back to index20160706 Wednesday Bible Study
00:00:00.000 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessing that we have in you, and we thank you for 00:00:08.440 |
the opportunity for us to come and study your word. 00:00:11.380 |
We pray, Father God, that with all the treasures that you have placed in your word would cause 00:00:19.720 |
We ask that you would bless us in our study, bless us in our fellowship, and all that we 00:00:25.480 |
do, help us, Lord God, to have a heart that is more ready to be molded and to draw closer 00:00:32.920 |
So we pray for your grace and your blessing over this time. 00:00:45.240 |
All right, so if you, just as a broad overview, if you look at chapter 54 and 55, it is after 00:00:57.880 |
chapter 53, right, the chapter 53 important passage about the suffering of Christ and 00:01:03.640 |
how he's going to redeem his people, and then again, these are all passages that are interconnected. 00:01:08.960 |
If you look at chapter 54, there's a logical conclusion of what he says in 53, that as 00:01:14.280 |
a result of what Christ has done in chapter 53, that he's going to establish an everlasting 00:01:18.960 |
covenant and how this covenant is going to bring upon his mercy and compassion, restore 00:01:26.800 |
And then in chapter 55, the ultimate end result, ultimate gift of his sacrifice is to say, 00:01:33.480 |
you guys can come, come everyone who thirsts and come to the water. 00:01:37.680 |
So ultimately, the goal of salvation is really chapter 55, right? 00:01:42.960 |
The goal of chapter 55 isn't simply so that your sins are forgiven, but because your sins 00:01:46.800 |
are forgiven, that you can now come and drink of the living water of Christ, that you can 00:01:51.160 |
come and listen and you can be restored and have peace. 00:01:53.560 |
So ultimately, if our understanding of salvation is our sins are forgiven, then you really 00:02:02.000 |
The whole point of salvation is to restore a broken relationship with Christ, right? 00:02:06.060 |
So all of these things that he's been saying, it ultimately leads us to chapter 55. 00:02:10.240 |
So if you look at chapter 54, the first question that was asked, I forgot to break it up. 00:02:15.920 |
So you're just going to have to just jot it all down at once and then I'll get to it once 00:02:23.600 |
I'll give you a minute to fill in all the blanks so you guys can pay attention the rest 00:03:23.460 |
in verses one through three, or maybe even up to four, 00:03:34.100 |
So the first question was, who's the barren one? 00:03:36.260 |
It's talking about the spiritual state of Israel. 00:03:38.740 |
Why does God call spiritual condition of Israel barren? 00:03:55.860 |
to be barren or not to be able to have children 00:03:58.540 |
was often interpreted as God's judgment upon them. 00:04:04.440 |
he's talking about the spiritual condition of Israel 00:04:18.820 |
But this section, basically, God comes in and said, 00:04:26.460 |
"and Israel will be greater than the judgment 00:04:36.040 |
"For the children of the desolate one will be more 00:04:38.300 |
"than the children of her who is married," says the Lord. 00:04:42.720 |
"and let the curtains of your habitation be stretched out. 00:04:46.900 |
"Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, 00:04:49.740 |
"for you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, 00:04:59.500 |
So when he says that the children of the barren women 00:05:02.220 |
are gonna be much more than those who weren't, 00:05:10.680 |
Those of you who paid attention to the sermon this Sunday, 00:05:18.560 |
What were we talking about on Sunday, in Romans? 00:05:38.400 |
His grace is gonna be much more than the judgment. 00:05:40.660 |
His justification is much more than the condemnation. 00:05:45.660 |
His life is gonna be much more than the death. 00:05:48.360 |
So basically, this is the Old Testament version of that. 00:05:53.060 |
Those of you who are barren, at one point you were judged, 00:06:04.740 |
is not simply to place you back to where you were. 00:06:11.700 |
but people ask the question, if Adam and Eve, 00:06:17.060 |
but if Adam and Eve fell at the Garden of Eden, 00:06:35.700 |
Or is this whole thing gonna be cycled over and over again 00:06:44.460 |
without the Holy Spirit, without the abergine bodies 00:06:55.940 |
that you and I are gonna experience is far greater 00:06:58.580 |
than what Adam and Eve experienced at the Garden of Eden. 00:07:01.500 |
We have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, right? 00:07:21.500 |
the Holy Spirit is a mediator for us for eternity, 00:07:26.860 |
so that when it says his sacrifice is complete, 00:07:31.740 |
not until we get to heaven, and we're gonna start over. 00:07:33.900 |
So when he says, when he chooses to restore his people, 00:07:41.060 |
He's not just restoring us to back to where we were lost. 00:07:57.460 |
he gets back and, you know, far greater than what he lost. 00:08:11.100 |
that his blessing is going to be far greater. 00:08:13.520 |
How does the Lord describe the previous sins of Israel? 00:08:24.300 |
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced, 00:09:04.040 |
and God's not gonna hold it against them forever. 00:09:09.200 |
you know, there are things like that they may do, 00:09:12.260 |
if a stranger did it, I mean, it would be over. 00:09:14.880 |
They said and did, and after everything you poured out 00:09:25.060 |
is because during that stage, our parents were gracious. 00:09:39.860 |
but because they were gracious to us during that period, 00:09:44.060 |
And that's how God describes Israel's past sin, 00:09:50.600 |
God is not going to hold it against them, right? 00:09:53.000 |
How does he describe, how is he going to restore them 00:10:01.560 |
He describes them as people who've been widowed 00:10:08.660 |
he doesn't just restore them back to where they were, 00:10:10.420 |
he says, no, God himself is going to be their husband. 00:10:13.120 |
So maybe the Babylonians, that you married with them, 00:10:21.060 |
Maybe you relied on money or idols, and they abandoned you. 00:10:48.920 |
So all of this is connected to, I'm going to restore you, 00:10:52.500 |
my grace is going to be much more than the sin, 00:10:59.700 |
Well, when I restore you, I myself will be your husband. 00:11:07.600 |
just like the covenant that I made with Noah. 00:11:09.900 |
When the flood came and all those people died, 00:11:12.740 |
and at the end of that, God gives them rainbow, 00:11:17.960 |
that I will never wipe out the earth with a flood again. 00:11:33.740 |
for the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, 00:11:36.500 |
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, 00:11:40.500 |
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, 00:11:45.780 |
I don't know if you were able to go through it, 00:11:47.900 |
how many times he mentions the word compassion. 00:11:55.440 |
Compassion basically means deep-seated emotion, 00:12:07.420 |
he sees the sins of mankind, he has compassion. 00:12:10.120 |
And he looks at the judgment that he brought upon mankind 00:12:22.840 |
and what he is saying in 54, the restoration and redemption. 00:12:26.800 |
You can bank on it, even if the mountains move. 00:12:37.200 |
and then you cut it down and put buildings in. 00:12:43.320 |
I forget, in April or something, and I went over there, 00:12:50.680 |
that were new, different, but the hill that I remember 00:12:54.280 |
when I was a kid that was in front of our house, 00:12:57.600 |
There's more houses, and the houses are modern, 00:13:03.160 |
that even though all of these things may change, 00:13:08.000 |
So in other words, you can put your confidence 00:13:14.300 |
in his promises, and that's what he's leading to, 00:13:22.600 |
and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones 00:13:24.760 |
in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires." 00:13:29.760 |
God will establish a new city that will be much more 00:13:50.180 |
So again, in ancient times, when they talk about 00:13:57.720 |
and it's gonna be strong, basically it's saying 00:14:01.520 |
He's going to be the gate, he's going to be the boundaries. 00:14:04.420 |
That the enemies who attacked them and took them 00:14:08.240 |
into captivity will never be able to do that again 00:14:10.560 |
because God himself is gonna establish these gates. 00:14:13.200 |
But the gates also signify the wealth of the city. 00:14:26.260 |
'cause in Revelations 21, after all the drama 00:14:38.620 |
So if you've ever Googled heaven, you'll see a lot of times 00:14:43.940 |
the picture of heaven will be roads laid with 00:14:47.340 |
rubies and sapphire and whatever precious stones there are. 00:14:52.780 |
'Cause it's, God is describing through illustrating 00:14:55.700 |
of these stones that heaven, the city of God, 00:14:59.940 |
It's not only gonna be strong, it's gonna be precious. 00:15:02.620 |
And what does he say, again, even beyond that, 00:15:13.540 |
That their blessing will go beyond just themselves, 00:15:18.500 |
He says, verse 13, "All your children shall be taught 00:15:31.100 |
"You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear, 00:15:34.500 |
"and from terror, for it shall not come near to you." 00:15:37.340 |
So in verse 13, it describes how God's blessing 00:15:45.580 |
And so all of this is a description of the reverse 00:16:03.580 |
I mean, you can get in a fight with your coworkers, 00:16:06.020 |
you can get in a fight with, you know, your friends, 00:16:09.380 |
but nothing strains your life more when there's contention 00:16:16.860 |
There's nothing more stressful when there's contention 00:16:28.900 |
So I'm talking about something that most of you 00:16:32.100 |
But, you know, one of the most tangible evidences 00:16:37.100 |
of the fact that you and I are living under, you know, 00:16:41.860 |
an umbrella of condemnation is the strained relationships 00:16:45.780 |
And so it says, for parents who have children, 00:16:49.860 |
no matter how great, how successful you are, right, 00:16:53.900 |
no matter how great everything else is going, 00:17:01.140 |
none of that stuff is gonna matter in the end. 00:17:05.180 |
And we try so hard to either bring them to Christ, 00:17:24.540 |
God himself is going to write his laws in their hearts. 00:17:38.060 |
I'll give you a minute to write all this down 00:18:19.780 |
So as you're writing, just kind of, you know, listen. 00:18:24.740 |
chapter 55 is ultimately the main point of salvation. 00:18:49.420 |
But ultimately, the invitation is the same, is to come, 00:18:58.900 |
Without chapter 53, he can't tell sinners to come to him. 00:19:02.660 |
What would happen if God told sinners to come to him 00:19:29.940 |
but just to kind of give you a picture, right? 00:19:39.860 |
It's because the son of God absorbed our sins, 00:20:01.980 |
he said, "Where I go, you cannot come," right? 00:20:04.740 |
And he said, "Well, why can't I go, you know, do this?" 00:20:08.300 |
that he gives to them, or last of the I am statement, 00:20:11.220 |
and the last I am statement is, "I am divine," right? 00:20:27.100 |
You're gonna go to Jerusalem, we're gonna go, right? 00:20:29.380 |
And then even after he resurrects, in Acts chapter one, 00:20:32.820 |
the disciples are like, "Now, you know, is it now? 00:20:38.500 |
He said, "Wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 00:20:41.780 |
"Then when the Holy Spirit comes, you will be my witnesses 00:20:48.020 |
But the first invitation that he gives to his disciples 00:20:52.300 |
when he first meets them at the end of the ministry 00:20:55.380 |
and at the beginning of the Great Commissioner sending out, 00:21:01.540 |
I think we get into trouble when we think like, 00:21:17.940 |
Part of the reason why we're not evangelizing 00:21:30.320 |
then evangelism just becomes a check-off thing 00:21:38.960 |
in the wheel of life that you need to get done, 00:21:47.920 |
I haven't prayed enough, I gotta do more prayer, 00:21:56.400 |
Some of you guys don't know what wheel life is. 00:22:24.200 |
is to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:22:44.880 |
That shouldn't be our primary concern, right? 00:22:52.520 |
So again, what's a famous quote from a famous pastor 00:23:05.260 |
"God is most glorified when we are the most satisfied." 00:23:21.660 |
pretty much summarizes everything that God calls us to do, 00:23:27.020 |
We get caught up in too much, like, what we need to do. 00:23:39.220 |
because, you know, I have a little bit more time today. 00:23:57.660 |
That's why he says, "Whatever you do, do it without," what? 00:24:00.660 |
Grumbling, because as soon as you start grumbling, 00:24:08.060 |
The Old Testament has sacrifices that are mandatory, 00:24:14.100 |
because you can't come to God without making whole offering, 00:24:20.160 |
You can't come to God without making these offerings, right? 00:24:31.000 |
So there is no other sacrifices that are needed 00:24:40.300 |
Free will offering is when you are inspired and say, 00:24:43.020 |
"I wanna thank God and give this as an offering to God." 00:24:53.920 |
"If you don't make this offering, you can't know me. 00:25:02.620 |
and then he says, "Now live up to the calling 00:25:29.780 |
it's like, "I did this, this, this, and this." 00:25:38.840 |
Whether you're cleaning, whether you're singing, 00:25:42.480 |
whether you're setting up chairs or leading a small group, 00:25:44.720 |
or just loving your brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:25:47.760 |
not because God's gonna shake his hand and say, 00:26:14.520 |
our whole life is a free will offering to God. 00:26:17.160 |
And that's the difference between a bunch of people 00:26:22.680 |
that we're doing because I volunteered to do it. 00:26:25.520 |
I wasn't made to do it, I volunteered to do it 00:26:27.560 |
because I'm doing it as an act of worship to God. 00:26:30.560 |
Not because someone's gonna yell at me if I don't do it. 00:26:38.800 |
The call of restoration is not to figure out what to do 00:26:42.280 |
or where to go, but to come and eat and listen first. 00:26:50.160 |
"What's the most important quality that you look for 00:26:53.400 |
in somebody who wants to go into full-time ministry?" 00:27:09.320 |
Just seeing if you're paying attention, okay? 00:27:32.880 |
Or else, everything that comes out of your mouth 00:27:44.080 |
is to get young Christians to love Christ more. 00:27:47.760 |
So if there isn't a hungering for Christ in your life, 00:28:12.800 |
but the first thing that anybody absolutely has to have 00:28:16.360 |
before he bears true fruit is a hunger for God. 00:28:23.560 |
Because that's what we're trying to reproduce. 00:28:31.780 |
How can we tell people the greatest commandment 00:28:35.560 |
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength 00:28:44.040 |
he doesn't say, "Now the gates have been opened, 00:29:00.440 |
And somebody who is worshiping God in spirit and in truth 00:29:20.520 |
of your worship on Sunday affects non-Christians 00:29:28.820 |
They come in and they see the quality of your worship, 00:29:31.300 |
that you worshiping God as if you really love him. 00:29:37.080 |
Part of the greatest witness of a born-again Christian 00:29:44.740 |
Again, if you've been in ministry long enough, 00:29:57.920 |
Instead of worshiping the creator, they worship creation. 00:30:07.840 |
where what was lost, they can visually see restored. 00:30:15.380 |
worshiping Kobe, worshiping, you know, like whatever. 00:30:20.860 |
And all of a sudden, they can't even articulate it, 00:30:39.540 |
through the motion, they're not seeing worship. 00:30:48.380 |
what was lost is restored, and they are able to see that. 00:30:51.420 |
I've actually had a couple, an elderly couple, 00:30:55.380 |
a long, long time ago, I don't know if anybody 00:31:05.980 |
got in a car accident, and then our whole church 00:31:08.380 |
went out to see them, and then they came back, 00:31:10.620 |
and they were so encouraged by our church coming 00:31:12.860 |
and supporting them that the parents decided, 00:31:15.940 |
hey, I wanna go to your church because your community 00:31:31.700 |
But what made the biggest impact in their life was worship. 00:31:37.540 |
and at that, he didn't believe it, they didn't believe it, 00:31:42.340 |
And that curiosity, that being in the presence 00:31:55.420 |
of what it means to be a child of God, true worship. 00:31:58.260 |
What does it mean to seek the Lord while he may be found? 00:32:09.180 |
where he calls his people to come and repent. 00:32:12.300 |
So all these verses, you can look it up on your own, 00:32:14.380 |
2 Corinthians 6, one and two, Hebrews 2, three, 00:32:17.420 |
"Seek the Lord while he may be found," right? 00:32:24.640 |
But the point he's trying to make is there are seasons 00:32:33.460 |
And if you harden your heart and you refuse that, 00:32:43.380 |
I mean, life is not over, but it's much harder. 00:32:49.820 |
There's a lot of things that they could have done 00:32:51.220 |
while they were single, and they can't do now, you know? 00:32:55.380 |
And there's a lot of things that you can't do 00:32:59.260 |
And then even if you're young, there are periods 00:33:07.220 |
the word of God, that your heart is sensitive to him. 00:33:15.820 |
And then you choose and say, "Maybe not now." 00:33:18.700 |
And you think that somehow later on you can turn it on, 00:33:28.400 |
The reason why is because their hearts become hardened. 00:33:33.500 |
So it's the, do you not know that it's the kindness of God 00:33:42.100 |
Not that his grace isn't always there, right? 00:33:44.980 |
But we don't have years to hear all the time. 00:33:59.940 |
Again, this means that those who are not in his word 00:34:02.540 |
will not participate in the accomplishing of his purpose. 00:34:05.660 |
So the last question was, list as many things 00:34:25.380 |
in the same way that the word of God goes forth 00:34:28.460 |
and does not return until it has accomplished its purpose. 00:34:30.660 |
And the purpose of the rain is to bring life, right? 00:34:43.460 |
hopefully you took some time to think about it, 00:34:45.620 |
maybe did some study and went through the Bible 00:34:48.620 |
or some verses that kind of stood out to you. 00:35:03.340 |
Why, what has God ordained the word of God to do? 00:35:11.460 |
- Judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart, right? 00:35:14.340 |
Sometimes you can think that you feel like you're doing, 00:35:18.220 |
and then you open up the word of God and convicts, right? 00:35:28.300 |
but the word of God kind of convicted you, right? 00:35:36.980 |
'Cause the word of God does that all the time. 00:35:58.060 |
like they want a particular Bible verse, right? 00:36:14.420 |
So there's no particular verse that points to that. 00:36:24.380 |
but be transformed by the ruining of your mind. 00:36:25.960 |
Then you will be able to test and approve that 00:36:30.260 |
So how are you able to discern the will of God? 00:36:37.820 |
So a lot of times understanding the will of God 00:36:44.060 |
It's to have a heart and mind that is bent toward God, right? 00:36:48.540 |
And you're able to discern what is right and wrong 00:36:50.620 |
because your heart and your mind has been transformed 00:36:56.840 |
But if your heart and mind is not transformed 00:37:02.840 |
majority of the time you're not gonna find it 00:37:06.440 |
because most of the time God doesn't direct us that way. 00:37:09.840 |
God directs us by changing our hearts, changing our mind. 00:37:19.040 |
Because I might, I might obey if you reveal it to me. 00:37:32.620 |
So I don't really want directions with my money, 00:37:55.640 |
So the word of God, again, a lamp unto our feet. 00:38:00.600 |
if you wanna know God's direction and will for your life, 00:38:03.760 |
before you run to counseling and to other people, 00:38:06.600 |
open the word of God and let it renew your mind. 00:38:23.520 |
so that you can discern which counseling is from God. 00:38:36.280 |
So you can't determine what is right and wrong 00:38:41.320 |
Right and wrong has to be discerned by His word. 00:39:00.600 |
Faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of Christ. 00:39:18.140 |
But in the end, you can't transform their hearts. 00:39:41.520 |
about our salvation happens when the word of God is taught 00:40:06.840 |
just wants to look like he's doing well, does nothing. 00:40:09.800 |
Can, can, can accountability stop you from watching porn? 00:40:16.120 |
It can stop you from watching porn in a certain, 00:40:27.200 |
Accountability itself is not gonna cause you to grow. 00:40:34.840 |
In fact, you don't even have to tell the truth. 00:40:58.280 |
and the word of God is not what's guiding you, 00:41:00.280 |
even accountability is not gonna sanctify you. 00:41:04.600 |
Peer pressure is not going to cause you to grow. 00:41:08.640 |
Sanctification happens when we expose our lives 00:41:29.320 |
"I've treasured my heart that I will not sin against you." 00:41:49.720 |
I memorized scripture, so you don't have to worry about me. 00:41:53.080 |
Because when you choose to sin, you'll turn it off. 00:41:59.040 |
Just like you don't want a pastor going with you 00:42:04.640 |
You want me to go watch Finding Nemo with you, 00:42:07.480 |
So you can turn off accountability if you don't want it. 00:42:11.840 |
You can memorize scripture, and then if you want to sin, 00:42:21.440 |
So all of these things are things that God has placed 00:42:28.880 |
he speaks, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. 00:42:49.280 |
Like, I mean, that'll get us to jump through hoops, 00:42:54.160 |
What's gonna change you is you heard the voice 00:43:11.840 |
than you find in anything else in this world. 00:43:26.880 |
gets into your mind, and God begins to draw you to himself, 00:43:30.920 |
he says, "The God of this age is blind to the mind 00:43:33.680 |
"of the unbeliever, so that you do not see the glory 00:43:44.720 |
it's a continual calling, 'cause that's what I want. 00:43:48.060 |
What causes you to come here week after week? 00:43:54.040 |
Now, there's all kinds of reasons why people can come. 00:43:57.340 |
You can come because there's friendship here, 00:44:02.640 |
you know, you come because you got nothing to do 00:44:04.500 |
on Wednesday, I mean, there are all kinds of reasons 00:44:08.240 |
And sometimes we forget, because we're so duty-bound. 00:44:13.240 |
As a Christian, you're supposed to do this, right? 00:44:19.840 |
And sometimes you forget that what God wants from you 00:44:31.420 |
You pray not because you're supposed to pray, 00:44:33.160 |
because you want to have fellowship with God. 00:44:36.300 |
Until we recognize the want to in our hearts, 00:44:46.440 |
And that's why the Word of God is so important. 00:44:50.340 |
And again, those of you who've been in our church for a while 00:44:53.300 |
you know that that's the underlying principle 00:44:56.500 |
of how we do discipleship, how we do training, whatever, 00:45:06.900 |
Now, does that mean that everybody's gonna respond 00:45:18.660 |
and people who hear His voice from the Word of God, 00:45:21.660 |
and they begin to get attracted and come to Him, 00:45:29.660 |
there's no peer pressure, there's no knocking ahead, 00:45:35.320 |
And just like he said, what's the point of the Word of God? 00:45:38.320 |
The Word of God goes forth, he said, "Trust my word." 00:45:41.520 |
'Cause there's times when we can begin to think, 00:45:47.920 |
If you just teach the Word of God, who's gonna come? 00:45:53.080 |
'Cause I mean, you hear that all over our generation. 00:45:59.680 |
People don't wanna come to church if it's Bible study, 00:46:01.640 |
because it's not exciting, it's not fun, right? 00:46:04.360 |
And that may be true, you know, absolutely true. 00:46:08.360 |
There's a whole bunch of things that we can do 00:46:09.960 |
to attract more people, and get people to do more things. 00:46:43.200 |
Because sometimes it seems like it's not working. 00:46:54.360 |
it will never return until it has accomplished my purpose. 00:47:02.380 |
Maybe it is to be sent out to judge people, who knows? 00:47:15.520 |
The church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. 00:47:18.120 |
The church is to be the heralder of the Word of God, 00:47:24.640 |
So there are seasons when you will preach the Word of God, 00:47:26.560 |
and people will leave because you're preaching 00:47:29.360 |
And there are people will be bored out of their mind 00:47:32.240 |
And then there are seasons when people will fall in love 00:47:42.080 |
He didn't give us 10 different methods to sanctify people. 00:47:47.200 |
So we stick with that in season and out of season. 00:47:56.160 |
but I think it was an important part of the section.