From Scarlet Sins to Snowy Robes: Finding Christ in Isaiah 1

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
By the way, before we start our message in Isaiah chapter 1, if you want to turn there now, I want to say that something that we should be cultivating, especially with children, but not just that, anyone that is living except alone, is family times of worship.
[00:00:18] We come together on Sunday morning, we worship, but this opportunity for you to worship with your family in your home is a precious thing, and it should not be just relegated to Sundays.
[00:00:29] Ideally, and you know, this is something that I strive as well and have fallen short and didn't grow up with, but ideally, we should be worshiping the Lord together every day in our homes, even if it's a brief time.
[00:00:43] But I think this is good practice for us.
[00:00:46] In God's providence we get to practice family worship at home and we thank God for all of you who are watching and those who made it out in the snow and even some came and were shoveling this morning.
[00:00:58] God bless them.
[00:01:00] Isaiah chapter 1
[00:01:03] Next week, Lord willing, we will return to our redemptive history.
[00:01:09] And we usually have the Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of the month, but since we knew that we're going to have a small crowd, we decided that communion would be better with more.
[00:01:19] So we'll look forward to that next week.
[00:01:22] And so we'll be back in 1 Corinthians next week.
[00:01:24] So today, my thoughts and minds was drawn
[00:01:30] Invertibly to Isaiah chapter 1, particularly verse 18, Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
[00:01:38] Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
[00:01:43] Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
[00:01:46] Well, you all know me and snow, but there is a biblical passage here that's at the heart of this chapter.
[00:01:54] I'd like to read the whole chapter, and then I'd like us to consider
[00:01:59] Not only what this was saying originally to Judah and Jerusalem and the Jews in about 700 BC, but what does this passage say to us as Americans, and particularly Christian Americans in 20, now 26?
[00:02:15] So as I read this passage, we recognize this was to the Jews of Jerusalem in 700 BC or so, but see if you can catch anything here that would be accurately speaking to Americans today, or to the church in America today.
[00:02:33] With that in mind, let's look at Isaiah chapter 1.
[00:02:38] The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
[00:02:48] Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
[00:02:58] The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib.
[00:03:03] But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
[00:03:08] Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors.
[00:03:15] They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, and are gone away backward.
[00:03:23] Why should you be stricken any more?
[00:03:25] Ye will revolt more and more.
[00:03:27] The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
[00:03:29] From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.
[00:03:37] They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
[00:03:42] Your country is desolate.
[00:03:43] Your cities are burned with fire.
[00:03:45] Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate.
[00:03:50] As overthrown by strangers.
[00:03:52] And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
[00:04:00] Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
[00:04:11] Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom.
[00:04:14] Give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
[00:04:17] To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord?
[00:04:21] I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
[00:04:30] When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts?
[00:04:37] Bring no more vain oblations.
[00:04:39] Incense is an abomination unto me, the new moons and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies I cannot away with.
[00:04:46] It is iniquity even the solemn meeting.
[00:04:49] Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth.
[00:04:53] They are a trouble unto me.
[00:04:54] I am weary to bear them.
[00:04:56] And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you.
[00:05:01] When ye make many prayers, I will not hear.
[00:05:03] Your hands are full of blood.
[00:05:06] Wash you and make you clean.
[00:05:09] Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes.
[00:05:12] Cease to do evil.
[00:05:13] Learn to do well.
[00:05:14] Seek judgment.
[00:05:15] Relieve the oppressed.
[00:05:16] Judge the fatherless.
[00:05:17] Plead for the widow.
[00:05:18] Come now, come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
[00:05:22] Though your sins be as scarlet,
[00:05:25] They shall be as white as snow.
[00:05:28] Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
[00:05:34] If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.
[00:05:37] But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
[00:05:44] How is the fateful city become an harlot?
[00:05:47] It was full of judgment, righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers.
[00:05:51] Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water.
[00:05:55] Thy princes are rebellious and companions of thieves.
[00:06:00] Everyone liveth gifts, that is to say, bribes, and followeth after rewards.
[00:06:06] They judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
[00:06:10] Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies, and I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away thy tin, and I will restore thy judges, as at first,
[00:06:29] and thy counselors as at the beginning afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness the fateful city Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness and the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed
[00:06:49] For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
[00:06:56] For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
[00:07:02] The strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
[00:07:12] May God add his blessing and understanding to the reading of this, his holy word.
[00:07:18] What we have I mentioned before, does this sound at all anything like the United States of America today?
[00:07:25] I think there's lots of parallels.
[00:07:27] What's going on here is Isaiah is prophesying
[00:07:31] To Judah.
[00:07:32] Judah is supposed to be the people of God.
[00:07:36] Jerusalem is there.
[00:07:37] They are church people, if you will.
[00:07:41] And yet God is bringing against them a great indictment, a great indictment of sin.
[00:07:46] You say, well, what's wrong?
[00:07:47] Have they stopped going to church?
[00:07:48] Oh, no, they're going to church.
[00:07:49] They're very religious.
[00:07:51] Well, did they stop tithing?
[00:07:52] No, they're tithing and they're giving gifts and offerings.
[00:07:56] Well, then what's wrong?
[00:07:57] Shouldn't God be pleased?
[00:07:59] God is not pleased.
[00:08:01] Why is he not pleased?
[00:08:03] Well, while there is religion, it is not true heart religion.
[00:08:09] Jesus talks about the Pharisees making vain the Word of God by their traditions.
[00:08:16] Jesus told the Samaritan woman who asked a theological question, should we worship here on this mountain, Mount Gerizim in Samaria, or on Mount Zion, as the Jews say in Jerusalem?
[00:08:29] Jesus says, you know, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the day is coming that true worshipers will worship our Lord, the Father, not on this mountain, neither in Jerusalem, but true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth.
[00:08:43] You can't con God.
[00:08:46] We can impress others by our regularity, or by our prayers, or by our Bible reading, or by our attendance, or whatever else.
[00:08:57] And all of these things are good and of themselves, but they do not impress God, especially if they are not done with the right heart.
[00:09:05] And that's what we have here in the first few verses.
[00:09:08] By the way, God is bringing an indictment, kind of like in a courtroom.
[00:09:12] Well, who are the jury?
[00:09:16] In this case, the jury, the heavens and the earth.
[00:09:19] Look at verse 2.
[00:09:20] Here, O heavens, God is speaking to the heavens, and here, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.
[00:09:27] I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
[00:09:30] He's calling heaven and earth to record against them.
[00:09:33] Now, Moses does that in Deuteronomy when the law is brought forth, but God does it.
[00:09:37] And why do you think heaven and earth?
[00:09:39] Well, for one thing, the heavens, the stars, and the earth always do exactly what God made them to do.
[00:09:47] Clockwork stars.
[00:09:48] They move exactly the way God set them in order, and the earth exactly the way.
[00:09:53] And so for a people that God has made the crown of his creation in his own image to rebel against him, what a horrible thing.
[00:10:03] If the heavens and the earth have a voice, they would gasp.
[00:10:09] Look at verse 3.
[00:10:11] So we talk to the inanimate, heavens and earth.
[00:10:14] Now we go to the animal world.
[00:10:17] Verse 3, God says, The ox knows his owner, and the ass, or the donkey, his master's crib.
[00:10:24] But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
[00:10:28] In other words, the ox and the donkey are smarter than you.
[00:10:32] The ox knows when his master's coming to feed.
[00:10:36] Oh, Alan Grunsky sometimes has cows up on the mountain and they see him coming and they start running over to where he's going to feed them.
[00:10:44] The ox knows.
[00:10:46] The donkey knows.
[00:10:47] But what he's saying here, the people who he made, who he blessed, who he created a nation, they don't even treat him as good as the ox and the donkey do, the one that feeds them.
[00:11:03] It says, my people do not know what the donkey and the ox knows.
[00:11:10] My people do not consider.
[00:11:13] That's a pretty low blow, if you will, but it's true.
[00:11:17] The ox and the donkey are smarter in this and more loyal than God's own people, than church people?
[00:11:24] Well, that's exactly what he's saying.
[00:11:26] Sinful nation, people laden with iniquities, a seed of evildoers.
[00:11:32] Interestingly, that word seed is singular, just like we talk about the word seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or seed of the woman in Genesis 3 that is going to destroy the seed of the serpent.
[00:11:45] That is the seed, the righteous seed.
[00:11:47] Here is an unrighteous seed, singular.
[00:11:50] A seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors.
[00:11:54] They have forsaken the Lord.
[00:11:55] They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger.
[00:11:59] They are gone away backward.
[00:12:01] You know, you've heard of biting the hand that feeds you.
[00:12:03] Well, this is kind of what God is accusing his people of.
[00:12:07] His people who created them.
[00:12:09] God created them.
[00:12:11] He's given them life.
[00:12:12] He's brought them out of bondage.
[00:12:14] He's taken away their enemies.
[00:12:16] He's given them a fruitful land.
[00:12:18] He's answered their prayers time and time again.
[00:12:20] He's raised up judges.
[00:12:21] He's raised up kings.
[00:12:22] He's raised up deliverers.
[00:12:24] He's brought healings.
[00:12:25] He's brought salvations.
[00:12:26] He's done mighty works.
[00:12:27] All of this, and yet these people basically really don't care.
[00:12:33] Yes, they go through the motions of religion, but their heart has turned away from God.
[00:12:39] They do not know, they do not consider.
[00:12:41] Have you ever thought, you know, who's responsible for your next breath?
[00:12:47] Aren't you glad you don't have to remember to breathe?
[00:12:50] Some of us are forgetful, right?
[00:12:54] How many of us, if it depended on us remembering, would remember to breathe every time?
[00:12:58] Some of us would die pretty quick, eh?
[00:13:02] Thank God we don't have to do that.
[00:13:04] He gives us the impulse to breathe.
[00:13:07] How about the heartbeat?
[00:13:08] Can you make your own heart beat?
[00:13:10] Even if you remember, does that make it beat?
[00:13:13] God, of course, gives us the heartbeat.
[00:13:15] God gives us everything that we have.
[00:13:18] And for us not to be mindful of Him is lower than the animals who are so mindful of the one that feeds them.
[00:13:26] And this is the picture, the indictment that God is bringing against His own people.
[00:13:31] notice in verse 5 through 9 he's talking about the fact that he has disciplined his people for their sins time and time again and generally speaking discipline brings correction but he's saying these people are so stubborn that as he has disciplined them they still are not corrected notice the language in verse 5 why should you be stricken anymore you will revolt more and more the whole head is sick the whole heart is faint
[00:14:00] In other words, discipline, because these people are under the Old Testament law, and if they break the law, God brings discipline, but they are not listening.
[00:14:08] They are not listening, and as a matter of fact, if you look at the next verse, their whole body is full of bruises.
[00:14:15] and of course there's a personification of the nation of Israel but there's no soundness in it and this of course if you see in verse 7 is talking about the situation of the country the Assyrians and others have come and burned a lot of their cities not Jerusalem yet that's why we have in verse 7 your country is desolate your cities are burned with fire your land strangers devour it in your presence and it's desolate as overthrown by strangers and so the situation is dire
[00:14:45] And if it was not for the mercy of the Lord, they would have been wiped away.
[00:14:49] Isn't that true about us?
[00:14:52] So many times we can look at it as a nation.
[00:14:55] The pilgrims, if it wasn't for the mercy of the Lord, none of them would have made it through that first winter where half of them died in Massachusetts.
[00:15:04] Or individually, if it wasn't for the Lord, maybe we wouldn't be alive today.
[00:15:08] As a nation, the United States of America, if the church had not survived, the remnant, the true church of God in this nation, I don't think we would have the oldest active constitution in the world.
[00:15:20] And that's what we see in verse 9.
[00:15:22] Except the Lord of hosts hath left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah, wiped off the face of the earth.
[00:15:34] And though God had mercy on Israel, on Jerusalem, by the way, mercy on Jerusalem and Judah, because it could very well be that at this time, it seems, as Isaiah is prophesying, the northern kingdom of Israel has already been taken captive for their sins in 722 BC.
[00:15:52] So as Isaiah is preaching to the Jews in Judah,
[00:15:57] Look, look at what could have happened.
[00:15:59] Look what's already happened.
[00:16:00] And look at what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah.
[00:16:02] He takes it a step further and says, you all are just as guilty as Sodom and Gomorrah.
[00:16:08] Church people just as guilty as Sodom and Gomorrah?
[00:16:11] That's what he says.
[00:16:12] Look at verse 10.
[00:16:13] Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom.
[00:16:16] Well, Sodom's gone.
[00:16:16] Who's he talking to?
[00:16:17] He's talking to the Jewish leaders.
[00:16:20] And give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
[00:16:25] Wow.
[00:16:26] This is quite an indictment.
[00:16:29] Calling his own people Sodom and Gomorrah.
[00:16:31] And then verse 11 through 15 highlights a great sin of the people.
[00:16:35] It talks about the fact that they are going through the motions.
[00:16:38] They're coming to church.
[00:16:40] They're singing songs unto the Lord or psalms.
[00:16:43] They're praying.
[00:16:44] They're giving offerings.
[00:16:46] And yet God is saying it doesn't make any difference.
[00:16:48] Why?
[00:16:49] Because their hearts are not in it.
[00:16:51] Notice verse 11, To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?
[00:16:57] So wait a minute, didn't God command sacrifice?
[00:16:59] He did.
[00:17:00] But the sacrifice has to be given with the right heart.
[00:17:04] It says, I'm full of the burnt offerings of rams.
[00:17:07] He says, I take no delight in the blood of bullocks or the lambs or goats.
[00:17:10] Verse 12, When you come to appear before me, who hath required this of you, your hand, to tread my courts?
[00:17:17] You know, we think, ah, we're in church today.
[00:17:19] God must be pleased with me.
[00:17:21] Not if your heart's not right.
[00:17:24] It's an interesting question.
[00:17:26] Is it better to come to church with a heart that's not right, but at least you came to church, or to stay home with a heart that's half and half?
[00:17:38] It's probably better to stay home.
[00:17:41] To come to church and to feign worship with a heart that's not right is an affront unto God.
[00:17:48] To stay home and at least not be hypocritical
[00:17:51] You're still not right with God, but you're not adding insult to injury by coming and acting like you're worshiping the Lord.
[00:18:00] That's what he's saying here.
[00:18:01] Notice verse 13.
[00:18:03] Bring no more vain oblations.
[00:18:06] Yeah, you should bring sacrifices.
[00:18:08] He's not contradicting his word, his law, but he's saying when you come and the heart is not right, it's vain.
[00:18:15] and he's saying even all of the things that i commanded you the sabbath the new moon celebration and assemblies he says i cannot away with it it is iniquity even the solemn meeting so to go through the motions of religion even if they're prescribed in scripture but with a heart that is not born again or a heart that is not right that is resentful of the lord that is not humble he's saying that is sin and it is a horrible thing he's saying this to his people
[00:18:46] Could this possibly be an issue for the church today?
[00:18:49] Notice verse 14, Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth.
[00:18:55] They are a trouble unto me.
[00:18:57] I am weary to bear them.
[00:19:01] and when you spread forth your hands oh lord please help us i will hide mine eyes from you yea when you make many prayers i will not hear for your hands are full of blood so when we cry out to god for whatever it is for deliverance for revival many people come in they pray for healing or they pray for financial help or whatever it may be why do you expect god to hear you when you're in need
[00:19:30] When you're not in need, you don't praise Him at all, or if you do, the heart is not right.
[00:19:37] So God says, I will hide mine eyes from you.
[00:19:41] Psalm 50 gives us a picture here of what's going on.
[00:19:44] I think it would be good to take a look.
[00:19:46] In Psalm chapter 50,
[00:19:48] We see basically this same issue brought up.
[00:19:52] Verse 1, The mighty God, even the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
[00:19:59] Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
[00:20:03] Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.
[00:20:06] A fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
[00:20:10] He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
[00:20:15] Hey, that's what it already said in Isaiah, remember?
[00:20:17] He's calling the heavens and earth to judgment against his people.
[00:20:20] Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice, and the heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God is judge himself.
[00:20:29] Selah.
[00:20:30] Hear, O my people, and I will speak.
[00:20:32] O Israel, I will testify against thee.
[00:20:34] I am God, even thy God.
[00:20:36] I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings to have been continually before me.
[00:20:42] I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds,
[00:20:46] For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
[00:20:52] I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
[00:20:56] God says, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee.
[00:21:02] For the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.
[00:21:05] Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
[00:21:08] Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High.
[00:21:13] You notice?
[00:21:14] So he's saying, yes, I'm not saying don't bring the animal sacrifices, but the real sacrifices are thanksgiving.
[00:21:20] That's why, you know, we bring the sacrifice of praise unto the house of the Lord.
[00:21:26] The sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the sacrifice of joy.
[00:21:31] These are the things that God looks for.
[00:21:33] A contrite heart, a heart filled with praise and thanksgiving and joy.
[00:21:38] And if you bring animal sacrifices, we don't do that anymore but in the Old Testament, without praise and thanksgiving and joy, then they are not acceptable unto the Lord.
[00:21:47] Now we are to come to the Lord in the New Testament with thanksgiving, praise, and joy for the ultimate sacrifice that was once and for all made for us, Christ Jesus, on the cross 2,000 years ago.
[00:22:02] And so the same danger for the Old Testament saint is for the New, that we do not come in the right heart or spirit of thanksgiving for what God has, is, and will do for us, in us, and through us for his glory.
[00:22:19] Notice if we continue reading here in Psalm 50 verse 14, Offer unto God thanksgiving, pay thy vows unto the Most High,
[00:22:28] And call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
[00:22:34] See, that's different from before.
[00:22:35] He says, if you're coming in vanity, if you're coming with the heart not right, you pray, I'll hide my eyes.
[00:22:42] I'm not going to answer.
[00:22:44] But if you come with the right heart, as we see in verse 14, offer unto God thanksgiving, pay thy vows in the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, thou shalt glorify me.
[00:22:55] But unto the wicked God saith, notice, and what wicked?
[00:22:59] The wicked who are coming to church.
[00:23:01] the wicked who are going through the motions of religion look in verse 16 but unto the wicked god saith why hast thou to do to declare my statutes what do you have to do why are you talking about the word of god or that thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction and casteth my words behind thee
[00:23:23] When thou sawest a thief, when thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers, thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
[00:23:31] Thou sittest, and speakest against thy brethren, and slanderest thine own mother's son.
[00:23:35] These things hast thou done, and I kept silence.
[00:23:39] These are people coming to church, smiling, nodding, Amen, Pastor, Amen, and yet I've seen these things, but I've kept my silence.
[00:23:47] Thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thyself.
[00:23:51] People try to con God.
[00:23:52] It's amazing.
[00:23:54] You think I don't know?
[00:23:55] Not me, God.
[00:23:57] You think I don't know what's in your mind, what's in your heart?
[00:24:01] Just think for a moment.
[00:24:03] If every thought that came to your mind could be compiled in a movie and we play it up here on Sunday for everybody to watch, how would that work?
[00:24:13] Would you all be excited about that?
[00:24:14] Every thought that comes to my mind, I don't know that I'd be excited.
[00:24:20] Lord, have mercy.
[00:24:21] He says, you thought I was altogether like yourself, but I will reprove thee, and I will set these things in order before your eyes.
[00:24:30] That's the video.
[00:24:32] I don't know that he needs to use video, God has other ways.
[00:24:37] Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
[00:24:43] Whosoever offereth praise, really heart praise, glorifieth me.
[00:24:51] To him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.
[00:24:58] This seems to go hand in hand with Isaiah chapter 1.
[00:25:02] Another thought on this, or a parallel, would be in Luke chapter 18.
[00:25:06] We were just going through it the other day.
[00:25:08] Couldn't find the passage for some reason.
[00:25:10] Brother Ron Foley helped me.
[00:25:12] Luke chapter 18, the Pharisee and the tax collector, I've quoted it or referred to it so many times.
[00:25:18] but Luke 18 verse 9 remember how God looks at worship he looks at the heart right not the outward appearance Jesus spake this parable Luke 18 verse 9 unto certain which trusted themselves that they were righteous and despised others two men went up into the temple to pray the one a Pharisee the other a Republican the Pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself God
[00:25:43] I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector over here, this publican.
[00:25:54] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess, but the publican
[00:26:03] Standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
[00:26:15] Which one did God justify, if you will?
[00:26:19] Which one did God receive the prayer from?
[00:26:22] Verse 14, Jesus says, I tell you, this man, that is, the tax collector, the publican, went down to his house justified rather than the other, the Pharisee.
[00:26:31] For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
[00:26:36] So the church, whatever, pastor, Bible study teacher, you name it, whatever, whatever, the elder, the deacon, whoever, the church person,
[00:26:47] does not get justified in this case.
[00:26:49] Why?
[00:26:50] Because he is proud.
[00:26:51] Because he is not humble.
[00:26:53] But the one, the sorry sinner, who knows he's a sorry sinner, and is truly repentant, and truly has a contrite heart, he is the one that gets saved.
[00:27:03] Interestingly enough, on our Wednesday night study, it's an excellent study, the Behold Your God series, I'll just show you this briefly.
[00:27:10] If you turn to Matthew 5,
[00:27:13] He, Dr. John Snyder, as he's teaching about the attributes of God, says that most people don't see the Gospel and the Beatitudes, but he says that's where you should start.
[00:27:24] And he's got a great point real quickly in Matthew 5.
[00:27:28] If you want to share the Gospel with people, first of all, verse 3, "'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"
[00:27:34] If they don't know that they're poor in spirit, if they don't know that they cannot save themselves, if they don't know that they're so poor that they need a savior, then they're not really going to be looking to receive one.
[00:27:46] If they truly are poor in spirit, like the tax collector, God be merciful to me, a sinner.
[00:27:51] He knows he has nothing to offer.
[00:27:53] Then, verse 4 of Matthew 5, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
[00:27:57] Mourn how?
[00:27:58] Mourn over their sin.
[00:28:00] Mourn over their sinful condition, that they cannot save themselves.
[00:28:04] And if they are in such a place, verse 5, they will be meek.
[00:28:09] Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
[00:28:11] They will be meek towards others because they say, you know, I don't deserve something.
[00:28:15] Not like the Pharisee.
[00:28:16] He's not meek.
[00:28:17] Ha!
[00:28:18] Look at me, mighty Pharisee, this sorry tax collector.
[00:28:21] Ha!
[00:28:21] He's even, you know, boasting before God.
[00:28:23] No, no.
[00:28:24] Blessed are the meek because we understand our position.
[00:28:27] Completely helpless before the infinite, perfect, holy, righteous God, the judge of the heavens and the earth.
[00:28:33] And so then, and only then, will we be blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
[00:28:44] You're not hungry until you're first poor, until you understand and you're meek, until you mourn over your sin, until you're meek and you understand that you cannot be saved without Christ.
[00:28:55] And so true salvation comes to those who are hungry.
[00:28:59] Those who think they're fine, they come to church, they go through the motions, they read their Bible, they pray, I'm good to go, I got my ticket punched, when the Lord comes back or when I die, I'll be in heaven, no problem.
[00:29:10] This is a different story.
[00:29:11] Now, hunger and thirst for righteousness.
[00:29:13] So this is not just, as John Snyder says in the Behold Your God series, a great evangelistic passage, but it is also a passage that shows what is lacking in Isaiah's day, and I'm really concerned what is lacking overall in the church in America in 2026.
[00:29:33] I wish I could say, of course we're an exception, we're just preaching this about other people.
[00:29:39] But probably other people who aren't here today, right?
[00:29:45] This could be any of us.
[00:29:47] Beware.
[00:29:48] Well, let's return back to our passage, Isaiah chapter 1.
[00:29:51] Now, there is an invitation.
[00:29:53] Now God gives an invitation.
[00:29:54] It sounds like it's as bad as it can possibly get, but God gives an invitation to his people to repent, beginning in verse 16 of Isaiah chapter 1.
[00:30:04] And he says this,
[00:30:06] Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
[00:30:19] Well, that sounds good.
[00:30:20] The problem is, if you're poor in spirit, you say, how?
[00:30:24] Yes, I want to do this, but can we wash ourselves clean before God?
[00:30:29] You know, the Jews take off your shoes and wash your feet and wash your hands and then you can go in the holy place.
[00:30:36] The Muslims still today, they do this business.
[00:30:38] You know, they have this procedure.
[00:30:40] It comes from the Jews in the Old Testament.
[00:30:42] Before they go in on Friday and they have their worship service, if you will, they wash their hands and feet.
[00:30:47] They say, I've got to make myself clean before God.
[00:30:50] How many of you know you can't be washed, your sins can't be washed away with water alone, but we need the blood of Jesus Christ.
[00:30:57] And so, wash, that sounds good.
[00:31:00] Verse 17, learn to do well, seek judgment, that sounds good.
[00:31:04] Verse 18, Jesus says, or God says, come now and let us reason together.
[00:31:09] Reason is of the Lord.
[00:31:11] They say, well, we don't need to use our minds.
[00:31:12] No, God created our minds.
[00:31:14] He created logic.
[00:31:15] He created reason.
[00:31:16] Logic and reason is defined by God and his person.
[00:31:19] He is what is ultimately logical and reasonable, even though sinful, wicked man would try to use reason against him.
[00:31:27] But that is a satanic perversion of reason.
[00:31:30] And so God is reason incarnate.
[00:31:33] Come now and let us reason together.
[00:31:35] Sayeth the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, red, yeah?
[00:31:39] They shall be as white as snow.
[00:31:42] Look out the windows.
[00:31:43] They're open for you to see today.
[00:31:45] Rather white, rather bright, at least when the snow's fresh.
[00:31:50] Those of you at home, you see that beautiful snow, this picture of, no matter what you say, ah, but you don't know what I've done.
[00:31:56] God can do it.
[00:31:57] God can take that
[00:31:59] Red, scarlet, horribly stained hands.
[00:32:05] Your hands are stained with blood, full of blood.
[00:32:08] Verse 15, I will not hear.
[00:32:10] He can cleanse them, wash them clean, whiter than snow.
[00:32:13] How?
[00:32:14] How?
[00:32:15] Of course, you know the answer.
[00:32:17] His name is Jesus.
[00:32:18] Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
[00:32:20] Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
[00:32:24] If ye be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
[00:32:27] But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
[00:32:32] So here is this wonderful invitation, but as we mentioned, how?
[00:32:38] It's like, you know, telling someone to pull himself up by his own bootstraps, you know?
[00:32:44] You know, we can't do it.
[00:32:45] We need help.
[00:32:46] There's no way we can do it.
[00:32:47] Not just help.
[00:32:48] We need life given to the dead.
[00:32:51] Because we are dead in our sins.
[00:32:53] How can a dead man, you know, tell a dead man, get up!
[00:32:56] And come up here and shake the pastor's hand or get up and believe in me.
[00:33:01] You know, dead men are not able to believe, not able to do anything.
[00:33:05] But by God's grace, he gives us life when we believe in his son, Christ Jesus.
[00:33:10] And that's borne out by this passage I want to show you.
[00:33:13] In verse 18 of chapter 1, notice it says,
[00:33:19] Again, come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
[00:33:24] The question again is how?
[00:33:26] Well, the answer here is in this text.
[00:33:28] In verse 25, he talks about in the future, if in fact you turn back to me, what will he do?
[00:33:36] Verse 25, I will turn my hand upon thee and purely purge away thy dross.
[00:33:42] and take away thy ten, the sins, which are here shown as a metaphor of impurities in precious metals.
[00:33:50] I will take all of that away.
[00:33:52] How is God going to do that?
[00:33:54] Well, there's a hint in the last book in the Old Testament, Malachi, chapter 3.
[00:34:00] It says in verses 1 through 6, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.
[00:34:07] That's John the Baptist.
[00:34:09] And the Lord, whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in.
[00:34:17] Behold, he shall come save the Lord of hosts.
[00:34:20] And doesn't it say, you know, the Lord's coming.
[00:34:22] Isn't that wonderful?
[00:34:23] He gets us.
[00:34:23] It's going to be a time when we just lay back and, you know, have another beer and hang out with Jesus.
[00:34:29] What a wonderful thing.
[00:34:30] Let's have a rock band and a party and let's celebrate.
[00:34:33] This is not the picture we have of Jesus coming.
[00:34:35] What is Jesus coming to do?
[00:34:38] Verse 2, But who may abide the day of his coming?
[00:34:42] It doesn't say when he comes.
[00:34:44] Now, of course, we know that there is good news to all people.
[00:34:49] The shepherds are excited.
[00:34:50] Mary is excited.
[00:34:52] Zacharias is excited.
[00:34:53] John the Baptist is excited.
[00:34:55] But for people in general,
[00:34:57] The Lord's coming, yes, the Messiah's coming is good for salvation, but we understand that this salvation, there is pain involved.
[00:35:06] And how is that pain?
[00:35:07] Well, ultimately, that pain, for those of us who believe, is born by Christ on the cross.
[00:35:13] But the process of getting there can be painful to us.
[00:35:17] And for those who will not receive Christ, it is ultimately painful for eternity.
[00:35:23] Let's take a look here in verse 2. Who may abide the day of his coming?
[00:35:26] Who shall stand when he appears?
[00:35:29] For he is like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap.
[00:35:34] He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver.
[00:35:43] Why?
[00:35:44] that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness that's what they're not doing in isaiah's day why because the heart's not right why because there is sin there is hypocrisy but when christ comes he's going to purge that he's going to cleanse that of those who are born again those who are going to be kingdom priests the sons of levi if you will in the new testament we're all called to be priests a royal priesthood a chosen generation
[00:36:08] Why?
[00:36:08] So that we may worship Him in spirit and in truth, that we may, as it says here in Malachi chapter 3 verse 3, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
[00:36:24] Praise God.
[00:36:25] How?
[00:36:26] Through Christ.
[00:36:27] Notice if you turn back to Isaiah chapter 1, we find more of the answer of this dilemma to hypocrisy in the people of God, to that which holds back true worship unto God and even holds back, as we saw, answer to prayers.
[00:36:43] We're praying for revival.
[00:36:46] Well, why would God revive us if our church has a lot of hypocritical worship?
[00:36:51] If he is looking at our worship sometimes as iniquity, if our hearts are not right, and the answer continues in verse 27 of chapter 1, Zion shall be redeemed.
[00:37:03] How?
[00:37:04] Zion here is ultimately looking at the church.
[00:37:07] Yes, the people of God, whether the Jews of this day, but ultimately Jews and whoever will receive Jesus.
[00:37:13] Zion.
[00:37:14] Remember, we were marching to Zion last week?
[00:37:15] We're marching to Zion.
[00:37:18] Beautiful.
[00:37:19] Ultimately, Zion is the new Jerusalem that's coming down, and the church prefigures that, and so Zion shall be redeemed.
[00:37:26] How?
[00:37:27] With judgment.
[00:37:28] That word mishpat in the Hebrew is also justice.
[00:37:32] Zion shall be redeemed with justice or judgment.
[00:37:35] And her converts, those who come back, that is the remnant.
[00:37:39] There was a remnant.
[00:37:40] You see, in Isaiah's day, he prophesies a lot about a coming judgment, which is coming ultimately from Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.
[00:37:47] And the people are destroyed and many are taken to exile.
[00:37:50] But you know, after 70 years of exile, a remnant comes back.
[00:37:55] And that is also a picture of the remnant that is going to be saved.
[00:37:58] They asked Jesus, are there many that be saved?
[00:38:00] He says, no, straight is the gate and narrow is the way.
[00:38:03] Few there be that enter into everlasting life.
[00:38:06] And so this is the picture of the remnant.
[00:38:08] How are they saved?
[00:38:09] Zion shall be redeemed with judgment or justice and her converts with righteousness.
[00:38:14] Justice or judgment and righteousness.
[00:38:19] But before we end, let's try to sum up the answer here before us and hopefully it will be a blessing to each of us.
[00:38:27] The answer is here in chapter 1 to the problems that are presented.
[00:38:31] First of all, in chapter 1, notice again verse 3, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass, or the donkey, his master's crib.
[00:38:40] This old English language, beautiful.
[00:38:43] The word crib there could also be translated what?
[00:38:45] Anybody have another translation?
[00:38:48] I think Ron might.
[00:38:50] Those of you at home, I know some of you do.
[00:38:53] That word crib could also be translated manger.
[00:38:57] Interesting.
[00:38:58] Manger.
[00:38:59] Manger.
[00:39:00] Where have I heard that before?
[00:39:02] Away in a manger.
[00:39:05] Ah, yeah.
[00:39:06] Jesus in a manger?
[00:39:07] Interesting.
[00:39:08] Notice, it says, The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's manger.
[00:39:16] But Israel doth not know.
[00:39:19] The people don't consider.
[00:39:21] What's the answer to this problem of sin?
[00:39:24] Lying in a manger.
[00:39:26] The donkey knows.
[00:39:27] How does the donkey know?
[00:39:28] Wasn't it a donkey that brought Mary to the manger to give birth from Nazareth to Bethlehem?
[00:39:37] And wasn't it a donkey that brought Jesus in to Jerusalem on that day of the feast, what we call now Palm Sunday?
[00:39:54] Praise the Lord.
[00:39:55] The donkey knows, but the people don't know.
[00:39:56] What do they need to know?
[00:39:57] The Messiah's coming.
[00:39:59] His name is Jesus.
[00:40:00] He'll be lying in a manger, and we have to trust and feed on Him.
[00:40:03] These animal sacrifices that we're giving and the heart's not right will never take away sin, but one is coming who we will feed upon
[00:40:12] In faith, who alone can cleanse us from within so that we can offer the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the sacrifice of joy.
[00:40:23] The answer is here in the text.
[00:40:25] We find it in Isaiah 1.3.
[00:40:28] Also, we find it in Isaiah 1.14.
[00:40:31] This little boy that is born in a manger, we know, of course, is Jesus, the God-man.
[00:40:36] Look at verse 14.
[00:40:37] God, who is speaking here, we know God is triune, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[00:40:42] And so God says in verse 14, Your new moons and your appointed feasts, this is to say, your religious celebrations that I have appointed that you do without the right heart.
[00:40:55] He says, look, my soul hates them.
[00:40:59] They are a trouble unto me.
[00:41:01] I am weary to bear them.
[00:41:04] Why?
[00:41:04] Because these are sins.
[00:41:06] These are the iniquities of the people.
[00:41:08] And God says, I'm weary to bear them.
[00:41:10] Does God get tired?
[00:41:12] No, but Jesus did.
[00:41:14] And he is the God-man.
[00:41:16] And did he bear our sins, if you will, when he carried the old rugged cross and our sins were nailed to that cross?
[00:41:27] He says, your sins I am weary of.
[00:41:31] To bear them.
[00:41:33] There's the answer.
[00:41:35] The same one who's born in the manger that the donkey knows and God's people don't know.
[00:41:39] Remember, God's people didn't recognize Jesus when he came as the Messiah.
[00:41:44] And now, verse 14, that same child who's now grown up is going to bear your sins if you'll believe on him.
[00:41:53] The cross.
[00:41:55] Verse 14.
[00:41:56] And then there is another thought here.
[00:42:00] In Isaiah chapter 5, a little bit later on, you find that the parable of the vineyard is shared for Israel.
[00:42:07] And that's a similar parable to what Jesus uses when he preaches.
[00:42:11] Basically, God says, look, Israel or Judah, you're my vineyard.
[00:42:15] And I've cleaned you out, I've put a hedge, I've put a wine vat, I've given everything so that there could be good grapes for good wine.
[00:42:24] But when I came to see what kind of fruit is produced, you produce wild grapes.
[00:42:30] That's talking about the sins of the people, as opposed to good grapes, which God was looking for, a crop from his people, if you will.
[00:42:38] And what are the good grapes?
[00:42:39] It's there in Isaiah chapter 5.
[00:42:42] You see just one verse, verse 7.
[00:42:46] For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant.
[00:42:52] And he looked, he's looking for good fruit.
[00:42:55] What is the good fruit he's looking for?
[00:42:58] For judgment.
[00:42:59] but behold oppression for righteousness but behold a cry judgment and righteousness justice and righteousness that's what he's looking for but he doesn't find it instead he finds oppression and a cry but now turn back to Isaiah chapter 1 how is God going to redeem Israel and Judah chapter 1 verse 27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and their converts with righteousness
[00:43:28] Judgment, righteousness.
[00:43:30] Judgment, righteousness.
[00:43:32] But God is looking to his people to produce judgment and righteousness and how are they doing?
[00:43:37] It never comes.
[00:43:39] But then how is God going to redeem them with judgment and righteousness if there is no judgment and righteousness?
[00:43:46] Ah, it's that one in the manger that the donkey knows but the people don't.
[00:43:51] It's that one who is weary to bear the sins of the people.
[00:43:57] It's that one who we find in Romans chapter 3, if you turn there briefly.
[00:44:07] Paul speaks of what Christ has done what God has done for us in Christ on the cross just a few verses being in Romans chapter 3 verse 23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God if you notice in Romans 3 and then he continues on to talk about
[00:44:28] Yes, that's the predicament, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but what is the solution?
[00:44:34] Well, it comes in the next few verses and it's explained what God does for us in Christ.
[00:44:40] It says in Romans 3, 23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace, the redemption of His in Christ Jesus.
[00:44:55] And what is this redemption?
[00:44:57] whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare what?
[00:45:02] His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God.
[00:45:07] Notice, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, the righteousness of God, that he must be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
[00:45:18] What are the two fruits that God is looking for in his people and can't find?
[00:45:22] Righteousness and justice.
[00:45:26] How is God going to redeem Zion according to Isaiah 1.27?
[00:45:30] Through righteousness and justice.
[00:45:33] But the people can't give it.
[00:45:34] How is he going to get it?
[00:45:35] Verse 26 of Romans 3, God through Jesus Christ does what?
[00:45:40] To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
[00:45:50] The righteousness and justice or judgment
[00:45:53] that God needs, if you will, to redeem his people, come through Jesus Christ.
[00:46:00] That is the fruit that God is looking for.
[00:46:02] And that is why, as we look to Communion next Sunday at the Lord's Supper, we remember that Jesus, the night that he was betrayed, you know, some of our brothers in our Presbytery, when they have Communion, they have wine.
[00:46:19] And they don't have grape juice, they have wine, fermented wine.
[00:46:23] We have grape juice, and obviously we're right.
[00:46:26] But anyways, the point that I want to make here is, you know, we don't judge our brothers, but there's this intramural debate.
[00:46:35] What is more accurate, to have fermented wine or to have grape juice?
[00:46:41] Well, what does the Bible say?
[00:46:43] Well, the Bible does use the term wine many times, but we don't know because it could be anything from unfermented grape juice just squeezed into a cup.
[00:46:55] The same word could be used for the strongest fermented wine they can make.
[00:46:59] So that doesn't answer the question.
[00:47:01] But the real answer is found in what Jesus calls that drink that they drunk that night.
[00:47:08] Does he call it grape juice or wine?
[00:47:10] Do you remember?
[00:47:12] Well, if you look in Luke chapter 22, verse 14, you'll see the answer.
[00:47:18] Luke 22 verse 14, And when the hour was come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him, and he said unto them, With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
[00:47:28] For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until I be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
[00:47:34] And he took the cup, this is what's in the cup, remember, he took the cup and gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves.
[00:47:42] For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine,
[00:47:47] until the kingdom of God shall come.
[00:47:50] Notice he doesn't call it wine, he doesn't call it grape juice.
[00:47:53] If you look at all of the Gospel accounts, not in one of them does he say wine or grape juice.
[00:47:57] He always calls what's in that cup the fruit of the vine.
[00:48:02] Now why does he do that?
[00:48:07] What is the fruit that God is looking for from his vineyard?
[00:48:11] Righteousness and justice or judgment.
[00:48:14] Could his people give it?
[00:48:16] No, never.
[00:48:17] Where is he going to get it from?
[00:48:18] Romans 3, Jesus.
[00:48:21] When does he get the fruit of the vine?
[00:48:25] Notice, if you keep reading in Luke chapter 22, he says this fruit of the vine.
[00:48:38] Verse 18, For I say unto you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come.
[00:48:46] Look at verse 20, Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you.
[00:48:55] It's only in Christ's death and shedding of his blood that the fruit of the vine, the vineyard, which is righteousness and judgment, can come.
[00:49:06] because he alone is perfectly righteous and he alone brings forth pure judgment and justice and so that's why it's called the fruit of the vine he himself gave a parable about the fruit of the vine and he says you all haven't given it and so the nation will be taken away from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof and that's whoever believes in Christ because the only way we can truly give to God righteousness and judgment is through Jesus Christ who alone brings righteousness and judgment through his death
[00:49:35] Through the fruit of the vine that we drink, which is a picture of his blood, in which we find righteousness and judgment met together in Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:49:49] Now with that in mind, before we end, let's turn back to our text, Isaiah chapter 1, at least once more.
[00:49:56] And we find that there is a little bit more that we need to see before we end.
[00:50:02] Isaiah chapter 1, verse 18 again.
[00:50:05] Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
[00:50:09] Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.
[00:50:13] Well, the answer is already given now through Jesus Christ.
[00:50:16] He is the one who can do this, and He alone.
[00:50:20] Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
[00:50:24] Praise the Lord.
[00:50:25] Praise the Lord.
[00:50:26] So our sins, scarlet, crimson, from God, before God's eyes, and yet if we're born again, He looks at us,
[00:50:35] Why does the snow?
[00:50:38] That's good, Pastor Joseph.
[00:50:39] Can we go home now?
[00:50:40] Well, or if you're already home, can we be done now?
[00:50:43] Not quite.
[00:50:44] Not quite.
[00:50:45] Why does he do this?
[00:50:47] Well, for us to be saved, Pastor Joseph, it's obvious.
[00:50:51] To be saved from what?
[00:50:52] Well, from damnation.
[00:50:54] To be saved to what?
[00:50:55] Well, heaven.
[00:50:56] But now, before we leave, to be saved for what?
[00:51:01] Here's the answer in Revelation chapter 7 and that's where we end our message today.
[00:51:07] Revelation chapter 7 beginning in verse 9.
[00:51:18] After this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb.
[00:51:30] Clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb.
[00:51:44] And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders, and the four beasts fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be unto our God forever and ever.
[00:52:06] Amen.
[00:52:08] And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
[00:52:16] Whence are they, or from where have they come?
[00:52:21] And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.
[00:52:24] And he said to me, These are they which came out of a great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
[00:52:37] Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
[00:52:50] And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
[00:52:54] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat.
[00:53:01] For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.
[00:53:10] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
[00:53:16] That's the picture of you and me.
[00:53:19] You can say, well, that's just for those people at the very end of time, Pastor Joseph, that come out of the tribulation.
[00:53:24] Sure.
[00:53:25] How about now?
[00:53:26] Is there any tribulation now?
[00:53:28] I believe this is for every true believer.
[00:53:31] Every true believer comes out of tribulation.
[00:53:34] Every true believer is clothed in a white robe.
[00:53:38] Every true believer, his sins that were his scarlet are now become white as snow.
[00:53:42] For what purpose?
[00:53:44] Notice.
[00:53:45] therefore what's the therefore therefore therefore what god has done for us verse 15 are they before the throne of god doing what serving him day and night in his temple and he that sitteth on the throne shall be all among that's what we need to begin with right worship that god receives we can now give worship day and night in his temple say wait a minute this is only in in in heaven pastor joseph well there's no temple in heaven
[00:54:14] but there's a temple now if you're born again you're the temple of God and you're to worship him in his temple day and night before his throne in righteousness and judgment and holiness because you've been washed in the blood of the lamb you are now cleansed to worship him aright with a right heart and a right spirit and a right mind and he is pleased not just to receive that worship but notice it says in the same verse and he that sitteth on the throne
[00:54:44] shall dwell among them.
[00:54:48] And if you truly believe on the Lord, He and His Father come and make their abode in our hearts, that when we worship Him, our worship is pleasing unto the Lord.
[00:55:00] The sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the sacrifice of joy.
[00:55:05] What a wonderful worship, what a wonderful salvation we're called to, and even a relationship.
[00:55:12] That praise and that true worship doesn't just start in heaven.
[00:55:16] If you're born again, it can be here, it can be now.
[00:55:19] And as Christ is in us and in our midst, he is hearing our prayers, he is moving on us by his Holy Spirit that we pray aright and that our praises are acceptable to him at the right hand of his Father.
[00:55:32] And it is such a beautiful thing that we who once hungered and thirsted for righteousness, there is a point at which when we see him face to face, we will hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sun light on them or any heat,
[00:55:46] for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of water
[00:55:54] and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
[00:55:57] That's our destination, Saints.
[00:55:59] And in the meantime, if we've been born again, if we've been cleansed, it's not just so that we'll be ready to go to heaven when that trumpet sounds, but it's so that we can begin to worship Him in spirit and in truth, in righteousness and holiness all the days of our life, and to bring unto Him sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, joy that is acceptable in His sight.
[00:56:20] And when we do, and as we do,
[00:56:22] We can believe that he hears us from on high, he answers our prayers, he's pleased to dwell in our midst, and he will be glorified in redeeming us.
[00:56:34] Redeeming Zion through judgment, through righteousness that was brought by Christ's death for you and me.
[00:56:44] The same lamb that's at the midst of the throne who will wipe away every tear from my eyes is the same lamb
[00:56:52] that died on the cross and shed his blood to give the fruit that God was looking for that we could never give, but he gave in his very lifeblood, righteousness, judgment.
[00:57:05] If we got it straight and what we deserve, none of us would go to heaven.
[00:57:10] That's why he took our punishment upon himself.
[00:57:14] Separation from God.
[00:57:15] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
[00:57:18] So that we might be brought together and cleave unto our husband and our maker, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world, who loved us and gave himself for us, that he might now be in us who believe, that we might worship him in righteousness, in judgment, in holiness, all the days of our lives.
[00:57:44] To him be glory, honor, and praise, the one who alone can take our scarlet sin and make them whiter than snow.
[00:57:53] Sounds like a song.
[00:57:55] Whiter than snow, Brother John.
[00:57:57] Praise the Lord.
[00:57:58] We find in our hymnals, number 109, Whiter Than Snow.
[00:58:05] Brother John, it's a familiar hymn, but if you could play it through once as we stand, then we'll sing number 109, Whiter Than Snow.
[00:58:18] Let's stand everyone.