteousness. You can see that in verses one 114 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,680 and two. Thus says the Lord, keep justice 115 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,800 and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my 116 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,480 righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this 117 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,880 and the Son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not 118 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,240 profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil. 119 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,120 Now as you hear those words read to you at first glance they they 120 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,960 especially verse one. It may sound like it's talking 121 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:26,960 about earning our salvation by works that we that we earn God's 122 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,920 acceptance by by being righteous. 123 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:35,880 But if we look more closely, we see that it says keep justice 124 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:41,320 and do righteousness. Why for or because the Lord's 125 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:47,040 salvation is coming not keep justice and do righteousness to 126 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:51,800 earn the Lord's salvation, but because the Lord's salvation is 127 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,480 coming. The the Lord is referring to 128 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,160 Jesus eventually coming. The Lord's salvation was coming 129 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,640 to the people, but even during the days of Isaiah, salvation 130 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,280 was available. When the people heard these 131 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:09,840 words initially they just needed to believe the Lord and trust in 132 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:12,960 Him for their forgiveness of their sins and trust in that 133 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:18,120 coming Redeemer, that coming one servant who would bring 134 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,000 salvation. The point here at verses 1 and 2 135 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,360 is that because salvation is real, because the servant 136 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:31,440 Redeemer is coming, therefore believe in the Lord and keep 137 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:37,480 justice and do righteousness. Keep the Sabbath, he says. 138 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:42,360 Don't profane it, but keep your hands from doing any kind of 139 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,880 evil. Live righteous lives staying 140 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,440 away from evil. That's to be the result of 141 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,120 having received forgiveness from the Lord. 142 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,560 It's the proper response of God's people. 143 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,800 God's grace to us is meant to lead us to greater righteousness 144 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,920 in our lives. And notice here in verse 2 where 145 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,960 it says does this and holds it fast. 146 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,840 Those are verbs that are in the imperative tense. 147 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,520 It's a sense of ongoing attitude and behavior. 148 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,600 So because salvation is real, because you have a relationship 149 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:23,320 with the Lord God Almighty, keep doing justice and keep on doing 150 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:28,680 righteousness. I think it's important to point 151 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,240 this out every time we come across it in the Scriptures. 152 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,480 The indicative leads to the imperative. 153 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,600 The indicative leads to the imperative. 154 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,520 The imperative does not lead to the indicative. 155 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,760 What is true leads to what we are to do. 156 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,840 We're told this over and over and over again in the Scriptures 157 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,800 because we are so prone to get it turned around. 158 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,680 We read about it in the New Testament in Titus chapter 3, 159 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,320 chapter 3, verse 4 says. But when the goodness and loving 160 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:10,080 kindness of God our Saviour appeared, He saved us, not 161 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,720 because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to 162 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:18,720 His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the 163 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,280 Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus 164 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:27,080 Christ our Saviour, so that, being justified by His grace, we 165 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,520 might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 166 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:37,880 The indicative, the saying is trustworthy, and I want you to 167 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,880 insist on these things so that those who have believed in God 168 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,560 may be careful to devote themselves to good works. 169 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,080 These things are excellent and profitable for people. 170 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:56,760 The imperative, the indicative is that Jesus Christ has 171 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,400 appeared and has accomplished salvation for us. 172 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,960 He has changed our hearts, He has given us new hearts and we 173 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,400 are now new in Christ, new creations. 174 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,560 And the imperative is that God's people now are called to go and 175 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:16,880 to live like who they are, to do good works, to keep justice and 176 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:22,240 to do righteousness. When we live and we act as if we 177 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,920 what we do earns God's love and grace, then what we have is 178 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,360 something other than Christianity, and it becomes a 179 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,040 weight that can crush us, a weight that we are incapable of 180 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,240 sustaining. We're going to come back to this 181 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:41,120 in just a minute, but for now, just note the indicative leads 182 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:45,040 to the imperative and they can't be turned around. 183 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,680 God's grace is meant to lead us to transformation in our lives 184 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:54,160 to to do justice and to do righteousness and to stay away 185 00:12:54,640 --> 00:13:00,040 from evil. Secondly, God's grace transcends 186 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,600 all boundaries. You notice how the Lord points 187 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,760 to two different kinds of people here in verses 3 through 7, two 188 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:12,080 different qualities or or characteristics of people who 189 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,080 were more often marginalized, left out of participating in the 190 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,000 covenant community, foreigners and eunuchs. 191 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:23,360 And the Lord says to the foreigners, don't say that. 192 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,840 I will surely separate you from my people. 193 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,160 And the Lord says to the eunuchs, don't say that you're 194 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:33,360 just a dry tree with no possibility of having a name 195 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,920 that would outlive you. No, the Lord says to the eunuch 196 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,800 here in these verses, if you love me, if you serve me, if you 197 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,040 are devoted to me, if you are in covenant with me, then I will 198 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:52,440 establish a monument in my house and I will give you a name that 199 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,640 is even better than sons and daughters. 200 00:13:54,640 --> 00:14:00,120 He says, an everlasting name that will never be cut off. 201 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,920 Need to feel the weight here of what the Lord is saying. 202 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,440 The eunuchs were incapable of having children. 203 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:17,680 Their name would die with them. But for those who are in 204 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:21,880 covenant who are in relationship with the Lord, the Lord says, I 205 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,160 will give you a name that lasts forever. 206 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,240 I will make your name a monument. 207 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,480 Though they have experienced having other things being cut 208 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,240 off, their name will never be cut off. 209 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,960 The Lord says. And to the foreigner, in verses 210 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,680 6 and seven, he says, if you join yourself to the Lord, if 211 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,040 you love him, if you will be his servant, if you follow him, if 212 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,640 you are in covenant with the Lord, then the Lord will bring 213 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,040 you to himself, to his holy mountain, and you will be 214 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:00,240 included in the worship with God's people, and you will enter 215 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:05,680 into the House of the Lord. The Lord's house, which is a 216 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:11,440 House of prayer, is a house, he says, for all peoples, even the 217 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:17,240 poor, the destitute, the outcast, the marginalized, those 218 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:21,120 who are looked down upon, those who are excluded, those who are 219 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:26,440 seen as unimportant, even those who have shady backgrounds, even 220 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:30,600 those who have been criminals in the past, even the undesirables 221 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:35,360 of society. The House of the Lord is a house 222 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:37,840 for all peoples. Why? 223 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,080 Because God's grace transcends all boundaries. 224 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,320 At the beginning of verse 8, he says God's grace gathers the 225 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:51,840 outcasts. It it transcends the boundaries. 226 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:55,920 And we see that so well demonstrated in the life in the 227 00:15:55,920 --> 00:16:00,200 ministry of Jesus, don't we? Who did he spend his time with? 228 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,320 Who did he minister to? Who did he heal? 229 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:09,160 He healed the sick, those with physical disabilities. 230 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,640 He spent time with the tax collectors and the prostitutes 231 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,000 and those who were possessed by demons. 232 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:19,560 The poor. Jesus constantly moved toward 233 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,800 the marginalized in the outcasts and the undesirables and those 234 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,760 who are seen as unacceptable in that culture. 235 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:33,480 His grace transcended all those boundaries. 236 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,360 He brought all of those walls crumbling down. 237 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,960 God's grace transcends all boundaries. 238 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:49,520 Thirdly, God's grace creates a global church. 239 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,680 It creates. It's building a worldwide global 240 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,160 church. That's what verse 8 says. 241 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,680 The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares I 242 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:09,040 will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. 243 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,560 The Lord gathers the outcasts of Israel to himself, but he also 244 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,920 gathers others, he says. And as we've seen many times 245 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,920 through the book of Isaiah, these others are the nations. 246 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,120 Likely this is also what Jesus was saying in John chapter 10. 247 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,360 I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own, and my own know 248 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,880 me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. 249 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,600 And I lay down my life for the sheep, and I have other sheep 250 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,360 that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. 251 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:50,960 And they will listen to my voice. 252 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,040 So there will, there will be 1 flock, 1 shepherd. 253 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:01,240 This wonderful reality, this truth that we see so many times 254 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,800 and so clearly in the book of Isaiah, that the Lord is in the 255 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:08,320 business of creating a truly global church. 256 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:13,400 Right now we are rather isolated from brothers and sisters in 257 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,720 Christ in other parts of the United States, and especially 258 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:18,080 those in other parts of the world. 259 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:22,280 We we get glimpses of them when we go and visit another church, 260 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,640 when we are on vacation or travelling, or when we read the 261 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,920 updates from our global partners or we go visit them on the 262 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,360 field. But a day is coming when there 263 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,600 will be no more isolation and no more separation, that there will 264 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:41,320 be 1 church, a global church in reach, worldwide in scope. 265 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,600 The new heavens and the new earth will be made-up of one 266 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,440 people of God, people from every ethnicity, every nation, every 267 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,480 language. And as one of my Old Testament 268 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,360 professors used to say. And then we'll all speak Hebrew 269 00:18:56,360 --> 00:19:02,840 together forever. This is what God's grace does. 270 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,000 It creates a global church. It's what the Lord is doing. 271 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,600 It's it's his work in progress. One day, hopefully soon, it will 272 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,880 be complete and there will be 1 flock with one shepherd, one 273 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:22,320 people with 1 Lord. God's grace leads to 274 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,280 transformation. It leads to righteousness. 275 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:29,440 It transcends all boundaries. It creates a global church. 276 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:31,520 So what are we to do with all of this? 277 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:37,800 What are our takeaways today? Three things. 278 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:44,560 First of all, reflect on the power of God's grace to change 279 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,760 us. God's grace to us and the gospel 280 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,600 is meant to lead to transformation in our lives. 281 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,840 As we said earlier, the indicative that the gospel of 282 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:59,320 grace God changing our heart. It is meant to lead us to the 283 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,360 imperative, to following His commands. 284 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,640 That is always what happens when we are joined with Christ and 285 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,680 have the Holy Spirit living in US. 286 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,800 God's grace is powerful and it changes us. 287 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:17,840 It transforms us. The Lord can choose to motivate 288 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,560 us toward greater obedience and greater works in many different 289 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:27,080 ways, to motivate us to keep justice and to do righteousness, 290 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:29,760 to keep our hands away from doing evil. 291 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:34,200 But I believe the most powerful motivator for us is His grace, 292 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:42,840 His love for us, the gospel. If I'm right about that, then in 293 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,400 moments when we are tempted, when we are considering giving 294 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:51,920 into our sin, whether it's in our thoughts or in our hearts or 295 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:55,400 our actions or with our words, then in that moment we should 296 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,920 come back to the good news of the gospel, of God's grace to us 297 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,560 through the person and work of Jesus. 298 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,880 The most powerful motivator, the most strengthening power in 299 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,680 fighting against and rooting out our sin is to meditate on the 300 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,680 extent of the Lord's love for us that has been demonstrated in 301 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,880 the gospel. The the depth of his grace to 302 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,000 us, what it cost Him to give it to us. 303 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:29,360 The the more we understand the extent of our sinful hearts, the 304 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,840 more we will understand the extent of His forgiving grace, 305 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:40,160 the more we will want to say no to our sin and yes to justice 306 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:45,840 and righteousness. And when you find yourself in 307 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:50,880 moments or even seasons when you are experiencing spiritual 308 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:56,120 weariness, feeling spiritually weighed down by a crushing 309 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:00,480 weight, that's a good opportunity to ask yourself and 310 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:05,120 to reflect on am I living as if the indicative leads to the 311 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:10,160 imperative? Or am I flipping it around and 312 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,000 living as if the imperative earns the indicative? 313 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,720 Are there ways in my life right now where I am trying to earn 314 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,840 God's approval and acceptance when I'm trying to get God's 315 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,360 delight over me by earning it in righteousness? 316 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,120 The indicative always leads to the imperative. 317 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:34,600 What is true leads to what to do. 318 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:39,160 Who you are in Christ leads to how you live in Christ. 319 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:44,040 And anytime we flip it around, it leads to spiritual weariness 320 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,520 in a crushing weight that that is on top of us. 321 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,160 God's grace is powerful to change us and transform us. 322 00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:04,280 Secondly, keep the Sabbath, keep the Sabbath. 323 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,440 Isn't it interesting that the Lord mentions keeping the 324 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,680 Sabbath so many times in these verses today? 325 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,880 Verse 2 it's mentioned, verse 4 it's mentioned about the 326 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,560 eunuchs, and verse 6 it's mentioned regarding the 327 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,240 foreigners. This idea of keeping the Sabbath 328 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,880 hasn't been mentioned very much in Isaiah. 329 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,400 We we did see it right at the beginning of the book in chapter 330 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,280 1, verse 13, as the Lord was laying out His accusations on 331 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,280 the ways that His people had rebelled against him. 332 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,480 He, he basically said back in chapter one that their Sabbath 333 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,840 keeping had become just bare ritual. 334 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:43,160 They were just going through the motions. 335 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,560 It wasn't coming from the heart. They were just doing what they 336 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,840 were supposed to do in order to get things from the Lord or to 337 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:51,560 keep him from getting angry with them. 338 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,160 But here, right at the beginning of this last section of Isaiah, 339 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,680 this section that is really focused on living a life of 340 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,520 gratitude because of the grace of God to us, the Lord brings up 341 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:08,880 the idea of keeping the Sabbath several times here in these 342 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,520 verses. How does that apply to us today? 343 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,000 Well, not in exactly the same way that it did to the days of 344 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:21,720 Isaiah, but it does still apply. Think about our call to worship 345 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,720 this morning from Isaiah 58. That we're called. 346 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,360 We are called to call the Sabbath a delight. 347 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,240 To call the Sabbath a delight. It should be a delight to us. 348 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:40,760 Jesus said in Mark chapter 2. The Sabbath was made for man, 349 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:45,280 not man for the Sabbath. In Revelation chapter 1, John 350 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,000 says that we call it the Lord's Day. 351 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:52,440 Now the But the principle still remains that the Lord's Day was 352 00:24:52,440 --> 00:25:00,880 made for us, and it is a day of rest and gladness as we sang in 353 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:05,480 our opening hymn. The Lord has given us this day 354 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:11,960 every week to Orient ourselves, to Orient our upcoming week a 355 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,640 day to to gather corporately with God's people and to worship 356 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,440 and to glorify and to enjoy the Lord together. 357 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:25,360 To set aside our normal, our our usual routines and to have a day 358 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:30,160 each week that is different and set apart to to re establish the 359 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,840 Lord's desired rhythm in our life. 360 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:39,840 And it's to be a delight to us. How are you doing in keeping the 361 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:44,200 Lord's Day in delighting in the Lord's Day? 362 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:49,080 Now hear me clearly. Some of us are in vocations that 363 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,680 require us to work on occasion on the Lord's Day. 364 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,160 The Lord makes provision for that very clearly. 365 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,240 And some of us have seasons in life when it's really difficult 366 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,560 to delight in the Lord's Day, like when we have small 367 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,280 children. That's completely 368 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,880 understandable. Sometimes, through no fault of 369 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,640 our own, we have circumstances in our life that make it 370 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,840 particularly difficult to delight in the Lord's Day, and 371 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:16,440 the Lord understands. But outside of those scenarios, 372 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,400 how are you doing and delighting in the Lord's Day, This day that 373 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,280 the Lord has given to you? It's a gift. 374 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:28,240 It is a gift to you. When we neglect corporate 375 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,880 worship, when we neglect fellowship and with God's 376 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:35,880 people, when we treat this day like every other day, we are 377 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,200 missing out on experiencing the rest and the delight and the 378 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,760 gladness that comes from this Lord's gift, from the Lord's 379 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:48,200 gift to us. We miss out on on one of the 380 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:52,320 primary means by which the Lord feeds us and encourages us and 381 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:57,080 strengthens us. Instead, we should make every 382 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,360 effort to be with God's people on the Lord's Day. 383 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:05,560 When we can, we should think about and reflect on ways that 384 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:09,240 we might set this day apart, make it different. 385 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,680 That might involve getting things done on other days of the 386 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:14,800 week so that you don't have to do them on the Lord's Day. 387 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,360 It might involve having a special meal or a special 388 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:21,880 breakfast or a dessert on the Lord's Day. 389 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,640 It might involve choosing to not do something that you normally 390 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:32,240 do on the rest of the week, finding a way to make the Lord's 391 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,280 Day different and to set it apart. 392 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:40,600 We should delight in and enjoy and rejoice in and rest in this 393 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:45,720 wonderful gift that the Lord's Day has been given to us. 394 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:55,880 It's been made for us. Thirdly, how do we treat the 395 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,640 outcasts? It's a pretty obvious take away 396 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,000 from the verses in Isaiah chapter 56, and especially from 397 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,880 the life and ministry of Jesus. We need to ask ourselves on a 398 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,200 regular basis how? How am I treating the outsiders, 399 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,840 the the foreigners, those with physical disabilities, the poor, 400 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,280 the outcasts, the marginalized, those that that that our society 401 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,560 looks down on or ignores or dismisses people that are not 402 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,760 like ourselves, people that don't look like us or talk like 403 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,520 us or like the things that we like or come from such different 404 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:33,280 backgrounds than us. It's clear in Isaiah, in the 405 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:39,000 Scriptures, that the Lord has these people on his heart, and 406 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:40,720 so they should be on our heart as well. 407 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,600 God's grace transcends all boundaries. 408 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,640 Any wall of hostility, any barrier of indifference has been 409 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:54,120 shattered by the gospel. What are the ways that you are 410 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,760 actively, intentionally seeking to treat and to serve the 411 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,920 outcasts and the outsiders and the marginalized of our society? 412 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,760 Now, if you're employed at Mayo, then you already are around the 413 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,640 hurting and the sick and the vulnerable and the lonely all of 414 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,680 the time. And so if you are serving in 415 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,280 your vocation faithfully, you, you are doing exactly what God's 416 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,680 Word says. But for all of us, we can keep 417 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:23,440 our eyes open. We can have our antenna up. 418 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,320 We we can be aware of what is happening around us and look for 419 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,400 those who are hurting and the outsiders and the poor and the 420 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,920 marginalized and the dismissed. And like Jesus, we can move 421 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:39,760 toward them. We have connections with so many 422 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,480 ministries and organizations that are ministering to and and 423 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:47,120 serving and seeking to love the people that we're speaking 424 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,720 about. One could easily volunteer with 425 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:55,080 a place like The Landing or Next Chapter or New Life Family 426 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:58,360 Services, or Together for Good or Arrive Ministries. 427 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,760 You could make a regular donation to the public schools 428 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,280 community community room box that we have in the foyer. 429 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:11,000 You could volunteer with what is essentially an English as a 430 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:15,240 second language program in one of our public schools, but 431 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,800 keeping your eyes intentionally open even when you're at church 432 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,920 on Sunday. Do you see anyone who falls into 433 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,160 any of these categories? You could go sit with them if 434 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,720 they want you to get to know them and learn ways that you 435 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,360 could serve them and be a friend and love them. 436 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,680 God's grace is powerful to change us. 437 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:40,640 The indicative leads to the imperative. 438 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,680 We are to pursue ways of keeping the Lord's Day, making the 439 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:49,760 Lord's Day different and setting it apart. 440 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:55,120 We are to look for ways to serve and to love the outsiders and 441 00:30:55,120 --> 00:31:00,880 the foreigners, the outcasts, the marginalized in our society. 442 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:02,240 Let's pray together.