back to index20160817 Wednesday Bible Study
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Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this evening to be able to come together with 00:00:09.320 |
brothers and sisters to be able to share, to pray, to provoke one another on toward 00:00:16.320 |
We pray that the study of Isaiah, Lord, even though at times it may be confusing, I pray 00:00:21.440 |
that your heart and your will and your desire, who you are, your glory, all of these things 00:00:26.460 |
may be revealed, that the more we see of who you are and how you work, that they would 00:00:31.860 |
instill in us a greater confidence, Lord God, of all the promises that you give. 00:00:36.760 |
We pray for your Holy Spirit to lead us, that our hearts may be filled with you, and we 00:00:42.020 |
ask for your blessing over this time in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:00:49.720 |
So this week there is no homework because we're done with chapter 56, and so we're going 00:00:55.340 |
to be taking a break, a three-week break after next week. 00:01:01.900 |
We're going to be going over, again, all of it, not just the session that we did. 00:01:04.920 |
We're going to do an overview study just to kind of get you to remember some of the things 00:01:12.580 |
I do want to encourage you to take some time to review your notes, you know, to go back 00:01:17.420 |
and just, you don't have to know it in detail, but just go through it, and then your memory 00:01:22.840 |
verses that you have, try to do your best to go back and ... 00:01:25.560 |
Next week, how many of your groups have not done the snacks? 00:01:32.220 |
Raise your hand if your group hasn't done the snacks yet. 00:01:36.860 |
If you're doing it today, don't raise your hand. 00:01:39.860 |
The ones who haven't done it yet, raise your hand, raise your hand. 00:01:41.600 |
So we have one, two, whichever, three, four, five, six groups? 00:01:59.860 |
So, all of your groups who didn't do it, we'll all do it all at once next week, okay? 00:02:13.860 |
So, you guys are triple that, which means it would be, it should be triple the, triple 00:02:18.860 |
the amount, triple the flavor, triple everything, okay? 00:02:22.860 |
So, so please come, again, all of you guys could, hey, let me see. 00:02:28.860 |
I need to know who you are so that we can better coordinate, so we don't just have all 00:02:34.860 |
Can, can one of your groups take charge so that you guys can coordinate what you guys 00:02:48.860 |
Any group want to volunteer to coordinate and serve the kingdom of God for His glory? 00:03:06.860 |
Oh, their, their hands went up first, okay, so the glory goes to your group over there. 00:03:11.860 |
So, can you jot down which groups they are so that you'll know who they are? 00:03:14.860 |
So, can you raise your hand if you're one of the groups that's going to be bringing 00:03:18.860 |
So, can you guys, can you stand up and see who they are and jot it down? 00:03:23.860 |
Raise your hand until they get, they get you. 00:03:44.860 |
So, if you guys can do us a favor and coordinate, okay? 00:03:48.860 |
So, next, next week, because it is a review, we're going to spend some extended time worship, 00:03:53.860 |
praying, and then take extended time fellowship at the end, okay? 00:03:56.860 |
And then after that, we're going to take at least three, possibly four weeks off, but 00:04:01.860 |
right now the plan is to take three weeks off, okay? 00:04:04.860 |
And then there's some other things that we're working on right now, but we, it's not finalized 00:04:10.860 |
But we'll let you know as that happens, okay? 00:04:20.860 |
And those of you who are coordinating, if you are facilitating and leading the small 00:04:24.860 |
group, you're going to be getting an email sometime early next week, just to kind of, 00:04:29.860 |
you know, asking for some feedback and for some direction for the following week, so 00:04:34.860 |
And please, if you see the email coming from me, respond ASAP, okay? 00:04:40.860 |
The habit is, I get about half of people to respond right away, and the other half take 00:04:45.860 |
So, if you get an email from me, please respond as quickly as you can, okay? 00:04:50.860 |
And this is for the small group facilitators. 00:04:57.860 |
I doubled up because we had two weeks on Thursday and Friday, so hopefully you had more time 00:05:02.860 |
Okay, so if we look at Chapter 65, we're looking at the very end of the book of Isaiah, 00:05:07.860 |
and he is prophesying about the promise of restoration at the end times. 00:05:13.860 |
We said that it could be in the time of the millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ. 00:05:18.860 |
It could also be talking about the very end, right? 00:05:21.860 |
So, if you look at Chapter 65, it is a rebuke toward the nation of Israel. 00:05:27.860 |
So, if you've noticed, Chapter 65 and 66, the tone of it is rebuke, right? 00:05:34.860 |
Up to this point, he's been talking about restoration and promise, but he also is reminding 00:05:39.860 |
the nation of Israel because even though he's prophesying about the end times, Isaiah is 00:05:44.860 |
prophesying to a specific group of people in a historical context, right? 00:05:49.860 |
So, during Isaiah's prophecy, what was happening to the nation of Israel? 00:05:56.860 |
Those of you guys who were with us, either through any part of the study or in the very 00:06:09.860 |
What is one sin that kept on being repeated over and over and God seems to keep pointing out? 00:06:18.860 |
They were very active, and because they were living in a time of peace, their confidence 00:06:25.860 |
was in other nations or their wealth or whatever it was that they had, so it wasn't like they 00:06:30.860 |
were going out and outright worshipping idols. 00:06:33.860 |
They were very busy worshipping at the temple, but they weren't right with God. 00:06:38.860 |
What God was calling for was not superficial worship, but true repentance. 00:06:42.860 |
And so, up to this point, up to Chapter, remember, Chapter 39 up to this point, it's all promises 00:06:51.860 |
And then, but at the very end, he comes back into the historical context reminding them, 00:06:58.860 |
God is not going to sweep their sins just under the rug. 00:07:01.860 |
Even though he's talking about restoration, they're not off the hook, right? 00:07:06.860 |
So when he comes, sin is going to be dealt with, but he's also going to be restoring 00:07:11.860 |
So that's where we are in Chapter 65, where he's talking to, in 65, he says, "I was ready 00:07:16.860 |
to be sought by those who did not ask for me. 00:07:18.860 |
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me." 00:07:25.860 |
I mean, as in the whole context, it's definitely the nation of Israel. 00:07:28.860 |
But the first verse when he says, "I said, 'Here am I, here am I,' to a nation that 00:07:35.860 |
So if you look at your sheet, I have the wrong reference there. 00:07:41.860 |
It's actually Romans 10, 20, 21, where Paul actually cites this verse. 00:07:47.860 |
So turn your Bibles to Romans 10, 20, and 21. 00:07:50.860 |
And I think it'll kind of maybe shed light on how we ought to understand this text. 00:08:24.860 |
So in Romans 10, 20, and 21, what is verse 1 in reference to? 00:08:34.860 |
He's going to open up the kingdom to the Gentiles, people who are not called. 00:08:38.860 |
They were not privileged like the nation of Israel. 00:08:40.860 |
But these people, the nation of Israel that God was holding his hand out all this time 00:08:46.860 |
In other words, that the judgment that they deserve is much greater. 00:09:03.860 |
And I'm just going to highlight a few of them. 00:09:07.860 |
And the way he describes why they're not good is because they follow their own devices. 00:09:16.860 |
They're giving sacrifices, but they're not the things that God was demanding. 00:09:22.860 |
Remember when I said God does the lights and loyalty rather than sacrifice and then burnt offering. 00:09:32.860 |
So what they were doing was, well, this part they want to keep to themselves. 00:09:37.860 |
They weren't willing to repent, so they were offering all this other stuff. 00:09:41.860 |
And so this can easily happen where you're in church busy serving God. 00:09:46.860 |
And then because you're serving God in the church, it kind of somehow excuses all the other stuff that God is demanding. 00:09:52.860 |
But in the nation of Israel, he's basically saying that you're busy serving me at the temple, 00:09:58.860 |
but that's not the thing that God desired from them. 00:10:11.860 |
They sacrifice in gardens and make offerings on bricks. 00:10:15.860 |
In other words, they were worshiping God, but not the way that God told them to. 00:10:19.860 |
Remember, what was the sin of the Northern Kingdom? 00:10:35.860 |
What was the… remember when the Southern Kingdom and Northern Kingdom split? 00:10:39.860 |
There was a particular sin that they brought in from the very beginning. 00:10:45.860 |
I mean, basically what you said is right, but more specific. 00:10:53.860 |
The Northern Kingdom was where, remember, they were concerned that they were going to come down to Jerusalem to give sacrifices. 00:11:00.860 |
So he makes a golden calf worship and say, "This is Yahweh." 00:11:04.860 |
And then he set up a place of worship outside of Jerusalem. 00:11:08.860 |
But the Southern Kingdom's problem was they kept on sacrificing in high places. 00:11:15.860 |
So they would keep on making sacrifices the way they wanted to. 00:11:18.860 |
In the name of Yahweh, saying that this is sacrifice for God, but it wasn't at the temple. 00:11:26.860 |
So every time, even though they were sacrificing for God, what does God say? 00:11:30.860 |
Every time they sacrifice, He said, "They are provoking Him." 00:11:35.860 |
They're worshiping Him, but their worship is provoking Him. 00:11:40.860 |
Isn't that what Isaiah says in the beginning? 00:11:42.860 |
That your sacrifice, your song, they're detestable. 00:11:50.860 |
And yet God, instead of worshiping and being honored, it says God is angered by it. 00:11:56.860 |
And now, again, so He starts out in the historical context, remember, in chapter 1, chapter 2? 00:12:01.860 |
And now He's wrapping up and He's going back to Israel's context. 00:12:08.860 |
They continue to spend their nights in secret places. 00:12:12.860 |
Again, all of these things are things that God said would make them unclean. 00:12:19.860 |
And then, again, another thing we wonder how they consider themselves holy. 00:12:23.860 |
Even though God is calling them to repentance, if they don't see themselves as sinners, what could they repent of? 00:12:32.860 |
Why didn't they see themselves—why did they see themselves as holy? 00:12:41.860 |
So, because they were busy doing God's work, they thought they were holy. 00:12:46.860 |
And that's what caused them to have hardened hearts. 00:12:51.860 |
They didn't see themselves like the Gentiles. 00:12:55.860 |
So, whenever God prescribed repentance and judgment, it's like, yeah, those people. 00:12:59.860 |
But they didn't see themselves in that place. 00:13:01.860 |
And God is saying, this is the very reason why judgment is going to come. 00:13:09.860 |
I mean, when you take your time to actually study and then let the Word of God judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart, 00:13:16.860 |
it's like, people who are in the church are not typically guilty of idol worship. 00:13:22.860 |
People who are typically in decent churches are not guilty of prosperity gospel or the false gospel. 00:13:29.860 |
That's not what we're—that's typically—that's not the danger that is knocking at our door constantly. 00:13:35.860 |
These are the things that we're—if we're not careful—can easily creep in. 00:13:45.860 |
And so, you kind of get to a point where the Word of God is no longer molding you. 00:13:50.860 |
And you see every time you read the Word of God, you're always seeing it at the lens of who needs to hear this. 00:14:00.860 |
And so, again, that's where the nation of Israel is. 00:14:03.860 |
And I think that's why the book of Isaiah is very relevant to our culture, like church culture. 00:14:15.860 |
So, if you look at verse 8, it says, "Thus says the Lord, 'As a new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, 'Do not destroy it, for there is blessing in it.' 00:14:25.860 |
So I will do for My servant's sake and not destroy them all." 00:14:29.860 |
So, again, over and over again, he talks about a remnant. 00:14:33.860 |
And as a result of the remnant, that God will not completely destroy them. 00:14:41.860 |
Where God says He's angry to the nation of Israel, but He will not destroy them completely because of the remnant. 00:14:59.860 |
Where Abraham is pleading with God, "What if there's 50? What if there's 45? What if there's 40?" 00:15:04.860 |
And then He kind of brings them down all the way to 10. 00:15:09.860 |
And He says, "No, no, I wouldn't destroy even 10." 00:15:14.860 |
So this story, again, this thing reminds us of the story of Lot. 00:15:19.860 |
Where Abraham is pleading, and it says, "God would not destroy the righteous with the unrighteous." 00:15:24.860 |
He's saying there is still hope for the nation of Israel because of the remnant. 00:15:33.860 |
How does He describe the distinction between the servant and those who are rebellious? 00:15:42.860 |
"My servants shall eat, but they shall go hungry." 00:15:50.860 |
So these are the faithful versus the unfaithful. 00:15:54.860 |
There's not a distinction between the wise and the unwise, the rich and the poor. 00:15:58.860 |
There's not a distinction between the talented and the untalented, the hardworking and the not hardworking. 00:16:05.860 |
This is just a distinction between faithful and unfaithful people. 00:16:10.860 |
That God's going to feed them, but the unfaithful, they will go hungry. 00:16:14.860 |
"My servants shall drink, but they shall go thirsty." 00:16:24.860 |
At the end of the day, our very sustenance is dependent upon His grace. 00:16:31.860 |
Their food, their drink, their very essence of their joy is in God's hands. 00:16:43.860 |
So when the nation of Israel was looking for their shalom, to be blessed by God, 00:16:48.860 |
in the end, God says, "The only way that you're going to have shalom is to be right with God." 00:16:56.860 |
"But you shall cry for pain, of heart shall wail for breaking the spirit, 00:17:01.860 |
and shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord will put you to death." 00:17:08.860 |
Again, all of this is in God's sovereign hands. 00:17:13.860 |
So above working hard, above investing in the right places, 00:17:21.860 |
the most important thing for any child of God is that he is right with Him. 00:17:25.860 |
So if you're not right with Him, it doesn't matter how hard you're working. 00:17:29.860 |
It doesn't matter what kind of jobs you have, what major you have, and what tests you pass. 00:17:33.860 |
For a child of God, if you're not right with God, there's nothing more important than to first get right with God. 00:17:40.860 |
Because the very essence of our food, our drink, our joy, our life, is in God's sovereign hands. 00:17:47.860 |
And that's what God is telling the nation of Israel. 00:17:50.860 |
The Lord promises in chapter 65, 17, to create a new heaven and a new earth. 00:18:00.860 |
What is the difference between the two, if there is any? What is this in description of? 00:18:04.860 |
The new heaven and new earth, if you again study through the... 00:18:08.860 |
We can make the distinction and say, well, the heaven is the unseen, and the earth is the seen. 00:18:13.860 |
The material and the immaterial, right? Or this life or the afterlife. 00:18:17.860 |
But generally speaking, new heaven and new earth basically is talking about all of God's creation. 00:18:31.860 |
So, in other words, everything that went wrong at the fall is going to be restored at the end. 00:18:40.860 |
Not just a portion, not just a part, but everything. 00:18:44.860 |
So, that's what he means in chapter 65, verse 17. 00:18:54.860 |
Can somebody turn your Bible to 2 Peter 3, 13? 00:19:01.860 |
If you're there, can you just read it out loud for us? 00:19:04.860 |
And then, if we can have somebody else turn their Bible to Revelations 21, 1. 00:19:16.860 |
>> I'm 2 Peter 3, 13. But according to the promise, we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, to establish righteousness for all. 00:19:25.860 |
>> Okay. So, again, Peter encourages the readers about the promise of the new heaven and a new earth 00:19:31.860 |
as the motivation for why we ought to persevere through suffering, why we ought to live and pursue righteousness. 00:19:43.860 |
>> That I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. The sea was no more. 00:19:51.860 |
>> Okay. So, again, if you look at the end of the book of Revelation, the final state of human history is going to be the promise of a new heaven and a new earth. 00:20:00.860 |
Right? So, everything that you and I know that has gone wrong, God is going to restore what He intended and He's going to make it even better. 00:20:07.860 |
And so, when it talks about a new heaven and a new earth, it's always a promise of complete restoration. 00:20:18.860 |
What is the description of the new heaven and a new earth? 00:20:26.860 |
One of the first things it mentions in verse 20 is that infant will not die early and old men will live a long life. 00:20:37.860 |
I mean, considering the context, you know, of last weekend, you know, I can't help but to think about, you know, how, you know, 00:20:47.860 |
when we're reading this text, and the promise from scripture that all of these horrendous things that human experience, 00:20:54.860 |
and that's not the only thing, but obviously that, you know, hardship, suffering, pain, cancer, 00:21:02.860 |
all of these things are results of a living in a fallen world. 00:21:08.860 |
And so, there's a cloud of darkness that hovers over all mankind. 00:21:13.860 |
And you and I, even though we've been delivered spiritually, we're not home yet. 00:21:19.860 |
So, because we're not home, we also experience all of this. 00:21:23.860 |
And so, he says that at the end, when he comes and he restores everything, 00:21:27.860 |
it means all of these things, all of these things that we've suffered, all of these things that we watch other people suffering, 00:21:32.860 |
all of these things, he's going to wipe away. 00:21:36.860 |
So, you know, the hope that we have for mankind is that no matter how bad it is, it's temporary. 00:21:45.860 |
No matter, you can imagine the worst possible scenario, the most painful thing you can possibly experience on this earth, 00:21:58.860 |
Because when he comes, he says he's going to wipe away all of this stuff. 00:22:05.860 |
Sorry to interrupt, but the new heaven and new earth, are we going to be on the new heaven or new earth? 00:22:13.860 |
When I speak to Jehovah Witness, I ask, you know, if you're not part of the 144,000, then why are you a Jehovah Witness? 00:22:21.860 |
They're like the 144,000 are part of the new heaven, the new Jesus, and we good Jehovah Witness get to be on the new earth, 00:22:31.860 |
So, their hope is to make it to the new earth. 00:22:34.860 |
So, we as Christians obviously don't believe that, but how do you explain the new heaven, new earth? 00:22:41.860 |
I don't understand the whole totality of creation. 00:22:47.860 |
Is it two separate places where us Christians can have peace? 00:22:51.860 |
New heaven and new earth, again, it depends on the context, but most of the time when the Bible describes new heaven and new earth, 00:22:57.860 |
I don't think it's meant to be dissected as what is earth and what is, you know, what is new earth, what is new heaven. 00:23:04.860 |
It's talking about material and immaterial, all the God of heaven, earth, and under the earth, right? 00:23:10.860 |
He's talking about God is sovereign over everything, all of creation, things that you know, things that you don't know. 00:23:16.860 |
So, when he's talking about new heaven and new earth, he's not saying that he's just going to make the earth new, 00:23:21.860 |
he's saying that everything that you know that exists is going to be renewed. 00:23:25.860 |
So, we can sit there and kind of like, well, there's a new heaven looks like this, a new earth looks like that. 00:23:30.860 |
I mean, there is a millennial kingdom that, again, I don't want to get into tonight, 00:23:34.860 |
but I don't think, at least in this context, that the reference is talking about, you know, 00:23:40.860 |
this new heaven looks going to look like this and new earth is going to look like this. 00:23:43.860 |
It's just in reference to all things. Instead of saying all things, he just says new heaven and new earth. 00:23:49.860 |
[Audience member] But in the eternal state of the new heaven and new earth, there will be no more death, right? 00:23:57.860 |
So, if there is an infant that will not die early, I mean, I'm really correct that there will be some death. 00:24:03.860 |
[Ross] Yeah, okay. Good. You're paying attention. 00:24:07.860 |
I didn't open up the can of worms because I didn't want to get into the millennial. 00:24:13.860 |
I just said the end times because I'm just kind of lumping it all together. 00:24:17.860 |
So, if you look at it, like, if we start dissecting and say, well, this is a description of after the great white throne judgment 00:24:24.860 |
and then we're in eternity. So, if you read the commentaries, some of the commentaries, 00:24:29.860 |
Douglas Moo believed that the initial part of it is in reference to eternity 00:24:35.860 |
and then he gets back into talking about the description of the millennium. 00:24:39.860 |
Okay, so I don't want to get too deep into that because then we're going to go into why does he believe this 00:24:44.860 |
and dissect the words and I don't want to, I'm just going to leave it at this is the end times. 00:24:49.860 |
Okay, but that's a good question. We can talk more about it later. 00:24:54.860 |
Really, we're getting stuck on this, alright? 00:24:57.860 |
[Audience] One more question. So, the text actually says new heavens 00:25:05.860 |
and you know how Genesis 1, chapter 1, verse 1 says that the angel God created heavens and new earth. 00:25:18.860 |
Are there more than one heavens? Is that the question? 00:25:23.860 |
[Audience] We can talk about all of them, but yeah, just noticing that it's heavens. 00:25:28.860 |
Okay, well, I don't know about that particular reference, but if you look at the description of Yahweh, Elohim, 00:25:41.860 |
And the reason why it's in plural is that in the ancient nearest writings, 00:25:47.860 |
it wasn't because there were like a lot of people look at that and say, "Oh, that's a reference to the Trinity." 00:25:51.860 |
It actually was common outside of the Jewish writings. 00:25:55.860 |
They would do that to show respect, right? Or for the purpose of emphasis. 00:26:00.860 |
So, I don't know about that particular text, but it could just be for the purpose of emphasis that all heavens, all the earth, right? 00:26:07.860 |
Not necessarily like multiple heavens or multiple earths. 00:26:12.860 |
Just talking about the totality of everything. 00:26:17.860 |
Yes, we're going to, okay. I was trying so hard to move on. All right. 00:26:23.860 |
[Audience] Just one last thing, and it's not really a question, but more to your comment there. 00:26:28.860 |
You know, without going into all the details, isn't it true that as it relates to the end times, 00:26:35.860 |
some of the things that Jehovah's Witnesses believe, it's not that different than actually what we believe. 00:26:40.860 |
You know, there's a lot of differences in obviously what they believe about Jesus Christ, 00:26:44.860 |
but in terms of the new heavens and the new earth, there's actually a lot of similarities. 00:26:48.860 |
Yeah, I mean, we believe in a new heaven. I mean, it depends if you're a dispensationalist. 00:26:53.860 |
Yeah, non-dispensationalists will disagree with that. 00:26:56.860 |
But their difference is they believe that only a hundred, for literal 144,000 people are going to enter, 00:27:02.860 |
and you have to earn your way into that. And so they don't know if they're going to earn it. 00:27:09.860 |
[Audience] Well, the 144 is already in the new heaven ruling, which is, it stopped like 1921 or 1914, whenever it was. 00:27:17.860 |
Their hope now is to get to the new earth, which is what they call paradise earth. 00:27:21.860 |
And I'm here wondering as a Christian, where am I going to be? 00:27:24.860 |
Am I going to be in a new heaven, a new earth? 00:27:27.860 |
And then your answer was, new heavens, new earth is the final state of mind for me, 00:27:33.860 |
instead of me just, how did you come to that versus like... 00:27:37.860 |
I don't think there's a need to make that distinction, 00:27:40.860 |
because everyone who is genuinely in the new earth is going to be in the new heavens. 00:27:45.860 |
So you're saying like, some people go to new heaven, some people go to new earth. 00:27:52.860 |
So if you're making a distinction between a millennium and the eternal state, 00:27:56.860 |
the people who are entering into millennium is because they are Christians, 00:27:59.860 |
and they are under a physical rule of Christ, or in that thousand year reign of Christ under the Israelites. 00:28:06.860 |
But when that thing ends, everybody who is a genuine Christian in the thousand year reign will also enter into the new heaven. 00:28:13.860 |
So there is no distinction like some go to new heaven, some go to new earth, and that's the final state. 00:28:26.860 |
[Audience] So when the Bible says after death comes judgment, 00:28:30.860 |
like if I die tonight, just here is where we'll be? 00:28:38.860 |
Yeah, I mean, let me say this, and then we'll move on. 00:28:45.860 |
We take the Bible literally, so when the Bible says to be absent in the body is to be present with Christ, 00:28:51.860 |
and we know that that's exactly what's going to happen. 00:28:53.860 |
But at the same time, when we die, the concept of, like, am I here or over there? 00:29:00.860 |
That's people who are limited, finite, in their physical body. 00:29:07.860 |
So is he here today or tomorrow or yesterday? 00:29:13.860 |
So we're thinking, like, if I die, will I be with him then? 00:29:17.860 |
When Jesus is same yesterday, today, and forever. 00:29:23.860 |
So we're trying to apply how you and I understand life in the context of the life that we're going to have eternity with him. 00:29:32.860 |
So it's not, anything that we say about what the eternal life is going to look like, it's going to be a philosophical question. 00:29:39.860 |
Theologically, we say yes, that's what's going to happen. 00:29:44.860 |
Then we start thinking about, philosophically, how do we understand that? 00:30:23.860 |
You know, I think the battery for this is dead. 00:30:29.860 |
Okay, well, you guys can fill that in, or we can change the battery for this. 00:31:20.860 |
Alright, so in the new heaven and new earth, he said the Lord will know what they will need and answer even before they call. 00:31:27.860 |
And again, part of the reason why there is frustration, even in our daily prayer of life, is, again, part of it is, 00:31:38.860 |
So just like we have this physical body that we have to wrestle through, and one day we're going to be delivered, 00:31:43.860 |
and we're going to be seeing him face to face, and so when that happens, even in our prayers, 00:31:48.860 |
we say he's going to know us so intimately, we're going to know him so intimately, he won't answer. 00:31:53.860 |
So, it's interesting that part of living in a fallen world is that even our prayer life, 00:31:59.860 |
even our intimacy with him isn't going to be exactly what it ought to be in eternity. 00:32:15.860 |
If you look at verse 1, chapter 66, verse 1, it says, 00:32:21.860 |
"Thus says the Lord, 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. 00:32:25.860 |
What is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?'" 00:32:29.860 |
So, in context of verse 1 and 2, what is he saying? 00:32:39.860 |
I mean, God has the throne, his throne on earth, and the earth is his footstool. 00:32:47.860 |
What can you possibly add that he doesn't already have? 00:32:53.860 |
So, basically, what he's telling the nation of Israel is, 00:32:56.860 |
"You're working hard to do all of these things, but at the end of the day, he owns everything. 00:33:02.860 |
So, how can you possibly think that what God needs is your effort, is your strength, your money? 00:33:10.860 |
What God wants is not looking for talent, he's not looking for ability. 00:33:16.860 |
He says he's looking for a humble and contrite heart, broken people, 00:33:20.860 |
a vessel that he could wield and use for his purpose. 00:33:26.860 |
So, the best thing that we can offer up to him is a life that's easily moldable, obedient. 00:33:34.860 |
When he says, "Left, go left." When he says, "Right, go right." 00:33:38.860 |
Humble and submitted, so that if he's a potter and we're the clay, 00:33:42.860 |
the best thing we can offer up to him is a clay that's easily moldable. 00:33:47.860 |
You come to him like, "Well, you know, I'm going to be useful for this." 00:33:50.860 |
And he says, "Well, how can you possibly add the earth is my footstool?" 00:33:54.860 |
And that was the problem with the nation of Israel. 00:33:57.860 |
In their pride, they were coming before Yahweh and saying, "We're doing all of this for you." 00:34:03.860 |
"Why aren't you answering our prayers? Why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you doing that?" 00:34:06.860 |
He said, "But in reality, what God is looking for is a broken and contrite heart." 00:34:16.860 |
Those who give false sacrifices and worship are no different than any other murderer or idol worshippers. 00:34:23.860 |
Verse 3, "He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man. 00:34:28.860 |
He who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck. 00:34:31.860 |
He who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood." 00:34:35.860 |
All of these things are, again, in some form, an act of worship, and yet God says, "That's not worship. 00:34:43.860 |
You're just killing animals. You're like a murderer." 00:34:50.860 |
He says that there's going to be such delusion in false worship that those who persecute the righteous will do it claiming that they are glorifying God. 00:34:57.860 |
Verse 5, "Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word. 00:35:01.860 |
Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for My name's sake have said, 'Let the Lord be glorified that we may see your joy, 00:35:08.860 |
but it is they who shall be put to shame.'" What does that sound like? 00:35:16.860 |
The Jewish leaders, right, who crucified Christ, thinking that they're doing God a favor. 00:35:22.860 |
So think about just how hardened and just how fallen that they were, that they're crucifying the Son of God, and they're all doing it in the name of Yahweh. 00:35:32.860 |
And that's exactly what God says, that they're going to be so delusional in where they stand before God, 00:35:39.860 |
and yet they created this hierarchy of who's right with God and who's not, and who's righteous and who's not. 00:35:45.860 |
And when the true Messiah comes, they're completely off. They weren't just simply out of order. 00:35:52.860 |
They didn't just get, you know, you had the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees, and say, "You know what? 00:35:58.860 |
You have a few people who are not in the right place." Right? 00:36:02.860 |
He didn't just come and just kind of reorganize. He came and looked at the whole system, and He said, 00:36:07.860 |
"Everybody on this row, everybody who's pursuing this, you guys are all wrong. 00:36:13.860 |
They were the ones blaspheming His name." Right? 00:36:16.860 |
Everybody that they looked up to, the teachers, the scribes, the Pharisees, the leaders of Israel, 00:36:23.860 |
they were the ones who were blaspheming the name of God. So they weren't just a little bit off. 00:36:33.860 |
And then they crucify the Messiah that they've been preaching and teaching for hundreds of years, 00:36:39.860 |
and they all did it saying that they're glorifying God. 00:36:42.860 |
That's how delusional they were. Again, that's why I think false worship is so dangerous. 00:36:50.860 |
That's why sometimes I think the people who are the most delusional 00:36:55.860 |
are religious people who don't have a personal relationship with Christ. 00:37:01.860 |
People who are in the church, who've heard the gospel, who go through the motion, 00:37:05.860 |
and do all of that stuff, and they don't have a personal relationship with Christ. 00:37:10.860 |
Because we kind of feel like we're on the boat that's safe. 00:37:16.860 |
At least the non-Christians know. They don't believe, and they know where they stand, 00:37:19.860 |
whether they believe or don't believe. But the people who are, I think the biggest tragedy 00:37:24.860 |
will be in the church, who think that they're going to be meeting their Savior, 00:37:28.860 |
and realize at the end that they're going to be in the wrong line. 00:37:32.860 |
They're in the judgment line. Right? And that's what He's warning the nation of Israel. 00:37:44.860 |
He goes into this elaborate description in verse 7, 00:37:48.860 |
"Before she was in labor, she gave birth. Before her pain came upon her, 00:37:51.860 |
she delivered a son. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such a thing?" 00:37:55.860 |
In other words, that this lady was pregnant, and all of a sudden, she's going to give birth. 00:38:00.860 |
Verse 9, "Shall I bring to the point of birth, and not cause to bring forth?" 00:38:04.860 |
In other words, God has been working through history, 00:38:07.860 |
and He didn't set all of this up to just at the end, just kind of forget it, 00:38:11.860 |
and sweep it under the rug. Whether it was for the salvation of Israel, 00:38:15.860 |
salvation of His people, or for their judgment. 00:38:19.860 |
God has been carefully orchestrating all of this to fulfill His purpose. 00:38:24.860 |
He's not going to bring it up to that point, and then just say, "Forget it." Right? 00:38:29.860 |
So that's what He's referring to. He said, "Shall I impregnate the history of mankind, 00:38:35.860 |
and at the end just kind of forget it?" In other words, 00:38:37.860 |
everything that He has said, He's going to fulfill. Everything. 00:38:48.860 |
"To those who justify themselves, those are the ones who will not be justified." 00:38:52.860 |
Verse 17, "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, 00:38:58.860 |
following one in the midst, eating pigs' flesh and abomination, 00:39:01.860 |
and mice shall come to an end together, declares the Lord." 00:39:08.860 |
Those who stand before God and feeling like they don't need to be justified, 00:39:11.860 |
they are the ones who are going to be guilty. 00:39:16.860 |
The only way to be justified before God is to recognize our sin and repent. 00:39:27.860 |
And obviously all of this is in preparation for the coming Messiah. 00:39:32.860 |
So imagine if you're reading this and saying, "Those who justify themselves, 00:39:35.860 |
the judgment is coming." Then how do we get justified? 00:39:39.860 |
That's the big question that they should have had. 00:39:43.860 |
If all this religious worship and all of these things, 00:39:46.860 |
if this doesn't justify us, then what's going to justify us? 00:39:50.860 |
Almost like a mystery. And that's what Paul says, right? 00:39:53.860 |
The mystery of the Gospel was revealed in Christ. 00:39:56.860 |
That He kind of took us to that point and kind of like, 00:39:59.860 |
"Well, He's coming. Well, what is He going to do?" 00:40:06.860 |
"And all the nations will gather together and see His glory." 00:40:10.860 |
In other words, His promises that He's making to the Kingdom of Israel 00:40:13.860 |
is going to be opened up to the rest of the world. 00:40:16.860 |
And it's the Gentiles that will be the ones declaring His glory. 00:40:20.860 |
And then eventually God's going to use them to bring Israel back. 00:40:26.860 |
We've been studying through the book of Romans. 00:40:29.860 |
We're almost there. We're not quite there yet. 00:40:31.860 |
But when we get to chapter 9, this is exactly what He's going to fulfill. 00:40:34.860 |
Romans chapter 9, 10, and 11 is the fulfillment of this particular passage. 00:40:39.860 |
There's going to be a hardening of the heart of Israel momentarily. 00:40:43.860 |
And then we're living right now in the period of the Gentiles, the Church Age. 00:40:48.860 |
But when that period is full, He said that Israel is going to be regrafted in. 00:40:56.860 |
So right now, it's not the Jews. It's not the literal people of God or the nation of Israel. 00:41:00.860 |
But the Gentiles are the ones building the churches. 00:41:03.860 |
But eventually, through the Gentiles, revival is going to break out in the nation of Israel. 00:41:08.860 |
And they're going to be brought back. So that's what that passage is. 00:41:10.860 |
And Romans chapter 9, 10, and 11 describes this in detail. 00:41:18.860 |
And what is the ultimate purpose of this restoration? 00:41:23.860 |
They're all going to come and worship Him. That's the end product. 00:41:35.860 |
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:41:42.860 |
Instead of giving glory to God, instead of seeking His glory, instead of worshipping His glory, 00:41:47.860 |
even at our best, we're always wrestling with our glory and His glory. 00:41:54.860 |
And that's, again, it's a description of the fall of mankind. 00:41:58.860 |
At the end, when God restores, He's going to bring everybody back. 00:42:04.860 |
He's going to reveal His glory that we've fallen short of. 00:42:07.860 |
But when we are in the presence of His full glory, we're going to break up into worship. 00:42:13.860 |
So, it's just, right now, we wrestle with smaller worship. 00:42:21.860 |
Whether it's sports or whatever it is that we get wrapped up in. 00:42:25.860 |
Again, none of this stuff is necessarily wrong. 00:42:28.860 |
But if we're not careful, it can compete with God's glory. 00:42:33.860 |
But He says, at the end, when His glory is fully revealed, there's going to be no competition. 00:42:42.860 |
What we're going to be doing in eternity is to give Him worship. 00:42:46.860 |
So, if you don't know the ecstasy of really, truly worshipping God, 00:42:53.860 |
and your idea of worship is singing hymns, clapping, you know what I mean? 00:43:01.860 |
There's nothing to look forward to in eternity. 00:43:09.860 |
Because what a Christian is, is somebody who's seen the glory of Christ. 00:43:16.860 |
And that's why you repent, and that's why you come to church. 00:43:21.860 |
So, a genuine believer is one who has seen the glory of Christ, 00:43:25.860 |
and now desires that for the rest of eternity. 00:43:28.860 |
So, a non-Christian, I don't care what he says, I don't care how much he knows, 00:43:32.860 |
if they haven't tasted the goodness of God, they have not seen His glory, 00:43:37.860 |
none of these things are going to be attractive to you. 00:43:43.860 |
Promise of gathering of all the nations for the purpose of worshipping God, 00:43:48.860 |
when worshipping God today is not attractive, 00:43:53.860 |
Why would a greater revelation of His glory be attractive to a non-Christian? 00:44:00.860 |
Heaven wouldn't be attractive to a non-Christian. 00:44:04.860 |
It would only be attractive to somebody who's tasted and seen a glimpse of His glory. 00:44:10.860 |
I think for every Christian, again as we wrap up, for every Christian, 00:44:16.860 |
the hungering and thirsting that we have inside of our hearts isn't for meaning. 00:44:33.860 |
I don't think that that's at the core of who we are, and that's what drives us. 00:44:37.860 |
Because we were created for the purpose of glorifying Christ, glorifying God. 00:44:46.860 |
Remember, we hear things, cliche things like, 00:44:49.860 |
every human being has a God-shaped heart that only God can fill. 00:44:58.860 |
whatever it is that mankind has fallen short of, 00:45:08.860 |
So, again, to attract people to the church with anything else 00:45:15.860 |
other than a greater revelation of His glory is a lie. 00:45:27.860 |
In fact, sometimes God will cause you not to have safety 00:45:34.860 |
so that you can have a greater glimpse of His glory. 00:45:38.860 |
In fact, sometimes you will feel rejected and unloved, 00:45:43.860 |
so that you can see that there's only one place and one person 00:45:57.860 |
So, whether it's us, whether it's us preaching the gospel, 00:46:03.860 |
if we do anything else in the church other than a greater revelation of His glory, 00:46:08.860 |
then the church is not representing what God represents in the scripture. 00:46:13.860 |
I think a Christian who is going to persevere is a person 00:46:17.860 |
who is fixated on the coming of Christ and His glory, 00:46:22.860 |
that can only be satisfied when you meet Him. 00:46:29.860 |
that's what's going to cause you to persevere. 00:46:32.860 |
at some point, your disappointment in church and people's circumstance 00:46:36.860 |
is going to cause you to look for it somewhere else. 00:46:45.860 |
At the end of the human history, this is what God promises. 00:46:53.860 |
The end times is all the nations gathering at His throne, 00:47:05.860 |
That's what we're going to be doing for eternity. 00:47:11.860 |
That's why we encourage you to get into the Bible. 00:47:13.860 |
It's not so that good Christians read the Bible. 00:47:15.860 |
The Word of God contains revelation of His glory. 00:47:21.860 |
there's going to be a greater hungering and thirsting for that glory. 00:47:30.860 |
So quiet time is not about, like, "I did it" or "I didn't do it." 00:47:34.860 |
Getting bits and pieces, getting a taste of who He is, 00:47:38.860 |
every single day, that causes you to continue to seek Him out. 00:47:43.860 |
All right. So again, next week we're going to wrap up the study. 00:47:51.860 |
You know, every song I sing, I just assume you guys know because it's been around for 30 years.