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Sermons PREACHED BY JOHN GAINES |
Isaiah:
1. The name "Isaiah" means "God saves." Certainly the book is about redemption.
2. In fact, the book of Isaiah could be considered a miniature Bible.
a. There are 66 books in the Bible. The Bible is divided into two sections, Old and New Testaments. The Old has 39 books and the New 27.
b. Isaiah is divided into two main parts and the first has 39 chapters and the second 27.
c. The opening chapter of the second part of Isaiah, Chapter 40, describes the ministry of John the Baptizer, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Verse 3 states "A voice of one calling in the desert prepare the way for the Lord."
d. The closing chapter of Isaiah, chapter 66, reads much like the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. In 66:22 it speaks of a new heavens and earth that God would make. But also Isaiah 66 describes hell in its last verse. Look at Isaiah 66:24 (NKJV) "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
e. So Isaiah is like a miniature Bible in its construction.
3. Quickly, the opening verse of the book gives a a very brief introduction to Isaiah.
a. Isaiah 1:1 (NKJV) 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.
(1) Isaiah carried on his ministry during the lives of four kings.
(2) Isaiah lived at a time of great unrest. Israel was surrounded by enemies and cross-crossed with invading armies. It was a time of threat, danger, and desolation.
(3) Isaiah was sent to the people to proclaim why there was such misery.
b. Isaiah 1:2-3 (NKJV) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; 3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider."
4. As we meditate on the book of Isaiah it might be good to see our brief study as looking at a photo album of God. If we could take photographs of our God, what would he look like? Of course, God is an invisible spirit; no one can photograph Him. However, the Bible does present different images which help us to understand God. Here is the first such picture in Isaiah --
I. THE BROKEN HEARTED FATHER
A. If you have ever raised children who have turned away from the Lord's way or if you have reared kids to have them hate you, you can understand a bit about the pain God felt with Judah.
1. "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me." (1:2)
2. It is reassuring to me to know that the perfect father was even rejected. Instead of blaming yourself, understand that you are feeling the pain of God in your own heart. The rejection. The hatred. The broken heart of God.
B. Even animals know their masters and appreciate them. But God's people didn't understand.
1. He took care of them. He rescued them. But they would not acknowledge Him.
2 In what ways do we, in our lives, deny the fatherhood of God? Do we give him thanks?
C. Isaiah described a time that was coming when Judah would be restored to its greatness in Isaiah 51:3 (NKJV) For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
1. Here is what would be in Zion: joy, gladness, thanksgiving, singing. Thankfulness! Are we thankful?
2. When Winston Churchill was a small boy he was swimming in a pond while his parents were entertaining friends. He got into deep water and began to drown. The gardener heard the other children screaming and jumped into the water and saved him. Deeply grateful to the gardener, the parents asked how they could ever repay him. The gardener replied, "I wish my son could go to college somebody so he could become a doctor." Churchill's parents said, "We will pay his way." Years later Sir Winston Churchill became ill with pneumonia. The best physician was called to be at the bedside of the ailing leader. His name was Sir Alexander Flemming, the developer of penicillin and the son of that gardener who long ago had saved him from drowning. Churchill said later, "Rarely has a man owed his life twice to the same person."
3. As believers in Jesus we owe a debt of gratitude and service to the Lord because he made us and saved us. Be sure to remember to look up and give thanks. God deserves recognition from His children for His awesome blessings!
II. THE ROYAL FATHER
A. Another picture in Isaiah's album of God is found in Isaiah 6:1-8 (NKJV) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged." 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
1. This vision of Isaiah's was THE defining moment of his life and it shows us the picture of...
2. Isaiah does the best he can to describe what he sees. His first words about God are seated, high, and exalted. They describe the authority of God.
B. Isaiah 43:15 (NKJV) I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." God is seated on a throne. He is our King!
C. Isaiah wrote about Jesus in Isaiah 9:7 (NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
1. Jesus reigns now with his father in heaven.
a. Let me ask a question. Do we treat Jesus and God like kings?
b. Or do we treat them like servant boys to do our bidding?
c. Do we regard Jesus as sovereign or as our slave to do our will?
2. I hear much said these days about what God will do for you. It is true that God forgives, guides, sustains, redeems, and strengthens us.
3. But often that is where our popular culture wants to stop. We want our God to tell us the future and give us lots of money and creature comforts. We want God to make life predictable for us. God can and does give great blessings sometimes to His children. But this is not the reason we are here worshipping Him. This is not the primary reason we pray to Him, is it?
4. Who is King in this equation? Jesus or us?
a. To justify divorce, I have heard people say, "God doesn't want me to be unhappy."
b. To justify some personal sin, I have heard people reason, "This is just the way I am."
c. We have forgotten who the king is.
Allen Emery, Jr. wrote (in "A Turtle on a Fencepost" from Christianity Today), "The utter obedience required in the military is accepted as necessity, even when one's life may be the price of obedience. Why does the Christian fail to practice the same obedience in spiritual matters?"
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, tens of thousands of troops obeyed orders and began the invasion of France, to take back what Hitler had seized. Many soldiers lost their lives that day because the primary directive for a soldier that day was to obey and fight, and if necessary, die. Absolute obedience.
D. God is King of heaven and earth. He is our creator and redeemer. He is the provider of all good things. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him. We obey Him.
1. God is God. We are not. We are not His equal. He is glorious, transcendant, all-powerful. We are not. God reigns. You don't have to believe it for it to be true that God rules.
2. You don't have to believe that God will someday judge us because he is king and he will do it whether we believe it will happen or not. You can hate God, be disillusioned with Him, rebel against Him, but He is still the King over all.
3. Isaiah 40:25-26 (NKJV) "To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
III. THE LOVING FATHER
A. Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV) "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."
1. It could not be any plainer. There is no help in man himself. We cannot heal ourselves or our sins. We need more than our habits changed. We ourselves need to be changed and that change can only occur in a relationship with a loving Father.
2. This is the good news, the gospel. It looks forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus, the shedding of his blood, his taking our place that God might lay our sins upon him and enable us to have the gift of righteousness, so that our hearts might be changed.
B. We cannot clean up ourselves.
1. The loving Father calls you to come to him, turn from sin and self and do right.
2. You need a washing in the blood of Jesus Christ. That is available when you obey the gospel and are baptized into Christ [Romans 6:3-4 (NKJV) Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.]
3. You need a loving Father and you have one. Jesus told a story of a loving father who had one son who rebelled, took his inheritance, and left home. With time all his financial means were gone as were his friends. He wanted to come home but he wondered how he would be received. Having no alternatives he went home and asked for a place as a servant. [Luke 15:11-19]
4. The Father came running to him and restored his sonship. He didn't deserve it. He needed it. [Luke 15:20 (NKJV) "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.]
5. There was a party -- a time of rejoicing -- because the lost son had returned home. God offers redemption--God's mission to the lost struggling to find their way home.
CONCLUSION
1. Would you come in faith, hope, trust, love?
2. God -- the broken-hearted the Father, the Royal Father, the loving Father -- waits to cleanse you and forgive you. He wants you to belong to Him.
Copyright ©2002 by John Gaines. May be reproduced for non-commercial purposes provided this notice accompanies any use.
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LEONARD STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST |
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