The Great Consummation The Glorious Culmination of the Great Commission - H.B. Charles Jr.
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00:01:07.000 | >> The choir has just invited us to fill this place with heavenly music,
00:01:12.000 | which we are definitely going to do in just a moment.
00:01:15.000 | And even later this evening in a very special way.
00:01:18.000 | And I say that because tonight at the very end of Pastor Charles' message,
00:01:24.000 | we're going to ask the overflow rooms to come into the worship center,
00:01:30.000 | to fill the aisles, to be all of us together as one,
00:01:34.000 | and to end the night with worship and song together.
00:01:38.000 | So when you see or hear Pastor Charles pray at the very end of his message tonight,
00:01:44.000 | that will be your cue, overflow, to come and be with us here in the worship center.
00:01:51.000 | But before that, we have a moment now to pray and to fill this room with praise before God.
00:01:57.000 | Bow with me in prayer.
00:02:00.000 | Heavenly Father, we gather tonight as men numbering in the thousands,
00:02:06.000 | but we sing together as messengers with one voice, one heart, one Lord.
00:02:13.000 | We gather to lift up our praise to the fullest of our capacity,
00:02:17.000 | to reach, as it were, the fringes of heaven,
00:02:21.000 | and to invite the angels to wonder at the joyful sound that echoes off these walls.
00:02:27.000 | We come even now imploring you, our great Savior,
00:02:31.000 | to fill our souls with joy and to fill your ears with praise.
00:02:37.000 | May all that takes place in this hour be a sweet aroma to you,
00:02:41.000 | for you are our soul's delight.
00:02:44.000 | And we pray this in Jesus' precious name, amen.
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00:07:22.000 | Let's remain standing and declare our faith.
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00:38:32.000 | May grace and peace be multiplied to each of you this evening in the knowledge of God
00:38:37.000 | and of Jesus Christ our Lord. I am eager
00:38:42.000 | to preach, but permit me to take a moment
00:38:47.000 | to publicly say, on the behalf
00:38:52.000 | of all of us here, to Dr. John MacArthur,
00:38:57.000 | we love you, we thank God for you, and we are praying
00:39:02.000 | for you. Amen.
00:39:07.000 | [applause]
00:39:12.000 | [applause]
00:39:17.000 | And then let me say as a guest here
00:39:22.000 | at Grace Community Church for this conference, well technically at this point,
00:39:27.000 | I know ecclesiology doesn't work this way, but I feel I'm a part
00:39:32.000 | of Grace Church at this point, but
00:39:37.000 | as a guest here for this conference, I want to say
00:39:42.000 | on the behalf of all of us gathered, to the pastors,
00:39:47.000 | to the staff, to the conference coordinators,
00:39:52.000 | to the more than 1,000 volunteers of this church who have served us
00:39:57.000 | this week, thank you for serving us well.
00:40:02.000 | Thank you for serving us well. Amen.
00:40:07.000 | Amen. Amen.
00:40:12.000 | Amen.
00:40:17.000 | Amen.
00:40:22.000 | [applause]
00:40:27.000 | This afternoon in the bookstore,
00:40:32.000 | I was asked by a young man, Christian, student at the university,
00:40:37.000 | how does a 17-year-old pastor a church?
00:40:42.000 | There are a lot of answers to that question. One answer
00:40:47.000 | to that question is that I believe a pastor
00:40:52.000 | needs a pastor. And as a young man,
00:40:57.000 | God brought a pastor into my life, and I am honored that he's here tonight,
00:41:02.000 | Dr. Melvin Vaughn Wade, who is at this point 80 years old,
00:41:07.000 | who served for 42 years the Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Los Angeles.
00:41:12.000 | He is here to pray for his son as I preach tonight. Dad, would you stand?
00:41:17.000 | I'm grateful for you being here with me tonight.
00:41:22.000 | [applause]
00:41:27.000 | Would you bow with me in a word of prayer?
00:41:32.000 | Heavenly Father, we praise you for
00:41:37.000 | the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:41:42.000 | What a privilege it is for us to be gathered tonight to sing
00:41:47.000 | praise to the matchless name of Jesus,
00:41:52.000 | who is our all-sufficient prophet, priest, and king.
00:41:57.000 | Now we ask that you would cause our worship
00:42:02.000 | to go higher as you deepen our understanding of your word.
00:42:07.000 | Open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things from your word.
00:42:12.000 | Give us ears to hear what the Spirit says
00:42:17.000 | to the church. Help us, Lord,
00:42:22.000 | to receive with gentleness the implanted word that is able to save our souls,
00:42:27.000 | and help us to be doers of your word, not hearers only, lest we deceive ourselves.
00:42:32.000 | Grant me tonight -- you know the burden under which
00:42:37.000 | I preach tonight -- help me, Lord.
00:42:42.000 | Guide my thoughts, guard my heart, govern my words
00:42:47.000 | so that everything I say would be consistent with sound doctrine.
00:42:52.000 | And as the seed of your word is planted and watered, we know that only you
00:42:57.000 | can give the increase. So we reserve for you, as always, the highest praise and
00:43:02.000 | full credit for the fruit that shall come from this time. In Jesus' name, amen.
00:43:07.000 | Would you turn your attention with me tonight to Isaiah chapter 55.
00:43:12.000 | Isaiah chapter 55
00:43:17.000 | records the great invitation.
00:43:22.000 | Permit me to read
00:43:27.000 | the chapter to you in its entirety.
00:43:32.000 | "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
00:43:37.000 | And he who has no money, come, buy and eat.
00:43:42.000 | Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
00:43:47.000 | Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
00:43:52.000 | and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
00:43:57.000 | Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
00:44:02.000 | Incline your ear and come to me.
00:44:07.000 | I hear that your soul may live, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
00:44:12.000 | my steadfast, sure love for David.
00:44:17.000 | Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.
00:44:22.000 | Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
00:44:27.000 | and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
00:44:32.000 | because of the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel,
00:44:37.000 | for he has glorified you.
00:44:41.000 | Seek the Lord while he may be found.
00:44:44.000 | Call upon him while he is near.
00:44:47.000 | Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
00:44:52.000 | Let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
00:44:57.000 | and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
00:45:03.000 | For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
00:45:11.000 | For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
00:45:15.000 | and my thoughts than your thoughts.
00:45:19.000 | For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there,
00:45:23.000 | but water the earth, it can bring forth and sprout,
00:45:28.000 | giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
00:45:32.000 | So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.
00:45:37.000 | It shall never return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
00:45:42.000 | and shall succeed in the thing for which I send it.
00:45:47.000 | For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace.
00:45:52.000 | The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing,
00:45:56.000 | and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
00:46:02.000 | Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress.
00:46:06.000 | Instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle.
00:46:10.000 | And it shall make a name for the Lord,
00:46:14.000 | an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
00:46:19.000 | Amen.
00:46:27.000 | Crescenzio Ibarra recorded a brief video inviting family, friends, and neighbors
00:46:38.000 | to a birthday party for his 15-year-old daughter, Ruby.
00:46:45.000 | It was to be a grand affair with food and music and games,
00:46:55.000 | including a horse race with a 10,000 pesos prize.
00:47:04.000 | "Everyone is invited," says Crescenzio in this 45-second clip
00:47:10.000 | as he stood with his wife and daughter.
00:47:16.000 | When the local photographer uploaded the video to the community's Facebook page,
00:47:25.000 | he inadvertently clicked "public" instead of "private."
00:47:34.000 | 1.2 million people are SVP'd for Ruby's birthday party.
00:47:44.000 | The video was shared 978,000 times.
00:47:54.000 | #15Deruby was a trending topic on social media.
00:48:04.000 | The Mexican Airlines Interjet got in on all the fun
00:48:11.000 | and offered 30% discounts for people buying tickets
00:48:18.000 | to this small northern Mexico town for Ruby's birthday party.
00:48:27.000 | The party took place December 26, 2016.
00:48:33.000 | If you pull clips, newsreels of it, you'll see how overwhelmed the young lady
00:48:39.000 | seemed to be by the spectacle of it all.
00:48:44.000 | The young man actually died in a freak accident during the advertised horse race.
00:48:55.000 | Ruby's mother, Aneldo, complained to a reporter.
00:49:00.000 | "My husband gave the invitation, but just to those who lived in the neighboring regions,
00:49:08.000 | I don't know who copied it, but they posted it and it went out, wait for it,
00:49:16.000 | as if it was an invitation to the whole world."
00:49:24.000 | Ruby's hijacked birthday party illustrates the tragedy of fallen humanity.
00:49:34.000 | We receive invitations from the world that are not meant for us.
00:49:43.000 | We respond to invitations from the world that cannot fulfill what they promise.
00:49:51.000 | Sin makes us all excited about what is not actually true
00:49:59.000 | and causes us to ignore what is ultimately true.
00:50:08.000 | C.S. Lewis said, "I would suppose that our father does not find our desires too strong,
00:50:18.000 | but too weak."
00:50:20.000 | We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with sex and ambition and alcohol
00:50:31.000 | when infinite joy has been offered to us.
00:50:35.000 | We are like ignorant children who continue, he said, playing with mudplies in the slums
00:50:44.000 | because we don't know what it means to be offered a holiday at sea.
00:50:52.000 | Lewis concluded, "We are far too easily pleased."
00:51:01.000 | But I want to remind us tonight, brothers, true satisfaction is only found
00:51:07.000 | in the great invitation that God extends to guilty sinners.
00:51:15.000 | There is arguably no greater statement of that great invitation than Isaiah chapter 55.
00:51:24.000 | Isaiah chapter 53 predicts and proclaims the redemptive work of the suffering servant.
00:51:35.000 | We see in chapter 54 the benefits of that redemptive work of the servant
00:51:40.000 | for the people of Israel.
00:51:42.000 | But chapter 55 gives a wide-ranging, far-reaching, and life-transforming invitation
00:51:52.000 | to all who would receive the handout of amazing grace.
00:52:00.000 | God graciously extends a great invitation for unworthy sinners to get right with Him.
00:52:17.000 | I believe this is an appropriate word for us to conclude this conference with.
00:52:21.000 | We have spent this week considering what it means to proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.
00:52:31.000 | Isaiah 55 reminds us that the magnitude of our message is the motivation for our mission.
00:52:44.000 | God extends a great invitation for guilty sinners to get right with Him.
00:52:51.000 | Isaiah chapter 55 presents two truths about this great invitation.
00:53:00.000 | On one hand, Isaiah 55 presents a great invitation that is too good to be true.
00:53:11.000 | A great invitation that is too good to be true.
00:53:17.000 | Divine judgment on rebellious and stubborn sin resulted in the Babylonian captivity,
00:53:26.000 | but here God graciously offers to feed and fulfill and forgive His people.
00:53:36.000 | As you read through this chapter, you should know that this great invitation is more than a good opportunity.
00:53:45.000 | It's a God-given obligation.
00:53:52.000 | There are some 12 commands in the first seven verses of this chapter.
00:53:59.000 | God commands sinners to come to Him, trust His promises, and repent of their sins.
00:54:10.000 | See it in the text.
00:54:14.000 | First, God commands sinners to come to Him.
00:54:18.000 | In verse 1, the call to come is issued four times.
00:54:27.000 | Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
00:54:37.000 | He who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
00:54:52.000 | True satisfaction is available in God, but the sinner must come to Him.
00:55:06.000 | Would you note the condition for coming?
00:55:09.000 | Come, everyone who thirsts.
00:55:18.000 | This great invitation is extended to anyone and everyone who recognizes His spiritual neediness.
00:55:30.000 | Mark it down, brothers. Self-sufficiency automatically disqualifies you from spiritual benefits.
00:55:40.000 | Only thirsty people can receive the living waters.
00:55:46.000 | John chapter 7, verse 37, Jesus says, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."
00:55:57.000 | Here in Isaiah 55, God talks as if He is a street merchant, standing on the corner,
00:56:10.000 | offering food and drink to the needy who would pass by.
00:56:17.000 | But unlike the street merchant, God offers His wares free of charge.
00:56:28.000 | Come, He says, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
00:56:35.000 | And he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
00:56:51.000 | This is the handout of amazing grace.
00:56:55.000 | Matthew chapter 5, verse 3 says it this way, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God."
00:57:04.000 | We are the privilege of declaring this gracious message, this great invitation,
00:57:11.000 | that God offers wine and milk without money and without price.
00:57:22.000 | Richard's notes here, "It cost us nothing. It cost Christ everything."
00:57:35.000 | Look at verse 2.
00:57:38.000 | Verse 2 asks, "Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
00:57:44.000 | and your labor for that which does not satisfy?"
00:57:48.000 | Verse 1 tells us that sin robs us of spiritual resources.
00:57:53.000 | Verse 2 tells us that sin robs us of spiritual discernment.
00:58:00.000 | Sin makes fools of us.
00:58:07.000 | The rich live by their money. The poor live by their labor.
00:58:14.000 | Both waste their lives on the ways of sin.
00:58:21.000 | And the question of verse 2 is, "Why? Why?"
00:58:32.000 | We spend our money on what sin offers only to find out it's not real bread.
00:58:40.000 | We spend our labor on what sin offers only to find out that it does not satisfy.
00:58:49.000 | Why?
00:58:53.000 | The spirit of the question is that of Matthew chapter 16, verse 26.
00:58:59.000 | "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"
00:59:09.000 | What does it profit a man to live in a big house in a gated community,
00:59:16.000 | but your soul is homeless before God?
00:59:21.000 | What does it profit a man to drive a fancy car with two names on the hood,
00:59:27.000 | but your soul is thumbing a ride?
00:59:31.000 | What does it profit a man to wear fancy clothes with a European designer's name on the label,
00:59:39.000 | but your soul is naked before God?
00:59:45.000 | "Don't waste your life," is the call of the messenger here,
00:59:48.000 | "on that which does not save, will not satisfy, and does not last."
00:59:57.000 | Instead, verse 2, "Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food."
01:00:08.000 | The one who hears and trusts and obeys this great invitation will be fully satisfied.
01:00:16.000 | What does that mean?
01:00:17.000 | It's John 5, verse 24.
01:00:22.000 | "Truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life."
01:00:34.000 | He will not come into the judgment.
01:00:37.000 | He is passed out of death into life.
01:00:43.000 | God commands sinners to come to Him.
01:00:47.000 | And then God commands sinners to trust His promises.
01:00:50.000 | Verse 3, "Incline your ear," "Incline your ear," He says, "and come to Me."
01:00:58.000 | "Hear that your soul may live."
01:01:05.000 | Again, God extends this great invitation for the sinner to come.
01:01:14.000 | "Would you note, you must incline your ear," and the sinner must hear.
01:01:26.000 | "Hear" reminds us, brothers, of our urgent mission.
01:01:32.000 | Romans 10, verse 17, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the message of Christ."
01:01:43.000 | The one who inclines his ear to hear this call of God's sovereign and amazing grace
01:01:51.000 | will receive new life, abundant life, eternal life.
01:01:57.000 | The great invitation has a lifetime guarantee.
01:02:03.000 | "How so?" because the verse says, "I will make with you an everlasting covenant."
01:02:17.000 | "My steadfast, sure love for David."
01:02:21.000 | These words affirm that the great invitation that God offers and the satisfaction that
01:02:29.000 | He gives is all of Him.
01:02:31.000 | It is by divine accomplishment, not human achievement.
01:02:36.000 | And it is modeled after His covenant love, His loyal love, His steadfast love for David.
01:02:47.000 | The covenant He established with David of a permanent throne and an unending line in
01:02:55.000 | 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 12 through 16.
01:03:02.000 | This is no doubt talking about David and his royal line, but this passage speaks beyond
01:03:08.000 | that.
01:03:09.000 | We'll get a hint of that in verse 4, "Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader
01:03:15.000 | and commander for the peoples."
01:03:21.000 | This points us beyond David to the Lord Jesus Christ.
01:03:26.000 | In fact, specifically Acts chapter 13 verse 34 says, "As for the fact that He, God, raised
01:03:36.000 | Him, Christ, from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way,
01:03:42.000 | 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'"
01:03:53.000 | This great invitation is only received by faith in Jesus Christ.
01:04:00.000 | John 14 verse 6 declares, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
01:04:08.000 | No one comes to the Father except through Me."
01:04:13.000 | Let me say that again and affirm Jesus does not say, "I will show you the way."
01:04:24.000 | He does not say, "I will tell you the truth."
01:04:28.000 | He does not say, "I will model the life."
01:04:31.000 | He says, "I and only I," in contradistinction to everyone else.
01:04:36.000 | "I am the way, the truth, the life.
01:04:40.000 | No one comes to the Father except through Me."
01:04:47.000 | Verse 5 speaks directly to this Messiah's servant, "Behold, you shall call a nation
01:05:00.640 | that do not know you, and the nation that did not know you shall run to you because
01:05:05.560 | of the Lord your God and of the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you."
01:05:14.920 | This is an affirmation of the Great Commission.
01:05:17.360 | Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 through 20 record the marching orders of the church, "All authority
01:05:25.640 | has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
01:05:30.240 | Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
01:05:37.480 | Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
01:05:45.880 | you.
01:05:46.880 | And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
01:05:56.320 | God commands sinners to come to Him.
01:05:58.360 | God commands sinners to trust His promises.
01:06:00.800 | And God commands sinners to repent of their sins.
01:06:07.240 | This great invitation is extended to all, but verses 6 and 7 remind us that the sinner
01:06:18.040 | must come on God's terms, not his own.
01:06:27.320 | What are God's terms?
01:06:32.360 | I could summarize verses 6 and 7 in one word, "Repent."
01:06:44.120 | Verse 6 says, "Repent immediately.
01:06:49.920 | Seek the Lord while He may be found.
01:06:55.240 | Call upon Him while He is near."
01:06:59.080 | The guilty sinner, the needy sinner, is to seek the Lord and call upon the Lord when?
01:07:12.880 | While He may be found, while He is near.
01:07:19.800 | Does that language shake you, brothers?
01:07:26.600 | It presses the urgency of our gospel message.
01:07:36.240 | Sinners must seek the Lord while He may be found.
01:07:38.800 | They must call upon Him while He is near.
01:07:46.200 | There is a time when God is not near enough to be found.
01:07:54.720 | When is that time?
01:07:59.560 | I don't know, and I don't want to know, and neither do you.
01:08:08.920 | The urgency of this call to repentance is that we should seek the Lord while He may
01:08:15.320 | be found and call upon Him while He is near.
01:08:21.760 | God is sovereign.
01:08:25.480 | Life is short.
01:08:26.480 | Death is coming for us all.
01:08:31.000 | Hell is the destiny of the unrepentant.
01:08:35.720 | Everyone will spend eternity somewhere, and there is no hope of salvation without hearing
01:08:42.120 | the gospel, repenting of your sins, and putting your trust in the blood and righteousness
01:08:47.480 | of Jesus Christ.
01:08:49.000 | We must leave here and preach this gospel with a sense of urgency.
01:08:54.320 | Seek the Lord while He may be found.
01:08:58.480 | Call upon Him while He is near.
01:09:03.400 | Not only should we call on sinners to repent immediately, verse 6, we should call on them
01:09:09.160 | to repent completely, verse 7.
01:09:14.640 | Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
01:09:17.720 | Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him and to our God, for He will
01:09:22.960 | abundantly pardon.
01:09:27.800 | I think this is one of the best explanations of what repentance is that you'll find.
01:09:37.280 | Not the verbs.
01:09:40.640 | The wicked is to forsake his way.
01:09:45.880 | The unrighteous man is to forsake his thoughts.
01:09:51.640 | And then once sin is forsaken, he is to return to the Lord.
01:10:02.480 | That's it.
01:10:06.680 | Forsake your way and return to the Lord.
01:10:13.980 | And if the sinner will do this, what will God do?
01:10:20.280 | He will have compassion on him.
01:10:25.480 | If you return to God, if you come to God, He will -- hear this beautiful language -- He
01:10:32.920 | will not just pardon, He will abundantly pardon.
01:10:42.600 | Isaiah 55, verse 7 affirms Isaiah chapter 1, verse 18, "Come now, let us reason together,"
01:10:51.120 | says the Lord.
01:10:52.120 | "Though your sin be as scarlet, I'll make it white as snow.
01:10:56.120 | Though it be red as crimson, I will make it white like wool."
01:10:59.920 | And so these first seven verses present to us a great invitation that is too good to
01:11:09.480 | be true.
01:11:14.280 | Now consider the rest of the chapter.
01:11:20.200 | Verses 1 through 7 is a great invitation that is too good to be true, and then verses 8
01:11:26.920 | through 13 present a great invitation that is too good not to be true.
01:11:38.680 | The axiom is, "If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is."
01:11:47.000 | That is rightly the cynical mindset of the world that we live in.
01:11:54.080 | The world is filled with bait-and-switch invitations, "But let God be true, though every man be
01:12:00.960 | a liar."
01:12:04.960 | One commentator said that the gospel is not a little psychological uplift.
01:12:13.760 | It is tomorrow's world headlines today.
01:12:23.200 | The rest of this chapter gives three reasons why you can trust this great invitation that
01:12:28.080 | God extends to unworthy sinners.
01:12:32.680 | The first reason is because of how God thinks.
01:12:39.880 | Verses 6 and 7 says, "If sinful people will forsake their way and return to the Lord,
01:12:46.480 | He'll be compassionate, He'll abundantly pardon."
01:12:52.040 | And the sinner hears this and says, "This is just too good to be true."
01:13:00.540 | Then the passage says, "Don't judge how God thinks based upon how you think."
01:13:17.160 | Verses 8 and 9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares
01:13:25.080 | the Lord.
01:13:26.080 | For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
01:13:31.080 | thoughts than your thoughts."
01:13:35.760 | Two points here that need considering.
01:13:39.960 | The text first, it says, "God's thoughts and ways are different than ours."
01:13:48.320 | John Oswalt wrote, "Our understanding is not the measure of what God can do.
01:13:55.560 | His thoughts and ways are not like our thoughts and ways."
01:14:02.400 | When I was a boy, I spent every moment I could with my father and it just, it felt like living
01:14:07.600 | in a classroom.
01:14:08.600 | He was always teaching me something, and every now and then, he would just be talking and
01:14:12.640 | share something, and I would just be blown away and say, "Dad, boy, I never knew that."
01:14:16.800 | And there were occasions he would say, "Son, there's enough you don't know to start a whole
01:14:21.600 | new world."
01:14:28.040 | And it's true of all of us.
01:14:30.080 | Proverbs 3 verse 5 says it this way, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not
01:14:41.840 | lean on your own understanding."
01:14:44.680 | Translation, "Do not depend on what you think you know."
01:14:55.380 | God's thoughts and ways are different than ours, but not only different, God's thoughts
01:15:01.240 | and ways are higher than ours.
01:15:05.880 | How high?
01:15:08.920 | Verse 9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth."
01:15:17.840 | God's thoughts and ways are infinitely above our thoughts and ways.
01:15:27.880 | He is, in the language of Ephesians 3 verse 20, able to do far more abundantly than all
01:15:36.040 | that we could ask or think.
01:15:46.160 | We can't measure the gospel, don't measure the gospel by human reasoning.
01:15:53.720 | Romans chapter 5 verse 7 says, "Scarcely would a man die for a righteous person.
01:16:01.920 | Perhaps for a good man one would dare to die, but God so commended His love toward us that
01:16:07.900 | while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
01:16:18.780 | There is no reason, we have no right, we have no reason to second-guess a God like that.
01:16:29.020 | We should trust Him, we should serve Him, and we should praise Him.
01:16:39.340 | Psalm 145 verse 3 declares, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness
01:16:47.740 | is unsearchable."
01:16:50.800 | If God was an average God, average praise would be acceptable.
01:16:57.420 | If God was just an ordinary God, then ordinary praise would be okay.
01:17:01.820 | But great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.
01:17:11.860 | We trust this message of God's sovereign grace to save sinners in Christ because of how God
01:17:18.540 | thinks and because of how God speaks.
01:17:29.140 | God's thoughts and ways are different than ours.
01:17:31.480 | God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours.
01:17:34.340 | How then can we know God's thoughts and understand God's ways?
01:17:40.700 | Verses 10 and 11 says, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not
01:17:44.580 | return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the
01:17:49.460 | sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.
01:17:55.940 | It shall never return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and
01:18:00.680 | shall succeed in the thing for which I send it."
01:18:07.200 | God speaks through storms.
01:18:10.800 | The snow and rain do not fall from heaven and evaporate.
01:18:15.220 | God is at work through them.
01:18:18.600 | In a real sense, the precipitation from heaven produces transformation on earth.
01:18:26.560 | Look at verse 10 again, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, it does not return
01:18:31.800 | there, but God uses it to water the earth, making the earth bring forth and sprout."
01:18:43.920 | Notice this next phrase, I love it, "giving seed to the sower," that's the beginning of
01:18:50.920 | the process, "and bread to the eater," that's the end of the process.
01:18:58.760 | That God, who is at work through storms, is at work through His Word.
01:19:05.740 | Look at verse 11.
01:19:08.560 | Notice how God speaks about His own Word.
01:19:12.100 | He calls it, "My Word that comes from my mouth."
01:19:20.000 | Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 and 17 affirms this, "All Scripture is breathed out by God
01:19:25.520 | and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
01:19:31.400 | that the man of God would be complete and equipped for every good work."
01:19:36.720 | The Bible is not man's thoughts about God, it is God's self-revelation.
01:19:45.320 | The nature and character and authority of Scripture are rooted in the nature and character
01:19:52.140 | and authority of God Himself.
01:20:00.560 | So we have the confidence concerning this Word that we preach that God's Word will never
01:20:09.240 | return to him empty.
01:20:13.680 | God's Word will accomplish that which He purposes.
01:20:16.920 | God's Word shall succeed in the thing for which He sends it.
01:20:21.800 | So we preach this message and proclaim this Christ with confidence because of how God
01:20:27.440 | thinks, because of how God speaks, and then because of how God works.
01:20:37.760 | Verse 12, "You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace."
01:20:46.520 | In a real sense, this is a reference to the Babylonian captivity.
01:20:50.800 | God will deliver His people, but they will not come out by their own strength or power
01:20:55.960 | or resources.
01:20:57.260 | They shall go out because they are led forth by divine intervention.
01:21:04.640 | By God's sovereign grace, they shall go out in true joy and be led forth in real peace.
01:21:15.840 | Here we see another affirmation that what God will do through Israel will be much bigger
01:21:22.320 | than Israel.
01:21:26.240 | Verse 12 pictures it as having effects on nature, the created world.
01:21:41.280 | See it in verse 12, "The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing,
01:21:49.920 | and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
01:21:57.920 | I like that.
01:21:58.920 | I know some people that pick churches to make sure none of that happens.
01:22:09.560 | The glory of God's triumphant grace will be so great that all of nature will join in.
01:22:16.280 | "The hills shall break forth in singing, the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
01:22:26.200 | This is our hope in Christ.
01:22:27.520 | Romans chapter 8 verse 21 points to that day where creation itself will be set free from
01:22:37.200 | its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
01:22:47.380 | So verse 12 shows us how God graciously gives that which is not deserved, and then verse
01:22:54.320 | 13 shows us how God mercifully withholds what is deserved.
01:23:00.280 | "Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle."
01:23:11.820 | And Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.
01:23:16.920 | The ground was cursed because of Adam's sin.
01:23:20.460 | When he worked by the sweat of his brow, there would be many times when the earth would only
01:23:25.980 | produce thorns and thistles, but when God works, death is transformed into life, judgment
01:23:37.080 | is transformed into salvation, curses are transformed into blessings, barrenness is
01:23:44.740 | transformed into fruitfulness, and briars are transformed into evergreens.
01:23:58.260 | Why does God work this way?
01:24:02.940 | Verse 13 says, "And it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall
01:24:21.300 | not be cut off."
01:24:22.300 | Do you see that second to the last line?
01:24:23.300 | Let me land there.
01:24:27.460 | All of this is for the sake of His name.
01:24:36.620 | I called my wife this morning, checked on her and the kids.
01:24:48.500 | She says, "You hadn't talked to your daughter yet?"
01:24:51.260 | "No."
01:24:52.260 | My 16-year-old, Haley, she says, "You'll hear about the incident she had in school.
01:24:57.420 | She shocked her teacher."
01:24:59.860 | I said, "What happened?"
01:25:01.580 | She says, "Her teacher knows you are a minister, and they started having a spiritual conversation,
01:25:08.700 | and the teacher was asking about you and about your teaching and about the church."
01:25:15.340 | And in the conversation, Haley mentioned, Crystal says, that you were in Los Angeles
01:25:23.060 | speaking at the Shepherd's Conference at John MacArthur's church.
01:25:29.060 | The teacher said to my daughter, "Wow, that's a big deal."
01:25:33.460 | Crystal said, Haley told the teacher, "No, it's not.
01:25:36.860 | My daddy is a nobody."
01:25:52.060 | And I know she was telling the truth.
01:25:57.680 | When I return home from trips like this, my daughter, Haley, 16 years old, hugs me and
01:26:05.220 | says, "I'm glad to have my daddy back.
01:26:08.060 | How did it go?"
01:26:09.060 | I tell her how I went at the event.
01:26:11.140 | She says, "That's great, daddy.
01:26:13.540 | But you know you're a nobody.
01:26:14.540 | You're just my daddy.
01:26:16.660 | You're a nobody."
01:26:19.820 | And when I share with the family, doors God has opened and projects God blessed us to
01:26:27.820 | complete, she rejoices and prays God with us, and tells me how proud she is of me, and
01:26:37.380 | then always adds, "But don't forget, daddy, you are nobody."
01:26:47.500 | May every one of us leave here with that reminder.
01:26:57.340 | God did not call you to preach, brother, to make your name great.
01:27:03.740 | He didn't call you to the place you serve to make your name great.
01:27:10.540 | May the Lord help us to preach faithfully this good news of Jesus Christ and die and
01:27:16.060 | be forgotten if the name of Jesus can't go forth to the nations.
01:27:30.840 | We have been doing something wrong this week if we don't leave here singing Psalm 115,
01:27:38.620 | verse 1.
01:27:42.780 | Not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but to Your name give glory
01:27:55.000 | for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness.
01:28:13.900 | My daddy ran away from home when he was a boy.
01:28:20.440 | A white family took him in and helped raise him, sent him to school.
01:28:31.720 | And after his first year, as he'd be going into his second year, he ran into financial
01:28:37.160 | struggles and didn't know if he'd be able to continue, and he was pointed to another
01:28:43.840 | white family there who were offering to help him.
01:28:51.440 | The family invited my dad to dinner.
01:28:56.920 | During the dinner, the father, the man of the house, asked my dad about his testimony
01:29:02.260 | and called a ministry.
01:29:07.360 | And the dinner ended with that man pulling out his checkbook and writing a check to pay
01:29:15.120 | the expenses for my father's schooling.
01:29:21.680 | My dad said, however, when he got the check and looked at it, the old man didn't like
01:29:29.280 | his expression and said, "Son, what's the matter?"
01:29:39.480 | My dad said, "Oh, it's nothing.
01:29:41.720 | I just see that you misspelled Charles on the check."
01:29:48.840 | The old man said, "Son, it ain't your name on that check that counts, it's mine."
01:30:03.400 | And may we leave here knowing there's only one name that counts.
01:30:15.200 | He's Adam's maker.
01:30:19.000 | He's Abel's vindicator.
01:30:23.860 | He's Moses' bush on fire.
01:30:25.880 | He's Gideon's fleece.
01:30:30.360 | His name is Jesus.
01:30:34.560 | There is a name I love to hear.
01:30:38.960 | I love to sing its words.
01:30:41.680 | It sounds like music in my ears, the sweetest name on earth.
01:30:50.500 | It tells me of my Savior's love who died to set me free, and it tells me of His precious
01:30:59.680 | blood, the sinner's perfect plea.
01:31:05.600 | Oh, how I love Jesus.
01:31:10.320 | Oh, how I love Jesus.
01:31:14.360 | In fact, right now I wish I could say it the way I feel it.
01:31:19.600 | Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me.
01:31:29.720 | Let's pray.
01:31:32.320 | Heavenly Father, we give You praise for Your sovereign grace, Your free invitation to guilty,
01:31:51.040 | rebellious, unworthy sinners, near and far, of every nation, tribe, tongue, and people
01:32:03.240 | who would hear the good news of the bloody cross and empty tomb of Jesus Christ and turn
01:32:11.080 | from their sins and trust in Him.
01:32:17.680 | You offer free forgiveness and new life and eternal hope.
01:32:23.600 | We thank You that You have not only reconciled us to Yourself through Christ, but You have
01:32:30.720 | made us ministers and messengers of reconciliation, ambassadors of Christ, heralds of Your Word
01:32:39.680 | and the testimony of Christ.
01:32:43.960 | I pray that we would leave this place, wherever You have called us to serve.
01:32:52.080 | May we head back to our assignments, consumed with this good news to proclaim.
01:33:07.960 | And I pray even for those who are in hard places, I'm asking in the name of Jesus that
01:33:15.200 | despite the difficulty of the setting, I pray that the magnitude of our message would be
01:33:21.180 | the motivation for our mission.
01:33:24.600 | And Lord, we also take this opportunity to pray Your blessings on the Grace Community
01:33:33.440 | Church.
01:33:36.520 | You have used this pastor and this congregation and the ministries of this local church to
01:33:44.880 | bless so many of us, to teach us, to encourage us, to strengthen us.
01:33:58.200 | We pray, Father, that You would heal and strengthen and sustain our dear brother, Dr. MacArthur.
01:34:12.200 | We pray that during these days You will prove afresh in his experience that Your grace is
01:34:22.120 | sufficient for us and Your strength is perfected in our weakness.
01:34:26.720 | And then we pray that You would put ahead Your protection around this church.
01:34:30.520 | We know that the enemy has plots and schemes, Lord.
01:34:34.760 | Make the devil behave.
01:34:38.880 | Protect this church and its witness in this community and throughout the nations.
01:34:46.280 | Smile on these brothers who joyfully spread this good news in states across this country
01:34:56.200 | as we leave here and outposts around the world.
01:35:00.520 | And may it all be to the praise of Your glory we ask in Jesus' name, amen.
01:35:05.200 | Amen.
01:35:06.200 | [APPLAUSE]
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01:35:07.200 | [MUSIC - "I'LL BE THERE"]
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01:36:12.200 | [MUSIC - "GOD OF WONDERS"]
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01:41:55.200 | [MUSIC - "GOD OF WONDERS"]
01:42:04.200 | Oh, I wish you could see what I see.
01:42:07.700 | There are absolutely no words to express
01:42:10.700 | the impact of all that has taken place the last few days here.
01:42:15.700 | The preaching was more than good.
01:42:18.700 | Stylistically or homiletically, it was important preaching.
01:42:23.200 | It was troubling, and it was soothing as well.
01:42:26.700 | But more than that, more than that,
01:42:29.200 | the music has been uniting and stirring and powerful.
01:42:34.200 | But more than that, the look in your eyes
01:42:39.700 | and the glow of your faces and the firmness of your handshakes
01:42:44.700 | and the sound of your singing just fills our hearts with joy.
01:42:50.700 | And we are so thankful because all of us here at Grace
01:42:53.700 | Community Church have desired to be that cup of water for you
01:42:58.700 | who labor so hard in the field for the Lord.
01:43:03.700 | And so we're thankful on behalf of the elders of Grace
01:43:06.200 | Community Church, thank you for letting
01:43:09.700 | us serve you in this way because we serve the King of Heaven
01:43:16.200 | just like you.
01:43:17.700 | And please accept this invitation
01:43:19.200 | to come back next year, and let's do this whole thing again.
01:43:23.700 | All right?
01:43:26.200 | Don't forget before you leave, I'm
01:43:27.700 | going to pray that you take your belongings home
01:43:30.200 | and know that the Shepherds Conference media is already
01:43:33.700 | online for you to enjoy.
01:43:35.700 | All right?
01:43:36.200 | Let's pray together.
01:43:38.200 | Oh, Holy Lamb upon the throne, as we have just sung,
01:43:41.700 | be blessing, honor, glory, power for the battle
01:43:45.700 | you have already won.
01:43:47.700 | And take these soldiers who serve you
01:43:50.200 | in the trenches of this war and equip them
01:43:53.200 | with the armor and shields and breastplate that
01:43:56.700 | can protect them and allow them enough victory to stand strong
01:44:01.200 | as men and enough struggle to lean upon you as a child.
01:44:06.700 | And may the result of our time together deepen their resolve,
01:44:10.200 | strengthen their faith, and broaden their impact
01:44:14.700 | for your gospel all around this world.
01:44:18.200 | And we pray these things in the name
01:44:20.200 | of the one who shed his blood for us, the nobodies of his
01:44:25.200 | body.
01:44:26.700 | Amen.
01:44:28.700 | Blessings to you all.
01:44:31.200 | [MUSIC PLAYING]
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01:44:38.420 | [MUSIC PLAYING]