When life gets turned upside down, it's easy to question: where is God in all of this? Does he really care about me? Today on Truth for Life we learn how to find assurance in God's Word. Alastair Begg is examining the prophecy of Isaiah that encouraged God's people while in exile. Let's open our Bibles to Isaiah chapter 40.
We'll begin today with verse 9.
Well, I downloaded. To my iPod handles Messiah. I don't expect you to be impressed by that, but I want to tell you that I did it and why I did it. The reason I did this was to set myself another marker That might help me to focus on the person and work of Jesus during these final weeks of Advent. that I might be able to play it pretty routinely now throughout the days of these coming weeks.
And in doing so, be turned again and again to Jesus Christ the Messiah. to be reminded of what I seek to remind you. routinely and myself in the process. of the fact that the Bible is ultimately a book about Jesus. And that when, particularly in reading the Old Testament, we may be tempted to be bewildered by its sheer size and variety.
We can navigate our way around by keeping our eyes on Jesus. And just as a compass points to the north, so the Bible ultimately points to Jesus. And indeed, in large measure, the story of the Old Testament is the story of a people who are looking for, waiting for. God's promise of a messiah to be fulfilled. And in chapter 40, by the time that Isaiah is writing as he does, the people of God are in exile.
They have been taken away into foreign territory. And it is while they are in that state of exile that the word of God comes to his people through the prophet Isaiah. And you will notice in Isaiah 40 and verse 1, it is first of all a word of comfort, a word of comfort. And again, you will remember in the Messiah that great and striking beginning, Comfort ye, comfort ye, and coming here from this opening verse of Isaiah 40. The comfort, of course, is to be found in the fact that God is fulfilling His promise.
And in verse 5, the glory of the Lord is going to be revealed. And not only will these people of God, the people of Israel, see this. But through them and beyond them, all mankind together will see it. And the reason that this is guaranteed as happening is there at the end of the verse, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. God's word is fixed in the heavens.
What he has determined, he will accomplish. No one will be able to gainsay it. And the promise there in verse 5 of the glory of the Lord being revealed. is ultimately the promise of God Himself becoming visible. Of God manifesting Himself, revealing Himself, establishing His presence among us.
And of course this is the nature of the incarnation. That by the time John writes his gospel, looking back on a scene. towards which Isaiah was looking forward. John, you remember, wrote And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full.
of grace and peace. In other words, John was able to reflect upon the work completed. Isaiah is describing the preparation for the completion of that work. And so you have in verse 3 this voice calling in the desert, preparing the way for the Lord, making straight paths in the wilderness. And so it is that the prophet Isaiah speaks of the one who will come.
And if you know anything of the New Testament, you will be able to put pieces together and say, surely Isaiah then, without knowing it himself, has in mind the great herald who walked before Jesus of Nazareth, namely John the Baptist. who is described as the Elijah to come, who bridges Elijah from the Old Testament and himself as a forerunner in the new, and who stands on the stage of history preparing the way for Jesus of Nazareth for the Messiah. And so it is that out of Zion's hill, salvation will come. It is an event, says the prophet, that is to be proclaimed, as it were, from the rooftops. And indeed, we have the relatively well-known song, Go Tell It on the Mountains, which comes here from Isaiah 40 and verse 9.
Now what I'd like to do, in the interests of your patience and of time, is summarize our study under three simple headings. Number one, good tidings. Number two, sovereign Lord. Numbers three. Gentle shepherd.
All right? And each of these you'll be able to find in the text in front of you. You who bring good Tidings. There is nothing to be timid or diffident about. This is to be a shout, it is to be a triumphal shout, it is to be a voice which arrests, if you like, the passing crowds.
And I have in my notes Observe two things. First of all, that it is a refreshing shout. It is a refreshing shout. Because you will remember from Isaiah 9, perhaps, that the people who were walking in darkness had seen a great light. on those living in the land of the valley of the shadow of death, a light had dawned.
And the picture that runs all the way through not only Isaiah but through the Bible is the distinction between the darkness of men and the light of God. Men and women dark as a result of the exile in the nation of Israel, but dark as a result of their disinterest in God, their rebellion against Him, their unwillingness to do what He says. And the Bible says it is a picture of our hearts that they are darkened before Him. And so, a message of good news about the light that has dawned is in itself a refreshing message. And the message which refreshes the hearts and minds of men and women is in four words: here is your God.
Here is your God, four words at least in English. Here is your God. You'll notice that the Bible doesn't give an argument for the existence of God.
Some of you may be here and you say that you don't believe in God.
Well, I want to take you at your word, but I want you to really think seriously about your affirmation or your assertion. Because the Bible actually begins With the conviction that God exists. Indeed, it begins in the beginning, God. It assumes the existence of God. And it also assumes that all of creation knows of God's existence.
And it also assumes that man in his rebellion chooses darkness instead of light, Chooses to worship what has been created rather than the Creator. and as a result of that has a vested interest in affirming that he doesn't believe in God, that he doesn't think there is a God there in whom he is she he or she is supposed to believe. You will notice the message that is a refreshing story of good tidings and joy is to go out into the community and say, Now I want to tell you, here is your God. Who is he? He's the creator, he's the sustainer, he's the ruler, he's the father, he's the judge.
A refreshing Shout. It is also A relevant shout. A relevant shout. Here is your God. It is relevant to the people then, and it is relevant to the people now.
Those people in exile were presumably saying to one another, Do we really have a God anymore? And if we have a God, why are we here? Surely, if we had a God who loved us and cared for us, He would never have allowed us to be carried away into exile like this. He would never have taken away our song as he has apparently done. This is similar.
Refrain as one hears routinely today, and you may even have given voice to it this week. If there is a God, why are we in this predicament? In which we find ourselves. If there is a God, why are these things unfolding as they are? And so on.
The dreadful consequences of war and of discord. of hatred. of greed. Have run through the pages of our newspapers every day of this past week. Indeed, they circumscribe the mournful history of humanity.
The Bible is not taken by surprise. Indeed, the Bible is able to explain this condition. and does so by pointing out in various ways and places That there are three things that are true of men and women without God. Number one. Men and women without God are sad men and women.
They are sad.
Well, I'm not suggesting that all the time they go around with their faces tripping them, that their chins are down in their chest, that everybody this week is just inevitably sad. No. But what the Bible says is that man. as man looks for happiness in what is uncertain and what is unsatisfying. And because he looks for happiness in what is uncertain and unsatisfying, he remains confused and unsatisfied.
And as a result of that, He is sad. And furthermore, that which he looks for to satisfy and to grant security, he knows in his heart of hearts that he must inevitably and finally be separated from it.
So, whatever it is that represents significance, whatever it is that represents happiness, whatever it is that represents potential security. Man inside of himself, men and women, teenagers know that there is nothing that can ultimately in this world satisfy our deepest longings.
Now why is that? C. S. Lewis asks the very question, doesn't he, in some of his writings. He says, if there is no experience, In a world that can satisfy our deepest desires.
Does this prove that the universe is a fraud? That we've just been put here as a big joke. That God just teases us. and dangles things before us. No, says C.
S. Lewis. The probable explanation, he says. is that If I have desires, which no experience in this world can satisfy. It is because I was made for another world.
See that? Sad. The other two words are alienated and guilty. Alienated and guilty. Alienated from God.
That's what the Bible says. It says that we've turned our backs on God. And that we're guilty on account of this. We've sinned. We haven't kept his law.
We haven't loved him with all of our hearts. We haven't even lived up to our own standards. There's no one who would stand up in this room and say, I have never sinned in my life. And you see, that's the explanation the Bible gives for our sadness. It's not because superficial things have not come our way.
The reason for the deep-seated sadness of humanity is found in the fact of our alienation. and then the fact of our guilt. And we know. And we know. Because God has made us as moral beings.
that things must be sorted out. Good tidings. Secondly, sovereign Lord. You bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout.
Lift it up. Don't be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, Here is your God. See, here He is, the sovereign Lord comes with power.
Now notice the contrast on two fronts. The contrast in verses six to eight with the frailty of men and women. We are like grass and the springtime flowers, they fall. And they wither. And in contrast, the word of God stands forever.
Here is the sovereign Lord. He's not at all like you folks. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes? No. And look at this sovereign Lord.
He's in contrast to the frailty of humanity, and he is in contrast to the futility of idols. Verse 19 of the same chapter, as for an idol. A craftsman casts it, a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.
What a pathetic picture. And don't let's kid ourselves about idolatry and that we could go around the world and take a plane ride somewhere and find idolatry. No, we have our own little toppling idols. You see the picture of futility that is represented in it? When man when men and women turn their backs on the Creator God who sustains the universe, who rules over the nations, who's Father of humanity and who's Judge of all the earth, when men and women turn their back on God as He has made Himself known, then they don't turn to nothing, they turn to everything.
So they call in the craftsman. Could you make it for me in walnut, perhaps? I'd like to make sure that it lasts. Could you put little s little chains on it, maybe at the four corners? Just hook it up behind its ears and somewhere else and just and just put it on a plinth for me.
I'd hate for it to fall over in the night. God is the sovereign Lord. In contrast to man's finite nature, In contrast to the futility of the idols who are created. It is then an amazing contrast And it is also in the second half of verse 10 an amazing conquest. My best attempt at it is.
That the reward here is the reward of God Himself, the reward, if you like, of His victory. What is his victory? His victory is over sin, and death, and hell. His victory is found in the fact that he in the immensity of his wisdom. The lawgiver.
Comes in the person of Jesus and submits to the very law that he gave, keeping it in perfection so that it might be ascribed to the sinner's account. That he who in his perfection kept every detail of the law died in the place of sinners. And as a result of that great conquest, He brings his reward with him. He brings those who are the product of his redemption. He brings those whose lives were held in the fear of death, who have been set free.
He brings those who were sad and alienated and guilty, and he brings them with him and he says, here are my people. Here are the ones, Father. In fact, you can read it in John 17. He says, Not one of those you gave me is missing. None of them are lost.
There's only one that went out, and that's the son of perdition. But that was his plan, Father. John 17, he went by his own choosing. didn't take us by surprise. But here they are, Father.
Glorify them. With the silver glory that I knew when I was with you. Is this just a tremendous picture? The sovereign Lord comes bringing with him his reward. He is the sovereign king.
He is the sovereign king. This is one of the reasons I think that men and women turn away from him, because we don't like the idea of sovereignty. America is not strong on sovereignty. Let's just be honest about it. We're not good on sovereigns or on sovereignty.
We want, if you like, a God who is manageable. A God who does not control us, but whom we can control.
Someone that we can put in position and call upon as necessary and ignore when we choose. A God of our own creation. A top lane god. Good tidings. Sovereign Lord.
And finally, Gentle Shepherd. The shepherd actually comes with his reward and his recompense. He comes, if you like, bearing his lambs with him. And look at this wonderful picture of tenderness, of gentleness. He tends his flock like a shepherd.
He doesn't come like some great general onto a field of battle. He gathers the lambs in his arms. He carries them up close to hand. He gently leads those that of young. Why would he ever do this?
Because after all, We like sheep. We went astray. Every one of us turned to his own way. This is good news. This is unbelievable news.
That we who deserve to be banished We who deserve, on account of our desire, to live our lives with our toppling idols and rejection of God, we who deserve for God just to say, well, you know, frankly, if that's the way you want it, why don't you go and chase yourself? I really don't care about you at all. I'm only interested in people who are interested in me and religious people and so on. But you read your Bible and you find that's not the case. Because God seeks He's a shepherd who goes out onto the highways and byways and he seeks and he brings in people and he brings the lost people in.
That's why he told the story. There were ninety-nine of the sheep all in the fold, but there was one missing. And the shepherd goes out onto the hillsides looking for the one that's missing. It's a picture of who God is. Oh, this is good tidings.
Yes, he is a sovereign Lord. But he is A gentle shepherd. And my friends listen and listen carefully to me. Although our hearts are hard, And they are.
So hard that even the events of life often do not soften them but harden them. The only hope we have for our hard, tough hearts. Is that our hard, tough hearts would be melted by the wonder of the shepherd's love? And in order for that to come home to us, we would need to understand what the boy understood when he sat down and said to himself, I absolutely flat out ignored my father. I wasted all his stuff.
I made a royal mess of everything. I don't deserve to be called his son. I think I'll ask him if I could just become one of his hired servants. And as he made his way up the road, his father saw him when he was a long way off, and he ran and he fell on his neck and he kissed him and he said, It is time for a party. Why?
Because he is not only the sovereign Lord who by his mighty arm executes his rightful place, but who, as a gentle shepherd, comes to where people are. Because if we're honest, we're going to say, yeah, of course I'm a mess. Of course, I fouled it up. Of course, my life is not an exercise book that's a blank sheet. Of course, I've got all kinds of crosses and marks and messes on it.
I know what I deserve. But here's the thing. In Jesus, you don't get what you deserve. You get what you don't deserve. Did you ever hear of such love?
Did you? Did you ever respond to that love? Did you ever say, loving Jesus, Lord, Shepherd, Sovereign Lord, bearer of the best good news I could ever have heard? Will you be my Savior and my friend? Will you take my mess?
Will you answer my longings? Only God. can breathe life. into dry bones. When God is at work by His Spirit through His Word.
There is a voice that speaks. That the deaf And the dead. can hear. When God is at work by His Spirit through His Word. There is a light that shines into the darkened mind.
That exposes Our predicament. and reveals our solution. And calls us. to bow before this sovereign Lord. To be humble enough, childlike enough, to be gathered up.
Shepherd.
So I say to you. Today If you hear his voice. Do not Harden. Your heart. Do not.
Mm Yeah. You're listening to what Alastair Begg called a refreshing message for the soul on Truth for Life.
Now, here at Truth for Life, our offices will be closed next week as we celebrate Christmas with our families.
So, if you need to reach us by phone to request a book or make a year-end donation, be sure to do that before 5 p.m. Eastern Time today. Our number is 888-588-7884. Of course, our website will continue to be up and active during the Christmas holidays. And as we celebrate the birth of Christ, we're offering a special collection on USB called The Miracle of Christmas.
It contains eight complete series in which Alistair examines different aspects of the Christmas story. You learn who Jesus is, why he came, what his life, death, and resurrection and ascension mean for us today. Listen as Alastair unpacks the details as they're revealed in Scripture. You'll be reminded that the birth of Jesus isn't just the reason for a festive holiday season, it's the turning point in all of human history. The Miracle of Christmas USB is yours for just five dollars.
Visit our online store at truthforlife. org slash store. I'm Bob Lepine. Thanks for studying the Bible with us this week. Hope you have a blessed weekend and are able to worship with your local church.
The prophet Isaiah pointed to the futility of idol worship thousands of years ago.
So why has idolatry remained so prevalent even today? On Monday, we'll explore the answer. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Yeah. Where the Learning is for Living.
