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I'd like you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of 

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Isaiah in the Old Testament, 
chapter 66, the very last 

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chapter of Isaiah. 
If you're using the red Bibles 

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and the chairs around, you can 
see the page where you can find 

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that in those red Bibles and 
your bulletin, Isaiah chapter 

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66. 
Let me give you a as you're 

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turning there, let me just give 
you a quick snapshot over the 

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next couple of weeks. 
Today we'll be finishing up our 

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study of the book of Isaiah. 
It's taken us about 18 months, 

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and we have finally arrived at 
the final chapter. 

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We'll look at that today. 
Next Sunday, we will have a 

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guest preacher here. 
Reverend Seth Adams, the Ruf 

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campus minister at North Dakota 
State, will be here and bringing

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us God's Word. 
And then we will begin a new 

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summer series the Sunday after 
that. 

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We'll be going through the 10 
commandments this summer, a 

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different commandment each 
Sunday, and we'll cover all 10 

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throughout the course of between
now and the beginning of 

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September. 
Today we're looking at Isaiah 

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chapter 66 as we come to the end
of Isaiah's majestic book. 

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Listen as I read to you from 
Isaiah 66. 

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Thus says the Lord. 
Heaven is my throne, and the 

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earth is my footstool. 
What is the house that you would

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build for me, and what is the 
place of my rest? 

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All these things my hand has 
made. 

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And so all these things came to 
be, declares the Lord. 

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But this is the one to whom I 
will look, he who is humble and 

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contrite and spirit, and 
trembles at my word. 

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He who slaughters an ox is like 
one who kills a man. 

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He who sacrifices a lamb like 
one who breaks a dog's neck. 

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He who presents a grain offering
like one who offers pig's blood.

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He who makes a memorial offering
of frankincense like one who 

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blesses an idol. 
These have chosen their own ways

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and their soul, the lights and 
their abominations. 

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I also will choose harsh 
treatment for them and bring 

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their fears upon them. 
Because when I called, no one 

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answered. 
When I spoke, they did not 

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listen, but they did what was 
evil in my eyes and chose that 

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and which I did not. 
Delight. 

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Hear the word of the Lord, you 
who tremble at His word, your 

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brothers who hate you, and cast 
you out for my name's sake, and 

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said, Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy, but it

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is they who shall be put to 
shame. 

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The sound of an uproar from the 
city, a sound from the temple, 

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the sound of the Lord rendering 
recompense to his enemies. 

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Before she was in labor she gave
birth. 

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Before her pain came upon her, 
she delivered a son. 

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Who has heard such a thing? 
Who has seen such things? 

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Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth 

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in one moment? 
For as soon as Zion was in 

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labor, she brought forth her 
children. 

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Shall I bring to the point of 
birth, and not cause to bring 

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forth, says the Lord. 
Shall I who cause to bring forth

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shut the womb, says your God, 
rejoice with Jerusalem, and be 

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glad for her. 
All you who love her, rejoice 

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with her, and joy all you who 
mourn over her, that you may 

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nurse, and be satisfied from her
consoling breast, that you may 

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drink deeply with delight from 
her glorious abundance. 

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For thus says the Lord, Behold, 
I will extend peace to her like 

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a river, and the glory of the 
nations like an overflowing 

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stream. 
And you shall nurse, you shall 

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be carried upon her hip and 
bounced upon her knees. 

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Is 1 whom his mother comforts. 
So I will comfort you. 

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You shall be comforted and 
comforted in Jerusalem. 

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You shall see, and your heart 
shall rejoice. 

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Your bones shall flourish like 
the grass, and the hand of the 

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Lord shall be known to his 
servants, and he shall show his 

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indignation against his enemies.
For behold, the Lord will come 

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in fire, and his Chariots like 
the whirlwind, to render his 

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anger and fury and his rebuke 
with flames of fire. 

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For by fire will the Lord enter 
into judgment, and by his sword 

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with all flesh. 
And those slain by the Lord 

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shall be many, those who 
sanctify and purify themselves 

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to go into the gardens, 
following one in the midst 

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eating pigs flesh. 
And the abomination and mice 

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shall come to an end together, 
declares the Lord. 

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For I know their works and their
thoughts, and the time is coming

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to gather all nations and 
tongues, and they shall come and

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see my glory. 
And I will set a sign among 

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them. 
And from them I will send 

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survivors to the nations, to 
Tarshish, Pool and Lud, who draw

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the bow to Tubal and to Javan, 
to the coast lands far away that

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have not heard my fame or seen 
my glory. 

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And they shall declare my glory 
among the nations, and they 

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shall bring all your brothers 
from all the nations as an 

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offering to the Lord, on horses 
and in Chariots and in litters, 

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and on mules and dromedaries, to
my holy mountain Jerusalem, says

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the Lord, just as the Israelites
bring their grain offering in a 

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clean vessel to the House of the
Lord. 

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And some of them also I will 
take for priests and for 

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Levites, says the Lord. 
For as the new heavens and the 

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new earth that I make shall 
remain before me, says the Lord,

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so shall your offspring and your
name remain. 

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From new moon to new moon, and 
from Sabbath to Sabbath, all 

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flesh shall come to worship 
before me, declares the Lord. 

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And they shall go out and look 
on the dead bodies of the men 

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who have rebelled against me. 
For their worm shall not die, 

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their fire shall not be 
quenched, and they shall be in 

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abhorrence to all flesh. 
Let's pray together, Father, as 

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we come to these final words of 
the book of Isaiah, we pray that

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your, your Holy Spirit would be 
at work in these moments, even 

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as we read your word and now as 
we reflect upon it, that you 

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would open her eyes and our 
hearts, our very souls, that we 

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might see and learn and be 
changed by your word because of 

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the work of the Spirit. 
Do that, for we ask it in Jesus 

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name, Amen. 
Well, many of us probably know 

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the story of Dietrich 
Bonhoeffer. 

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It was 1933 in Germany, just 
days after Hitler had been 

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appointed chancellor. 
Bonhoeffer was a young Lutheran 

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pastor and theologian. 
He was in his late 20s. 

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He gave a radio address warning 
the German people that they were

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setting themselves up for 
disaster. 

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Craving a leader like Hitler 
would only lead to idolatry, 

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which would destroy the people. 
The broadcast got cut off before

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he was finished. 
Shortly thereafter, the German 

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church compromised, bowed the 
knee to the Nazi state, 

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displayed swastikas alongside of
crosses, reworked its 

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theological beliefs to go along 
with the new regime. 

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Church leaders decided that 
their survival and their 

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relevance was worth the 
accommodation. 

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Bonhoeffer helped found the 
Confessing Church in resistance.

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He also wrote his book The Cost 
of Discipleship to address the 

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abandonment of biblical 
Christianity. 

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He critiqued the hypocritical 
worshippers, those who trembled 

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at the words of Hitler more than
the words of the Lord. 

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Bonhoeffer was eventually 
arrested. 

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He was imprisoned and then 
executed by hanging in April of 

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1945 at the age of 39, just 
three weeks before the Germans 

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surrendered. 
Some of the recorded last words 

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of Bonhoeffer passed along by a 
fellow prisoner. 

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This is the end, but for me, the
beginning of life. 

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Isaiah brings his massive and 
majestic and masterful book to a

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close with chapter 66. 
It is the end. 

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But he also points us to a new 
beginning in this chapter. 

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He He points to the 
uncontainable and unstoppable 

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creator of the universe, whose 
throne is in heaven and whose 

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footstool is the earth, who 
graciously creates a place where

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he dwells with his people and 
where they worship Him, the 

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House of the Lord. 
And we read here that in the 

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House of the Lord there are two 
kinds of worshippers. 

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There are those who tremble at 
the word of the Lord, those that

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the Lord cares for and blesses, 
and there are those that are 

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practicing rituals just in their
actions, not from their hearts. 

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Hypocritical worshippers, those 
who have no problem compromising

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on God's Word so that they can 
follow their own ways and be at 

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at peace with the world. 
They tremble at the ways of the 

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world rather than the word of 
the Lord. 

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One last time, Isaiah spoke to 
God's people in the 8th century 

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BC who were about to go into 
exile. 

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And he spoke to God's people in 
exile in Babylon in the 6th 

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century, about to be released, 
to return to their home and 

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rebuild the House of the Lord. 
And he speaks to God's people 

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today. 
He speaks to us and He asks us 

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what kind of worshippers are we?
Do we tremble at the word of the

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Lord or at the words of our 
culture in the world? 

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Do we worship the Lord from our 
heart or do we hypocritically 

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just go through the motions but 
not from the heart? 

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So let's look at this final 
chapter of the book and let's 

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ask, what is the House of the 
Lord? 

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What is the House of the Lord? 
And then secondly, who are the 

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worshippers in the House of the 
Lord? 

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And then thirdly, how does the 
Lord respond to the worshippers?

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And we'll finish by asking, So 
what? 

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What difference does this make 
for us today? 

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So first of all, what is the 
House of the Lord? 

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That phrase, the House of the 
Lord shows up as many as 250 

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times in the Bible depending on 
which translation you have and 

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the various phrasing of it. 
That's a lot of times that it 

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shows up in both the Old 
Testament and New Testament, and

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it's used in both a literal 
sense but also a figurative 

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sense. 
Literally. 

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You can see here in verses one 
in the beginning of verse 2, it 

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has this literal sense. 
Thus says the Lord, heaven is my

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throne and earth is my 
footstool. 

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What is the house that you would
build for me, and what is the 

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place of my rest? 
All these things my hand has 

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made. 
And so all these things came to 

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be, declares the Lord. 
This is a picture of the God who

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is transcendent, not able to be 
contained. 

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He is omnipresent. 
Heaven is his throne, and earth 

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is his footstool. 
And yet, in God's kind, 

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compassionate grace, he decided 
to create a place where he would

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dwell with his people, a place 
where he could his people could 

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worship him and commune with 
him. 

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He created a House of the Lord 
after the people were rescued 

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from Egypt and before they 
settled in the Promised Land. 

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It was in the form of the 
Tabernacle, a mobile House of 

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the Lord, a temporary, a 
makeshift temple, if you will. 

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And then after the people 
settled in the promised land, 

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they were given instructions for
building a more permanent House 

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of the Lord, the temple that 
Solomon built in Jerusalem. 

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And then when the House of the 
Lord was destroyed by the 

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Babylonians, that when Judah was
taken into exile anew, although 

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less majestic, House of the Lord
was built when the people 

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returned from exile in the 6th 
century. 

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This is this is the literal, 
physical sense of the phrase, 

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the House of the Lord. 
But there's also a phrased this 

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phrase is also used in the Bible
and and more of a figurative 

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sense. 
It's used as a as a shadow of 

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something else. 
It it's used to point to 

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something bigger, something 
ultimate. 

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It's about an even greater and 
better place for God to dwell 

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with his people. 
You can see it's referenced in 

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verses 22 and 23. 
For as the new heavens and the 

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new earth that I make shall 
remain before me, says the Lord,

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so shall your offspring and your
name remain. 

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From new moon to new moon, from 
Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh 

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shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord. 

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This sense of the new heavens 
and the new earth that we saw 

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unpacked for us last week in 
chapter 65, continuing on now in

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chapter 66, this this figurative
sense of the House of the Lord. 

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The House of the Lord ultimately
will be the new heavens and the 

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new earth where He will dwell 
with His people. 

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We read this passage last week 
where it talks about this very 

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thing in Revelation chapter 21. 
There John says, I saw a new 

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heaven and a new earth, for the 
1st heaven and the first earth 

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had passed away, and the sea was
no more. 

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And I saw the holy city, New 
Jerusalem, coming down out of 

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heaven from God, prepared as a 
bride adorned for her husband. 

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And I heard a loud voice from 
the throne saying, Behold, the 

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dwelling place of God is with 
man. 

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He will dwell with them, and 
they will be his people, and God

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himself will be as their God. 
He will wipe away every tear 

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from their eyes, and death shall
be no more. 

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Neither shall there be mourning 
nor crying nor pain anymore, for

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the former things have passed 
away. 

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The House of the Lord used 
figuratively to point to this 

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new heavens and new earth that 
are coming. 

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This too is a real place where 
God will live with His people 

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forever, dwell and commune in 
worshipping the Lord as His 

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people will do. 
So here in Isaiah chapter 65 and

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66 we have both uses of this 
phrase of the House of the Lord 

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speaking about God's people 
worshipping Him and the literal 

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House of the Lord that the Lord 
provided, and also pointing us 

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forward to that better, greater,
and ultimate House of the Lord 

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coming for us. 
But what does Isaiah say here in

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this chapter about the 
worshippers that are in the 

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House of the Lord? 
He points to two different kinds

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of worshippers that are in the 
House of the Lord. 

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First of all, he talks about 
those who tremble at the word of

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the Lord. 
You see that at the end of verse

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2. 
But this is the one to whom I 

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will look, He who is humble and 
contrite in spirit and trembles 

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at my word. 
Humble, contrite ones who 

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tremble at His word. 
They tremble not because they're

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afraid, like when we have a 
nightmare. 

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It's tremble in the sense of awe
and wonder, of being in the 

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presence of the transcendent. 
The The accompanying words here 

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help us to understand what it 
means to tremble at the Lord's 

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word. 
It means being humble. 

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It means being contrite. 
It's a picture of 1 whose heart 

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is filled with desire to love 
and to worship the Lord, as he 

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calls us to do and notice in 
verses 18 through 21. 

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This group will include people 
from all nations, the nations 

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God will call brothers and 
sisters in Christ who come from 

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all nations and languages and 
ethnicities. 

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This is one of the worshippers 
who are in the House of the 

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Lord. 
But they aren't the only 

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worshippers that Isaiah 
mentions. 

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He also mentions those who 
worship hypocritically. 

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Look at verse three. 
He who slaughters an ox is like 

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one who kills a man, He who 
sacrifices a lamb like one who 

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breaks a dog's neck. 
He who presents a grain offering

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like one who offers pig's blood.
He who makes a memorial offering

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of frankincense like one who 
blesses an idol. 

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These have chosen their own 
ways, and their soul delights in

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their abominations. 
These are people in the House of

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the Lord who are worshipping 
hypocritically. 

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They make sacrifices, they give 
grain offerings, they make 

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memorial offerings, but they 
aren't doing it genuinely, 

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sincerely from their hearts. 
They're just going through the, 

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the, the, the motions of the 
rituals. 

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They choose their own ways, He 
says. 

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00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,120
Their souls, their hearts, they 
delight in abominations against 

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the word of the Lord. 
They are hypocritical 

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worshippers. 
They're doing the things of 

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worship, but they're doing it by
their own ways, for their own 

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pleasure, for their own gain. 
They're not humbly trembling at 

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the word of the Lord. 
They're compromising the Lord's 

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word in order to make themselves
comfortable and content. 

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00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,119
So how does the Lord respond to 
these two kinds of worshippers 

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00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:32,160
in the House of the Lord? 
Well, to those who tremble at 

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the word of the Lord, you can 
see what He says to them in 

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verse 5. 
Hear the word of the Lord, you 

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00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,880
who tremble at His word, your 
brothers who hate you and cast 

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you out for my name's sake, have
said, Let the Lord be glorified,

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00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,200
that we may see your joy. 
But it is they who shall be put 

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to shame. 
The sound of an uproar from the 

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00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,360
city, a sound from the temple, 
the sound of the Lord rendering 

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00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:58,680
recompense to his enemies. 
The Lord tells those who tremble

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00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,920
at his word not to worry if they
are hated. 

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00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,960
They're mocked, persecuted. 
Why not? 

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00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:08,200
Well, that's what He says in 
verse 6. 

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The Lord Himself is going to 
bring judgement and consequences

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00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:15,160
on those who hate them. 
And then notice how the Lord 

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00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,520
encourages those who tremble at 
His word in verses 7 through 9. 

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00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:27,280
It's this language about giving 
birth before having pain. 

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00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,720
What's that all about? 
This is a picture of the curse 

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00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:37,920
of Genesis 3 being removed, of 
being reversed. 

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00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:42,640
No longer pain in childbirth. 
The curse and the effects of the

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00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,920
fall will be removed. 
For those who tremble at the 

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00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,840
word of the Lord, pointing His 
people to that day when this 

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00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,360
will be the new reality for them
in the new heavens and the new 

304
00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:57,600
earth, there will be rejoicing 
over God's people. 

305
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,200
Those who tremble at the Word, 
verse 11, God's people will be 

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00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,720
satisfied and content as they 
drink deeply with delight from 

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00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:07,640
the glorious abundance of the 
Lord. 

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00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:12,840
He says, verse 12, The Lord will
extend peace to his people, 

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peace like a river. 
The Lord's people will be the 

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glory of the nations like 
overflowing streams. 

311
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,360
The Lord will care for His 
people as a mother loves and 

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00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,840
cares for and provides for her 
nursing child. 

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00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,280
Verse 13. 
As a mother comforts her child, 

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00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:38,520
so too the Lord will comfort His
people, such that in verse 14 

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00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,600
the Lord's people will have 
their hearts that rejoice and 

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00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,080
bones that flourish. 
The Lord's people will know the 

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00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,800
hand of the Lord. 
This is how the Lord responds to

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00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:54,160
those who worship Him humbly and
contritely, who tremble at His 

319
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,120
word. 
But what about the hypocritical 

320
00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,360
worshippers? 
How does the Lord respond to 

321
00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,000
them? 
Some hard words, verse 4. 

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00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaking about the hypocritical 
worshippers, He says I also will

323
00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,000
choose harsh treatment for them 
and bring their fears upon them.

324
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,920
Because when I called, no one 
answered, and when I spoke, they

325
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,880
did not listen, but they did 
what was evil in my eyes and 

326
00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,040
chose that in which I did not 
delight. 

327
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,920
Those who worship however they 
want without humility, without 

328
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:31,600
trembling at the word of the 
Lord. 

329
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,560
For those who don't listen and 
respond to the call of the Lord.

330
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,320
To those who don't listen to the
word of the Lord. 

331
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,880
For those who do evil in the 
sight of the Lord. 

332
00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:46,160
For those who choose to do what 
is not a delight to the Lord, He

333
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,840
says those he will choose harsh 
treatment. 

334
00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,160
He will bring their own worst 
fears upon them. 

335
00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,200
He goes on and explains a little
bit more in verses 15 through 

336
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:02,040
17. 
In a fire, in a whirlwind, the 

337
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,800
Lord will come in judgment on 
these hypocritical worshippers. 

338
00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:07,960
They He will render his anger 
and fury. 

339
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,600
He says He will rebuke with 
flames of fire those who 

340
00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,800
practice Pagan rituals, who get 
themselves ready and all dolled 

341
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,640
up to participate in Pagan 
rituals alongside of worshipping

342
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,960
the Lord. 
Those who practice these 

343
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,960
abominations, he says they will 
come to an end. 

344
00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,560
They will experience eternal 
judgment such that we see their 

345
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:36,560
gruesome in in verse 24. 
This is almost certainly an 

346
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,640
allusion to what was called the 
Valley of Hinnom in Isaiah's 

347
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,160
day. 
It was an area outside of the 

348
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,280
city of Jerusalem where the 
refuse and the and the waste of 

349
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,680
the city was dumped and then lit
on fire. 

350
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,440
It's referred to as Gehenna in 
the New Testament. 

351
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,200
Jesus used it as a picture of 
eternal judgement for the 

352
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,040
wicked. 
And on that happy note, we come 

353
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:09,040
to the end of Isaiah. 
But, you know, in some ways I 

354
00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,720
think it's fitting that Isaiah 
would finish his book with these

355
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:16,720
last two sentences one last 
time. 

356
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:25,120
There's a warning to put your 
faith in the Lord, to turn away 

357
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:29,200
from rebellion and wickedness 
and to embrace the Lord as 

358
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,320
Savior and Redeemer. 
To turn away from sin and to 

359
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,080
turn to the Lord in faith and 
love and obedience. 

360
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:44,720
Do we see how patient and 
gracious our God is as the call 

361
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,360
for faith and repentance goes 
out for all? 

362
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,400
One last time we're given that 
warning. 

363
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,600
Well, what do we do with all of 
this? 

364
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,160
4 questions for us to reflect on
today. 

365
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,680
The first is this What kind of 
worshipper are you? 

366
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,480
What kind of worshipper are you?
It's the obvious question coming

367
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,600
out of this text. 
Are are we those who worship the

368
00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:23,080
Lord from the heart, humbly, 
contritely, trembling at the 

369
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,720
word of the Lord, being in awe 
of His transcendence, being in 

370
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:33,640
awe of His glory and majesty? 
Or do we worship the Lord just 

371
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,840
by going through the motions, 
doing it the way that we want, 

372
00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:42,280
not seeking to hear and listen 
to the word of the Lord, 

373
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:47,320
trembling more at the word of 
our culture and the world, then 

374
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,200
trembling at the word of the 
Lord? 

375
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:54,240
What kind of worshipper are you?
Now it's certainly the case that

376
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,040
none of us worships the Lord 
perfectly as He deserves or as 

377
00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,920
He calls us to to. 
We all deal with levels of 

378
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,000
distraction. 
We have hearts that are cold and

379
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,920
apathetic at times. 
We we go through the motions 

380
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,920
sometimes, sometimes not even 
desiring or wanting to worship 

381
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:17,480
the Lord privately or 
corporately on this side of the 

382
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,800
second coming. 
We will always struggle with 

383
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:24,640
those things, but the point is 
there needs to be struggle. 

384
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,040
When our hearts are cold and 
apathetic, when we don't want to

385
00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,000
tremble at the word of the Lord,
we need to ask for His help. 

386
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:41,240
We should ask the Holy Spirit to
renew a desire and to warm our 

387
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:45,360
affections. 
We need to remind ourselves of 

388
00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:49,840
what actually happened at the 
cross, to remember the extent of

389
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,920
our sin and to see the extent of
God's love for us in sending His

390
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,800
own Son to be crucified on the 
cross. 

391
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:05,440
Fight and lean against the 
coldness of our hearts by the 

392
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,960
work of the Holy Spirit. 
Be moved to worship the Lord 

393
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:12,400
from our heart. 
What kind of worshippers are we?

394
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,760
Secondly, what does it mean to 
tremble at the word of the Lord?

395
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,960
What does that mean? 
As we talked about earlier, it's

396
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:27,520
not like being afraid because we
have a nightmare trembling 

397
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,520
before the Lord is apprehending 
His transcendence. 

398
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,600
It's thinking of His, his 
infiniteness in the midst of our

399
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,400
finiteness. 
It's it's thinking about the 

400
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:42,080
Lord's otherness, his His 
Majesty, His greatness. 

401
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,840
It's reflecting on all that. 
It means that He is the Creator 

402
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:52,280
and we are His creatures. 
It's meditating on the holiness 

403
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,840
of the Lord in the midst of our 
lack of holiness. 

404
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,800
It's being overwhelmed by the 
extent of the Lord's love and 

405
00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,080
His faithfulness and His 
goodness and His grace and His 

406
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:09,800
love to us. 
It's one of the reasons why the 

407
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,640
doors that you come and into and
go out of of our sanctuary are 

408
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,400
so large. 
As you open that door, as you go

409
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,360
through those doorways, you're 
supposed to remember the 

410
00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:25,720
transcendence of our God, to 
tremble at His Word, to be 

411
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:30,880
reminded of His Majesty. 
Then as we have a sense of the 

412
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:34,840
transcendence and the majesty 
and the holiness of our God, we 

413
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,440
are to be moved to greater 
humility and contrition, faith 

414
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,960
and repentance. 
Being moved to worship the Lord 

415
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,480
from our heart and all of the 
ways that He calls us to do 

416
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,400
that. 
Hearing His Word, listening to 

417
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,880
His Word, doing what it says, 
not doing what it says not to 

418
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,560
do. 
This is what it means to tremble

419
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,280
at the word of the Lord. 
It is to believe the Lord's 

420
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,360
word. 
It is to respect it and to 

421
00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:00,400
meditate upon it and to be 
changed by it. 

422
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,400
That's what it means to tremble 
at the Word of the Lord. 

423
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:14,360
Thirdly, how are you serving as 
God's messenger? 

424
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,480
If you look back in verses 18 
and 19, there's this interesting

425
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,560
phrase that the Lord uses. 
He says, so he's talking about 

426
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,720
the calling, that he's going to 
be calling the nations to 

427
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:26,760
himself. 
And he says, for I know their 

428
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,320
works and their thoughts, and 
the time is coming to gather all

429
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:33,680
nations and tongues, and they 
shall come and shall see my 

430
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,320
glory. 
And I will set a sign among 

431
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,880
them, and from them I will send 
survivors to the nations, to 

432
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,760
Tarshish, Pool and Lud who draw 
the bow to Tubal and to Javon, 

433
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:50,120
to the coast lands far away that
have not heard my fame or seen 

434
00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:52,960
my glory. 
And they shall declare my glory 

435
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,080
among the nations. 
The Lord is, is telling us that 

436
00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,480
he is going to call the nations 
to himself. 

437
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,160
And the way that he's going to 
do it, He says he will give them

438
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:05,680
a sign. 
This is almost certainly 

439
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:09,960
foreshadowing the cross. 
And then notice what he says. 

440
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,760
He he will send survivors to 
these nations. 

441
00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,400
These survivors will go to the 
nations and and tell the nations

442
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,320
of the fame of the glory of the 
Lord God Almighty, that these 

443
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,440
survivors that are sent to the 
nations will declare the glory 

444
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,680
of the Lord among the nations 
such that they will believe and 

445
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,520
come to the House of the Lord. 
So who are these survivors? 

446
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,080
They are the ones who survive 
because they don't face the 

447
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:43,760
judgement and wrath of God for 
being hypocritical worshippers. 

448
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,520
They are the ones who tremble 
before the word of the Lord, who

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00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:49,440
worship the Lord from their 
hearts. 

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00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:55,360
They are God's people. 
They are you, they are me. 

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00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:01,240
We are the ones who are called 
to go to the nations and declare

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00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,200
the glory of the Lord. 
We are the ones who are called 

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00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,600
to tell the nations about the 
sign that the Lord has provided 

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00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,800
in the cross of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

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00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,280
We are the ones called to 
proclaim the good news of the 

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00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:18,040
gospel and to tell the nations 
about the Lord Jesus. 

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00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,400
Now, as we say regularly, that 
doesn't mean that we're all 

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00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,560
called to go overseas to a 
different country, but it does 

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00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,840
perhaps for some. 
Maybe the Lord's calling you to 

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00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:35,520
That doesn't even mean we have 
to leave our communities in 

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00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:40,040
southeastern Minnesota. 
The nations are here among us, 

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00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,240
but it does mean that we should 
be praying for and then looking 

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00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,920
for opportunities of proclaiming
the gospel. 

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00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,880
You can do that in your homes. 
You can do that in your 

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00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,400
neighborhoods. 
You can do that in your 

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00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,200
vocations. 
You can do that while you're on 

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00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,880
vacation. 
Start with praying for the Lord 

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00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:05,640
to give you opportunities to 
declare the glory and the fame 

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00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:07,840
of the Lord God Almighty to the 
nations. 

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00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:12,800
Pray and ask for the Holy Spirit
to open your eyes to see those 

471
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,400
opportunities when they come as 
the Lord would provide you with 

472
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,960
an opportunity of talking to 
somebody about Jesus and 

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00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,120
proclaiming the glory of God. 
Give, ask the Holy Spirit to 

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00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:28,080
open your eyes to see when those
opportunities arise and then 

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00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:33,560
move into taking the 
opportunity, simply telling 

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00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,000
whoever it is about the hope 
that you have, the hope of 

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00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,240
eternal life, the hope of being 
able to glorify and enjoy the 

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00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:47,680
Lord forever because of Jesus. 
How are you serving as the 

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00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,440
Lord's messenger to the 
nation's? 

480
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:59,640
Lastly, have you meditated on 
the peace and the glory and the 

481
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,160
comfort and the joy that is 
yours? 

482
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:09,680
We just finished a Sunday school
class on the idea of biblical 

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00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,520
meditation. 
This this idea that we take time

484
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:19,400
to deeply think and and consider
and reflect on a portion of the 

485
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,600
Word of God. 
Not just for the purpose of 

486
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:26,160
gaining more knowledge and 
understanding, although that is 

487
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,520
important as well, but for the 
purpose of our hearts being 

488
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:37,120
warmed, of our affections being 
warmed, of our hearts being 

489
00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:42,560
changed, our lives being changed
such that we live more and more 

490
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:47,520
like God desires us to live more
and more like what the Word says

491
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,720
we are to live. 
That's what that's what biblical

492
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:54,960
meditation is. 
As we looked at verses 7 through

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00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,440
14, we saw all the ways that the
Lord addresses his people. 

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00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,360
We saw him speak of how He gives
his peace. 

495
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:08,800
He gives His glory, He gives His
comfort, He gives His joy, He 

496
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:14,520
gives them to His people, He 
gives them to us, and He works 

497
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,320
them into our hearts and our 
lives to the work of the Holy 

498
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:26,720
Spirit, because these are ours. 
Peace, comfort, joy, glory. 

499
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:35,200
We are at peace with God. 
He makes us the glory of the 

500
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,040
nations. 
He says we have comfort from our

501
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,320
Father. 
We have joy that is unspeakable 

502
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,480
that the world can never give 
us. 

503
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:49,200
Those are ours. 
Do you ever spend time 

504
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:55,840
meditating on those truths? 
Because if if we would spend 

505
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:59,880
time deeply thinking about these
glorious truths that are ours, 

506
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,600
given to us in the Word of God, 
then in moments of darkness and 

507
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:08,920
discouragement and doubts and 
fears and temptation, the Lord 

508
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:13,000
can use these wonderful truths 
from his words to encourage us 

509
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,560
and to strengthen our faith and 
to grow our resolve. 

510
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:23,680
The Holy Spirit can bring to 
mind our peace, the glory that 

511
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:28,040
is ours, our comfort and joy, 
and it can bring us out of the 

512
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,800
depths. 
It can remove our doubts. 

513
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:35,000
It can soothe our fears. 
It can enable us to overcome 

514
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:38,600
temptation. 
The Lord is telling us these 

515
00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:44,640
truths that are ours as a gift 
to us, to unleash the power of 

516
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,720
the gift that He has given us. 
We need to deeply meditate on 

517
00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:52,280
these truths from the Word 
because as we read in Hebrews 

518
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:56,640
chapter 4, the Word of God is 
living and active. 

519
00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:01,680
It is sharper than any 2 edged 
sword, piercing to the division 

520
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,480
of soul and of spirits, of 
joints and marrow. 

521
00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:13,400
Do we meditate? 
Do we think deeply about the 

522
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,280
peace and the glory and the 
comfort and the joy that are 

523
00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,440
ours? 
Let's pray together.