[MUSIC PLAYING] The Bible from 30,000 Feet-- Soaring Through the Scripture
from Genesis to Revelation. Turn in your bibles-- did
you bring one of those? Love that you did. Turn in your Bible to the
book of Isaiah, longest book in your Old Testament in
terms of chapters, 66 chapters. It is the most often
quoted of the Old Testament prophets in the New Testament. 21 times, New Testament authors
quote the book of Isaiah. Little bit of recap. Jesus started his ministry
quoting the book of Isaiah. He went into this
synagogue in Nazareth, and opened up the scroll
of the prophet Isaiah, and read from chapter 61,
the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He
has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor-- words right out of
the prophet Jeremiah. John the Baptist
began his ministry quoting from Isaiah chapter 40. The voice of one crying
in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord--
make his path straight. Where we left off last time,
I didn't make it all the way through the 39th chapter. So we're going to
begin at chapter 28 and quickly move
in that direction. But where we left
off was a series of woes, which is a
proclamation of judgment. When you say woe to somebody,
W-O-E, it means, look out. What is about to
come isn't great. Woe to you is a denunciation. Jesus used the term woe
to you scribes, Pharisees, you hypocrites. But John the Baptist
used the word woe. The prophet Isaiah,
in a few chapters, pronounces a series
of woes as the nations are in parade before him
to receive their woe. But when you read a
woe, it's like want to also think of it in terms
of, whoa, slow down a minute. Whoa, horsey. You may have heard about the
preacher who bought a horse from somebody in his church. The guy said, well, preacher,
the horse that you're buying is very different from any
other horse you've ever had or ridden. I've trained this horse
with biblical commands. So don't think that you can
say to this horse, giddy up. The horse won't go
if you say giddy up. But if you say, praise the
Lord, the horse will take off. When you want to stop this
horse, you can't say, whoa. You have to say, amen. If you say amen, that
horse will come to a stop. Preacher said, I
think I can manage that, thank you very
much, put down his money, mounted the horse, started
riding off by saying praise the Lord. The horse started taking
off into a nice trot. He was having a good time. As he was going out
across the landscape, a little jackrabbit
jumped out of the bushes and spooked the horse. So it went now into a full
gallop toward a ravine with a 200-foot drop. The preacher panicked,
forgot all those commands he was supposed to say,
and said, whoa, whoa. Pulled back on the reins. Whoa, whoa. Horse did not stop
or slow at all. As he was getting closer to the
ravine, in the nick of time, he remembered the
command and said, amen, and the horse screeched
to a halt right on the precipice of that ravine. And the preacher wiped
his brow and said, whew, praise the Lord. [LAUGHTER] Well, tonight, we're going
to begin with some whoas, some amens, some slow it down,
some denunciation of judgment. Again, quick recap. Chapters 1 through
39 is condemnation. Chapters 40 through 66
are about consolation. That helps you remember it-- condemnation and consolation. So the first part of
the book is the prophet confronting nations, condemning
nations, getting in their face. The second part of the book
is about hope and consolation, not getting in their face as
much as lifting up their arms. Though both parts of the book
have condemnation and hope, the second part of the
book deals mostly in hope. Now, let me, because I
always like to do this, whether it's with
adults or kids, but I always like to boil things
down to its simplest term. The whole book of Isaiah, all
of it, chapters 1 through 66, could be summed
up in a nutshell. And here it is-- that God will purify and
prepare Israel for the Messiah. That's all of it boiled down
to its irreducible minimum. God will purify true
judgment and thus prepare Israel for its
messiah for the First Coming of the Messiah when
Jesus comes to deal with sin and for the Second
Coming of the Messiah when Jesus comes to rule
and reign with those who have been cleansed from sin. All of that is found
in this book of Isaiah. In chapter 28, the prophet wants
to get the nation's attention so they don't go down
the destructive path. And so he gives a
series of warnings. Chapter 28, verse 1-- woe to the crown of pride,
to the drunkards of Ephraim. Notice that word Ephraim. Now, some of you
I'm hoping by now will know what the
word Ephraim refers to, not just a person, not just a
tribe, but an entire nation. And it's speaking about
the northern kingdom. Do you remember how we have
said a few times that Israel split north and south,
10 tribes up north, two tribes down south? The 10 northern tribes
were called Israel. But sometimes, they were
called by its biggest most principal tribe
of the 10 Ephraim. So here, Ephraim doesn't mean
a person, doesn't mean a tribe, means the northern kingdom
of Israel called Ephraim. Woe to them, it
continues, whose glorious beauty is a fading
flower which is at the head of the
verdant valleys. To those who are
overcome with wine, behold the Lord has a
mighty and strong one like a tempest of hail
and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty
waters overflowing, who will bring them down
to the Earth with His hand. Now, Isaiah the prophet
was a mouthpiece of God principally to the
southern kingdom called? Anybody? Judah. Two tribes down south
go under the name Judah, the 10 tribes under the name
Israel or, in this case, Ephraim. So Isaiah is a prophet
mostly in Jerusalem mostly to the southern
kingdom of Judah. However, he is using
the northern kingdom as an example of what not to do. They were drunk. They were debauched. They were idolaters. They didn't listen
to previous prophets. And they went into captivity
of the Assyrians in 722 BC. It continues, verse
3-- the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
will be trampled under foot. Now, with that in mind,
go to the next chapter, chapter 29, verse 1. Here it says, woe to Ariel
you go, well, who is Ariel? The word Ariel means lion
of God, or hearth of God, or altar of God. It is a pseudonym like Ephraim
that represents the north. Ariel is a pseudonym to refer
to Judah, the southern kingdom. Now, that becomes unmistakable. If you read through the chapter,
by the time you get to verse 8, it's unmistakable that
he is referring to Zion because he mentions the name. So he's speaking here
about Jerusalem and Judah. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel,
the city where David dwelt. Now, we know that's Jerusalem. Add year to year. Let feasts come around. Yet, I will distress Ariel. There shall be
heaviness and sorrow. And it shall be to me as Ariel. Again, the word means
lion of God, or altar. So it's as if to
say, this altar will become an altar of blood
because of the destruction that is coming upon
the southern kingdom. I will encamp against
you, verse 3, all around. I will lay siege against
you with a mound. That is an army, a siege mound. And I will raise siege
works against you. So we have two woes
in two chapters. Go to chapter 30, verse 1. Here's another one. Woe to the rebellious
children, says the Lord, who take counsel,
but not of me, and who devise plans, but not by my spirit,
that they may add sin to sin, who walked down to Egypt
and have not asked my advice to strengthen themselves
in the strength of Pharaoh and to trust in the
shadow of Egypt. Let me tell you what's going on. That northern
kingdom Ephraim knew that the Assyrians
were strong and were about to take them captive. So they sought friendships,
alliances with other nations. They bought them off. They looked for
strength and help from Egypt, though that
didn't work because they were taken captive in 722 BC. And the king down south-- so that's the northern
kingdom-- the king down south, Judah, the southern kingdom, is
a king by the name of Hezekiah. He's going to be mentioned
in the next coming chapters. Hezekiah's advisors
told him to go get help from Egypt like the northern
kingdom tried to do. Like, look, the Assyrians
are now after us. They already took
the northern kingdom. You need an ally, man. You need help. And so go pay them some money. And let them be your strength. When Isaiah the prophet found
that out, he said, bad move. Bad form. Don't do it Israel tried
that, and they failed. The Assyrians took them over. Sennacherib, the
ruler of Assyria, made Israel its vassal state. If you, like them, trust
in the flesh, trust in the arm of the flesh, trust
in Egypt, you too will fail. Here's the principle. The southern
kingdom of Judah was able to learn from
somebody else's example. Now, they will learn from it. They will obey what Isaiah
the prophet said, but only for a little while. It was George Santayana, who
is an historian, who said, those who fail to
learn from history are doomed to relive history. Judah was able to look at a
historical example of what not to do. And so they said, OK, we
won't do it only for a while. They will do it later on. And it will become
their undoing. Now, I'm following this because
a verse we're about to read is going to make more sense. What is the antidote to
trusting in the flesh? Trusting in God. Trusting in the Lord. Let me even go deeper. More than just trusting in the
Lord, it's waiting on the Lord. You see, when the
enemies surround you, and you don't know
what to do, and you're tempted to go get help from
worldly means, sometimes, you, though you're tempted
to act and to react, you just need to stop and wait. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Look down at verse 15. For thus says the Lord God,
the Holy One of Israel, in returning-- that is,
don't go to Egypt, come back, return to your land, and
return to your Lord-- in returning and rest,
you shall be saved. In quietness and confidence
shall be your strength. But you would not. You see, your hope doesn't
lie in running toward Egypt and getting their help. It's being quiet. Here's God's children. They're so anxious. And God the Father's saying,
shh, stop, rest, wait. Wait on the Lord. Maybe that's a word from
the Lord for you tonight. You're anxious. Something's coming up
this week or next week, a surgery of somebody
you love or your own, a possible interview that might
end a job, or something in you. You are tempted to go
out and act in the flesh and not wait on the Lord. Jesus said, come to me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. So he's telling them, stop. Just wait. Just rest. Look at chapter
31, verse 1 again. Woe to those who go
down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust
in chariots, because they are many, and in horseman,
because they are very strong, but who do not look to
the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord. So they're tempted to
look for earthly help to fix their problem. Now, I want to fast forward
using this principle. Remember how we've talked
about a prophecy that is fulfilled immediately, but
becomes a template to a greater fulfillment later on? In the end of days,
things are going to get so bad in the
world economically in terms of natural
catastrophes that occur that the Bible
predicts a ruler will come on the scene that will
seem to have all the answers. He goes by a number of names. Most of us call
him the Antichrist, though he goes by about 50
different names in total in the scripture. He is going to
persuade people that he is the solution to their
long-awaited questions and problems. He'll bring them
out of suffering. He'll bring them relief. And the world will follow him. Jesus put it this way. I come in my Father's name. And you do not receive me. Another will come
in his own name. Him, you will receive. I think he's speaking
about that coming ruler that the world, even
Israel at the time, will gravitate
toward, just like they were want to do in the
ancient times with Egypt. By the time we get
down to chapter 35, Isaiah looks well beyond
the current status of the nation of
Assyria or Babylon, well into the future,
past what the Bible refers to as the great tribulation
period on the earth, past the tribulation to the
coronation of the Messiah he has already mentioned,
into the kingdom age. Now, notice some of these
predictions of drastic changes that will occur. Chapter 35, verse 1-- the wilderness and the wasteland
shall be glad for them. And the desert-- our
ears should perk up-- the desert shall rejoice and
shall blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon
shall be given to it the excellence of Carmel-- that is, Mount Carmel, when you
go to Israel, will be there-- and share in the
plain of Sharon. And they shall see
the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. These are areas known
for their agriculture and their prodigious,
verdant production of crops and just beautiful landscape,
the trees, the cedars of Lebanon, et cetera. So there seems to
be a prediction of some radical changes
on the earth, a change in the hydrological cycle,
that areas that are normally nonproductive and barren desert
will be very, very productive, that there will be
geographical and topographical transformation taking place. Now, a huge portion of the
American Southwest of which we are a part is desert. Imagine the stretch, say,
from Barstow to Tucumcari looking like Kauai. Come on. Bring it on. Just the desert blossoming
forth like a rose. Now, we're told that some
of these desert areas are even growing. They're expanding. Not only that, but the eastern
part of California even up toward the north part
of eastern Oregon, part of eastern Washington,
these are arid areas. There's lots of
deserts in the world. I think Isaiah wasn't thinking
of Barstow or Tucumcari, though, do you? I'm thinking he's thinking of
the Negev, of the Sinai desert, of the great American-- American, Arabian Peninsula. Those sand dunes from
Edom or modern day Jordan all the way to Iraq is-- I mean, it makes Rio
Rancho look lush. [LAUGHTER] There's only stones. There's not even
plants that grow, not even little
shrubs that grow. I know because I took a 25-hour
taxi from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad, ancient
Babylon, 25-hours one way. And the only comforting
thought was this passage. One day, this place ain't
going to look like this place. This place will be transformed
like the prophet said. Then verse 5, it goes on. The eyes of the blind
shall be opened. The ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. The lame shall leap like a deer. The tongue of the
dumb shall sing for water shall burst
forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. When Jesus came to this
earth, what he essentially did is give to us a preview
of coming attractions. It was a trailer for
the movie that's coming. He healed people,
people who were deaf, people who were blind,
people who were lame, people who had diseases. Even dead people, he raised up. All of what he did was a
preview of what the kingdom age will be like, what we
call the millennial kingdom, 1,000 years. And we'll get back to that at
the end of this book of plenty and abundance upon the earth. If you're God's child,
the best is yet to come. We say that. But think about that. You know where you're going
and what you're going to see? There's not going to be
hospitals, or wheelchairs. There won't be funerals. There won't be broken homes. There won't be broken bodies. There won't be broken hearts. There won't be darkness. Blind people will see. And, and, the best and, no Hell. If you're a child of God,
the best is yet to come. Paul said in Romans 8, I
consider the sufferings of this present
age you can't even compare to the glories that
will be revealed in us. Here is the prophet
predicting what is going to come one day
upon the earth in terms of restoration. So he weaves the bad
news and the good news. By the time we get to
chapter 36, 37, 38, and 39, it's sort of back to
the bad news in a sense, but really good news for Israel. The bad news is
Assyria, the nation that took over the northern
kingdom and is threatening the southern kingdom, is in the
crosshairs, God's crosshairs, the crosshairs of judgment,
especially the leader of that nation by the
name of Sennacherib. Don't name your kid that. He'll never forgive you. Sennacherib is mentioned. And you should know that those
four chapters that I mentioned, 36, 37, 38, and 39, are
almost, but not quite, but almost word for word
the same as Second Kings chapters 18 through 20. Look at a few of these
verses, chapter 36, verse 1. It came to pass in the
14th year of King Hezekiah that King Sennacherib,
the king of Assyria, came up against all the
fortified cities of Judah and took them. So they took the
northern kingdom, the 10 tribes of Israel. Now, they're moving south. And they are threatening to
take over the southern kingdom, those two tribes left
called the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. The king that is sitting on
the throne is King Hezekiah. You probably know his name. He was one of the good kings. He was a great guy. A scroll of the law was found. This king, King
Hezekiah, commanded that that scroll be read, that
the word of God be obeyed. He commanded the
temple be restored. He commanded the worship
of God be restored. But he did fail as a king. He did a lot of good
things, mostly good. But he did fail. And that is he stripped
the temple treasury. We're not told that here. But we are told that
in Second Kings 18. He took the silver and gold
from God's house, the temple, removed it, and tried
to pay off Sennacherib, that Assyrian
king, by giving him a huge amount of money saying,
dude, we'll be your servants. Please don't hurt us. Please don't take us captive. Please don't do to us what
you did to the guys up north. Here's a bunch of money
from our god's temple. It didn't work. He paid him the money. The king kept
advancing, sent one of his field generals called
the Rabshakeh down to threaten Judah, threaten
Jerusalem, that God-- that he was going
to-- that the Syrians were going to overturn them. And so the terms are
total surrender, or death. That takes us to
chapter 37, verse 1. So it was when King
Hezekiah heard it, then he tore his clothes,
covered himself with sackcloth, went into the house of the Lord. Now, the first person
he's looking for is the prophet Isaiah. Let me tell you something about
being a man or woman of God. Wherever you work or whoever
your family is, however they don't like what
your belief in Jesus is, however they might mock
you or marginalize you, they'll do that until
they're in trouble. When they're in trouble,
they'll be looking for you. Where is she? Did she come to work today? I need her to pray for me. Man, I'm in trouble. When you are singularly
following God, people will mock you. You will stand alone. But when people are suffering,
they will seek you out. This King is in trouble. And he's looking
for that man who stood against the crowd,
the prophet Isaiah. Then he sent-- verse 2-- Eliakim, who was over
the household with Shebna the scribe, the
elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth to Isaiah
the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him,
thus says Hezekiah, this day is a day of
trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy for the
children have come to birth. But there is no strength
to bring them forth. In other words, we
are in deep distress. We're in trouble. Help, uncle, what do we do? I love verse 6. Isaiah said to them, thus,
you shall say to your master, thus says the Lord, don't
be afraid of the words which you have heard with which the
servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Surely, I will send
a spirit upon them. And he will hear a rumor
and return to his own land. And I will cause him to fall
by the sword of his own land. In other words, the
king Sennacherib, who is flexing his
muscles and threatening to kill you and overtake you,
something's going to happen. He's going to hear of something. And he's going to go scampering
back home to fix the problem. That's exactly what happened. That's exactly what happened. He retreated. The army stayed in place. But watch this. Go down to verse 36. Then the angel of
the Lord went out and killed in the camp
of the Assyrians 185,000. With God, one is a majority. You might have a huge army. But when God is on your side,
and you seek out the prophet. And when the people arose
early in the morning, there were the corpses all dead. Do any of you remember back
in the 1990s that TV show called Touched by an Angel? Well, this is the Old
Testament equivalent called punched by an angel. [LAUGHTER] This is
what one angel can do. One angel can do this-- 185,000 people
against one angel. Now do you understand
the power when Jesus said in the Garden
of Gethsemane, Peter, put your sword away. Don't you know that I could
call for 12 legions of angels? Can you imagine the devastation? One angel, 185,000. Now, historical secular records
record a great decimation of the Assyrian
army, though they don't give the exact amount. But they said it was
a numerous amount. Here the scripture
tells us 185,000. So the sun rose the next day. They looked out on
the fields and saw the corpses of their
enemies that they feared. So ding dong, the
witch is dead, right? It's all good at this point. Chapter 38, Hezekiah
the king gets sick. He gets so bummed
out that he's sick. And he begs for his life. So the prophet says, OK, your
life is going to be extended. It really wasn't
the best thing that could happen because in
chapter 39, Babylonians come, not Assyrians, a
different enemy. The Babylonian Empire
in the east is growing, and they send
envoys to Jerusalem. And so King Hezekiah
gives them a grand tour of the temple, the
treasury, how much money, and gold,
and silver he has, just gives him a grand tour
of everything in Jerusalem. Bad move. It would be like taking
the Iranians, and the North Koreans, and the Russians to
show them all of our bomb silos and all of our strategic
air command sites in America and all the while,
they're taking the notes and marking it on their map. So the Babylonian
envoys would be the ones who would come back
and destroy that very temple. And so chapter 39, the
first part of the book ends with the prediction
of the fall of Jerusalem to King Hezekiah. You think King Hezekiah
would say, oh, no. I'm so sorry. I did the wrong thing. No, he says, well, at least it
won't happen while I'm alive. Now, the prophet says,
your kids and grandkids are going to suffer. And he goes, well, at least it
won't happen while I'm around. I mean, just very self-centered. You kind of get a little insight
into this godly king's heart. Now, the second part of the
book we want to move through. And that is chapters
40 through 66. This is the consolation part. After afflicting
the comfortable, chapter 1 through 39, Isaiah
now comforts the afflicted, chapters 40 through 66. Verse 1 of chapter 40-- comfort is the first word. Comfort, yes, comfort my
people, says your God. The prophet just got through
saying, woe, woe, woe. Now, he's going, wow, wow, wow. It's all good. Yes, there is judgment
that is spoken about in the second part. But the overshadowing
theme is this first verse. Comfort, yes, comfort my people. Speak-- verse 2-- speak
comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that
her warfare is ended, that her iniquity
is pardoned, for she received from the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. The voice of one crying
in the wilderness-- that sound familiar--
prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted,
every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places
shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. In all four gospels, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, John the Baptist is spoken
of as saying these words quoting the prophet Isaiah. John the Baptist, we
call him the forerunner, not like the truck
4Runner, but the ambassador would be a better term. He is Christ's ambassador. He comes first and announces
the coming of Messiah in the New Testament. He quotes this verse. However-- and this is
really a good example-- you know how we have
near fulfillment and far fulfillment, right? You know that
principle well by now. I hope you're looking for
it in the book of Isaiah. Even though John the Baptist
quotes this, the verse itself does not have the
forerunner of the Messiah as its primary idea,
or primary reference. The primary reference
here is that Israel that will be in
captivity in Babylon will need to go through that
long expanse of wilderness that I told you about. Remember, I said, I took
that long taxi ride, 25 hours of that nothingness? They're going to take a
900-mile trek back from Babylon back to Jerusalem. And this is part of the hope. Comfort-- be
comforted by the fact that God is going to make a way
through the wilderness for you to return back from
Babylon back to Jerusalem. Secondary reference,
John the Baptist. The near is the template
for something else. The principle is there. But the primary reference
is to the return of the Jews from captivity. Here's what's interesting. There is a prediction, not
here, but a lot of other places, that they're going to
return from Babylon. Babylon was just beginning to
be the new kid on the block. They weren't even a threat. But the prophet presupposes
they will be a threat. They will grow. They will overshadow Assyria. They will take over Jerusalem. They will take
Jerusalem captive. Thousands of people will
go to Babylon and live and will one day return
back to Jerusalem. That's part of the
prophecy of Isaiah. Now, God's plan-- this will
set the stage for the rest of the book, as we close-- God's plan from the
beginning is that Israel be a blessing to the world. I want you to understand
that principle. Remember in Genesis 12? God spoke a promise to Abraham. You and your descendants are
going to bless the world. So God intended that Israel
be a light to the Gentiles and spread God's message of
salvation to the nations, be a beacon of light
for the nations, share with the rest of the
world the God, the true God, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That's what God wanted. He wanted Israel
to be his servant. They failed at that. Instead, they wallowed in
complacency, hypocrisy, idolatry. And they even complained that
God would be far from them. And God was far from them. You see, when they were
to go into captivity, the Jews were so shaken by that
at first that they thought, God's abandoned us. We're done. God has forgotten about us. So in the next few
chapters-- and we're not going to go through
all of it, just going to highlight something--
the next few chapters, God responds to
their accusations as if it's a courtroom setting. I want you to look at
one, chapter 40, verse 27. Why do you say, oh,
Jacob, and speak, oh, Israel, my way is
hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is
passed over by my God? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God,
the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth
neither faints, nor is weary, his understanding unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. And to those who have no
might, he increases strength. Even the youth shall
faint and be weary. And the young man
shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord
shall renew their strength. They shall mount up
with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah is speaking
this to an audience 150 years away from him. They're not even born yet. He is speaking to a nation
that will go into captivity and who will, in captivity, need
to read this word of comfort. And they will read it. And they will return. They will feel as if
they're abandoned. They will feel powerless. So God's message to
them is just wait. Just wait. Wait on the Lord. Renew your strength. Get the courage at that time. And you'll have it. We love this verse. Do we not? We love it. We underline it. A lot of us have memorized. It is one of our favorite
verses, if not in the Bible, certainly in this
book of Isaiah. Those that wait on the Lord
will renew their strength, even if your strength is failing. Christian, you are like
a rechargeable battery. You feel weak and
worn out and depleted. OK. Who doesn't? Now, plug in to the Holy Spirit. Now, get a recharge. As the scripture says, be being
filled with the Holy Spirit. So that even if you're
depleted, even if you're weak, even if you're at your wits
end, you can be recharged, reenergized, plugged in,
and get a new power surge. And the way to plug in
is to wait on the Lord. What does it mean
to wait on the Lord? Well, you can look at it a
couple of different ways. Oh, I'm just
waiting on the Lord. So I do nothing all day. I just twiddle my thumbs
and cock my head heavenward, hoping God will come
down and do something. You could do that. Or think of waiting
on the Lord-- how many of you have ever
worked in a restaurant? I did. I was a dishwasher. Then I was-- I waited tables. And when I was waiting
tables and waiting on people, I was serving them. Can I help you? What can I do for you? Think of waiting on
the Lord like that. Stay busy. Look for opportunities
to serve the Lord, to wait on him like he's
your favorite customer. Wait on the Lord. Serve the Lord with
whatever capacity you have in that limited sphere. And he will renew your strength. You will mount up
with wings as eagles. OK, now, I want to
introduce another thought. I just gave you a thought. And I want to piggyback on it. God wanted Israel
to be his servant. Israel failed to
be God's servant. But God is still on a
mission to save the world. So God announces through
the prophet Isaiah another servant, a better
servant, servant 2.0, the servant that will
not fail, the servant that will do what
Israel failed to do. Isaiah 43, God says, behold,
I am doing a new thing. And part of the new
thing he is doing is raising up a new
servant, the Messiah. We know him as Jesus. Chapter 42 of
Isaiah, God says he will empower him by the spirit. Many of the rest of the book,
verses in the rest of the book, talk about that it will
bring salvation to the world, or offer salvation,
and then rule and reign from Jerusalem over the world. When you put some of these
predictions together of servant 2.0, it sounds
very much like what Isaiah predicted the Messiah
to be in chapter 9 and chapter 11 of Isaiah-- be on the throne of
his father, David, rule the world, et cetera,
bring peace, et cetera. Because it is. He's going back to that theme. But he's saying Israel,
you've failed as my servant. But I got another
servant coming. So look at chapter 41, verse 8. And I'll tie a few
threads together. But you, Israel, are my servant. Hold that thought. Jacob, whom I have chosen-- hold that thought-- the
descendants of Abraham my friend, you whom I have taken
from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest
regions, and said to you, you are my servant,
I have chosen you. And I have not cast you away. OK, in the book of Isaiah, there
are three different servants. Primarily two, but there
are three mentioned, actually four if
you were to count a guy by the name of Cyrus
mentioned in chapter 44 and 45. I'll get to him in a minute. David is called the servant
of the Lord in chapter 37. Israel here is called
the servant of the Lord. And then servant 2.0, a He, a
singular person is mentioned. And that is Jesus,
God's ideal servant. Go down to chapter 42, verse 1. Behold my servant whom I
uphold, my elect one, one-- an individual will
be spoken about-- in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon Him. And He will bring forth
justice to the Gentiles. That's the whole world. He will not cry out,
nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to
be heard in the street. A bruised reed he
will not break. A smoking flax he
will not quench. He will bring forth
justice for truth. He will not fail,
nor be discouraged, until He has established
justice in the earth. And the coastlands
shall wait for him. This is the ideal servant. There are four Servant
Songs in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 42, Isaiah
chapter 49, Isaiah chapter 50, and Isaiah chapter end of
52 and all of chapter 53-- those are the four
Servant Songs. Two main servants,
Israel and Messiah, the servant that failed, the
servant who will never fail. Now, notice what it says. He will not cry out
or raise his voice, cause his voice to be
heard in the street. A bruised reed he
will not break. Smoking flax he will not quench. This speaks of the
gentle manner of Jesus. Remember, the New Testament
calls him meek and lowly. So it says a bruised
reed he will not break. What does that mean? Well, you know what
a reed is, right? Those, in the marshlands,
those kind of wispy things that are blown by the wind
out in the marshlands. Those windblown, fragile, weak
bulrushes that are unstable, he won't break. In other words,
Jesus' personality will not be so type A that
he just bowls people over. He won't break a bruised reed. He won't put out a smoking flax. A flax is a wick, a
dimly lit lamp wick that is about to go out. Jesus will supply
oil for the lamp. Power-- that's the idea
behind this metaphor. He will fan the weak person
into the flame of strength. Remember when Jesus met the
woman caught in adultery and how he treated her compared
to how the leaders of Israel treated her? Now, they were right, of course. Our law says she deserves to
die, and they picked up stones. Jesus brought the
woman to himself and says, hey, you guys,
you who are without sin cast the first stone. Then he said to the woman,
where are your accusers? Where are those
who condemned you? And she said, sir, I have none. And he said, neither
do I condemn you. That's not breaking that
wispy little bulrush, or putting out her flame. That's fanning it. Neither do I condemn
the sin no more. That's Jesus' personality. OK, quickly, chapter 44
and 45 are predictions about the circumstances
upon which the captives who
will be in Babylon will eventually
return to Jerusalem. So notice a couple things. Chapter 44, verse 28-- who says of Cyrus,
he is my shepherd. Cyrus won't be born for
another couple hundred years when this is written. So his name is
mentioned before he's born by a couple centuries. That should raise interest. Who says of Cyrus,
he is my shepherd. He shall perform
all my pleasure. Saying to Jerusalem, you shall
be built. And to the temple, your foundation shall be laid. Why would this be good news? Because the Babylonians
put pressure on Israel, brought them into
captivity, made them slaves. But eventually, the
Medo-Persian Empire would overtake the
Babylonian Empire. Its ruler would be Cyrus. He will let the
Jews go back home. So God says he's my servant. He's my ambassador. He's my shepherd. Now, keep in mind
when this was written, Jerusalem hadn't fallen. Jerusalem was still standing. The temple was in place. But this presupposes
Jerusalem will be destroyed. The temple will be destroyed. The people will
be taken captive. And then they'll come back. And it'll be rebuilt. Go
to chapter 45, verse 1. Thus says the Lord
to his anointed. The word anointed in
Hebrew is moshiach. We would translate
it literally messiah. Thus says the Lord to
his messiah to Cyrus-- this is a pagan king
he's writing about-- whose right hand I have
held to subdue nations before him-- altogether. he conquered 46
different nations, don't have time to
chase that down-- and loose the armor of the
kings to open before him the double doors so that
the gates will not be shut. I will go before you and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces
the gates of bronze. And I will cut the bars of iron. I will give you the
treasures of darkness and hidden riches
of secret places that you may know that I, the
Lord, who call you by name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant's
sake, and Israel, my elect, I have even called you
by your name, Cyrus. I have named you, though
you have not known me. The walls of Babylon
would be from Isaiah's prophetic perspective--
now, they're long gone-- but would be 311 feet
tall, 87 feet thick, covering a circumference
we are told in a couple of
different accounts of 60 miles around the city, huge
guard stations every so many feet, the Euphrates River
running right through town, big bronze gate that would--
gates that would close, and a grate at the bottom
that would let the river pass underneath. We are told that King Cyrus
took the city of Babylon by diverting the Euphrates River
upstream so that it got lower and lower and lower up to
the height of a man's thigh, enabling the Persian army
to go underneath the gates and break them open. And Cyrus became the ruler
of the known world prophesied in detail by Isaiah. And history says, Herodotus,
the historian tells us, that's how it fell. Chapter 46 to 48 is about
the fall of Babylon. Now, I want to read
an account to you. Here is God mentioning
Cyrus, saying that he's going to
let the Jews go back, telling them to rebuild their
temple, which he will do. Josephus-- ever heard his name? Yes? Josephus, the Jewish historian,
gives us this account. Now, Cyrus learned
this, that is, that he would command the
building of the Jewish temple, by reading the book that Isaiah
left of his own prophecies 210 years before. Somebody showed him the prophecy
of Isaiah with his name in it. Josephus goes on. These things Isaiah foretold
140 years before the temple was destroyed when Cyrus
therefore had read them and had admitted their
divine character, in impulse and
emulation, seized him to do what was written therein. So according to
Josephus, somebody showed him, hey, dude,
your name's here. And it was written here
before you were born. And he goes, wow. And he did what Isaiah
predicted he would do. OK, servant 1.0-- fail. Servant 2.0 Messiah
is predicted. The surprising thing is how
God's perfect servant, servant 2.0, Jesus the Messiah,
will bring salvation. According to Isaiah chapter 52
and 53, he will be rejected. He will suffer. He'll be sentenced to death. On behalf of his own
people, he will die in atoning death for their sin. And that is the fourth
and most important, the last of those four
Servant Songs, Isaiah chapter 52 beginning in verse 13 all the
way down to chapter 53, verse 12. This Servant Song is quoted
by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, in the book of Acts, Romans,
1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 1
Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, 1 Peter, and 1 John. That's how important this
song, chapter 53 of Isaiah, is. It has been called the
torture chamber of the rabbis because it is so blatantly
predictive about what Jesus would do. Verse 13 of chapter 52-- behold
my servant will deal prudently. He will be exalted,
extolled, be very high. Just as many as were
astonished at you, so His visage was marred more
than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Chapter 15-- so He will
sprinkle many nations. Please notice the many nations. Kings will shut
their mouths at Him for what had not been
told them, they shall see. And what they had not
heard, they shall consider. Sprinkling is a word used
of priests in the temple or in the tabernacle
who would atone for sin. Jesus Messiah, servant 2.0, will
do the work, a priestly work of atonement, that will
sprinkle not just Israel, but many nations God's
desire to reach the world. Chapter 53, verse 1-- who is believed
our report to whom is the arm of the
Lord been revealed, for He will grow before him
like a tender plant, a root out of dry ground. He has no form or
comeliness when we see Him. There is no beauty that
we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected
by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were
our faces from Him. He was despised. And we did not esteem him. Surely, He has borne our
griefs, carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded,
literally pierced, for our transgressions. He was bruised, literally
crushed, for our iniquities. The chastisement for
our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes,
we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We have turned every
one to his own way. And the Lord laid on Him
the iniquity of us all. This summed up by Isaiah as if
he were looking at the cross almost giving us a clearer,
better perspective than any of the Gospel writers the
suffering of the Messiah gives to us what
theologians call-- you might want to
write this down-- the vicarious atonement, one
of the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, the
vicarious atonement, or the substitutionary
death of Jesus. He died in our place. The perfect sacrifice
took our sin so that we could be the
righteousness of God in Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21. When I first heard the
gospel, and I understood it as an 18-year-old young man,
just turning 18, 17 turning 18, by Billy Graham on
a television show, I remember what I thought. I thought, OK, God is going
to give me His righteousness. And he is going to
take on His Son my sin. And my first thought is,
God is getting a bad deal, [LAUGHTER] which he is. But I'm getting a killer
deal, which I was. And all in all, that
was sufficient for me to become his children. So God thought it was
a good enough deal to do all that to
make you his kid. That's love. That's vicarious atonement. Well, that is the suffering
and dying servant. But then suddenly, in
verse 11 of this chapter, the servant is alive, again,
just sort of out of nowhere. Verse 11 says, He will
see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. This is after He died. So it implies Resurrection. Chapters 54 and 55 is a joyful
song, a song of salvation. Chapter 56 and 57 is a
rebuke to those who don't accept the servant's salvation. Now, the last two chapters-- see how we're going to finish
the whole book of Isaiah? The last two chapters
is the blessing of a new creation, that is,
a new heaven and a new earth, and the birth of a
brand new nation. Chapter 65, verse 17-- for behold I create new
heavens and a new earth. Not just a new earth,
new heavens and earth. Heaven has been
polluted by Satan. God is going to recreate
Heaven and Earth. Peter also announced this. I create new heavens
and a new earth. The former shall not be
remembered, nor come to mind. Go down to verse 25. The wolf and the lamb
shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like
the ox, a herbivorous behavior. The dust shall be
the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain, says the Lord. This is the kingdom age again. The kingdom age, according
to Revelation chapter 20, the millennial kingdom. Revelation 20 says several times
it will last for 1,000 years. According to the
Gallup organization, one of the most searching
questions people have of almost any
generation in recent times is this question-- will there
ever be lasting world peace? Because by looking around, it
sure seems the answer is no. But the answer we know is yes. But it will not
happen anytime soon. It will happen only when servant
2.0 returns 2.0, comes back again, to rule and
reign with those who have been cleansed with sin. When he does, then
Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4 will be fulfilled. They will beat their
swords, implements of war, into plowshares, implements
of farming and health and longevity, and their
spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up
sword against nation. Neither shall they
learn war anymore. Those words are over
the United Nations. But it has never
yet been fulfilled. It is a longing for a
Messiah to come and establish his messianic kingdom. OK, chapter 66, verse 22-- eight seconds left. For the new heavens
and the new earth which I make shall remain before
me, says the Lord, so shall your descendants in
your name remain. And it shall come to
pass that from one new moon to another
month by month from one Sabbath to another week by
week, all flesh, all flesh, people from all over the world,
will come to worship before me, says the Lord. So that nutshell view once,
again, through servant 2.0, through the suffering servant,
God creates a covenant family from all nations. He will rule over
an earthly kingdom for 1,000 years, followed by
an eternal kingdom forever and ever. There will have a capital
city called New Jerusalem. If you're ever wondering,
because some people ask this question, I know you
talk about a millennium. I don't if I believe
in an actual 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth. I think it's all a metaphor
for something else. OK, you can believe
whatever you want. Just prepare to be surprised
when you actually enjoy the 1,000-year millennial
kingdom on the earth because I can't wait. I'm going to have fun. I can't wait for Tucumcari and
Albuquerque to look like Kauai. I'll sign up for that. In fact, I'd like
to be just, like, over Hawaii during the
millennial kingdom if it's OK. But anyway, here's why
we need a millennium. The earth has been cursed
ever since the fall. To redeem creation from the
curse that has fallen by sin and will fall in spades during
the Great tribulation period, the millennium will answer the
prayer we have always prayed, thy kingdom come, thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We're still praying that. It's not happening. It will happen then. God will answer that
prayer in totality. Number two, to fulfill
God's promise to Israel. Remember, God made
a twofold promise to the nation of Israel. They will rule over a literal
physical kingdom with Messiah in charge, Israel at
the top of the heap, and over an eternal kingdom. The millennium is part A. The
eternal state, revelation 21 and 22, is part B. Make sense? That's the book of Isaiah. Father, thank you for
this incredible prophecy, this man who was able
to see what was going on around him at the time, was able
to see the kingdom of Assyria coming toward him and Babylon,
who wouldn't even be around for years from
his vantage point, but he predicted
it, who predicted the Messiah is coming, his
suffering, death, burial, Resurrection, and
His coming again. We long for the day
when our Messiah will rule and reign for 1,000
years on a restored earth. And then this will be
destroyed completely. And you will make a new
heaven and new earth wherein dwells righteousness. [MUSIC PLAYING] Lord, we who are living
in this generation are always hearing the
drumbeat of war close at hand. We long for the beating
of swords into plowshares and nations not
learning to make war, but a peace that
lasts upon our land, upon our world, when
Messiah rules and reigns. Thank you for Jesus, Lord. Thank you for this
perfect servant. I pray if anyone doesn't
know Him tonight, Lord, reveal yourself to them. If you don't know Him, if
you're not following Him, why don't you just
breathe a simple prayer? Lord Jesus, save me. As I turn from my sin and
turn to you, be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my Master. That simple breath
of prayer of faith is enough to save you right
where you are if you mean it, if you're sincere. In Jesus' name, Amen. We hope you enjoyed this message
from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources,
visit calvarynm.church. Thank you for joining us for
this teaching from the Bible from 30,000 Feet.
