Series: Isaiah
Title: Hearken Ye Stouthearted!
Text: Isaiah 46: 12-13
Date: May 20, 2012
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
The
LORD God began Isaiah 46: 3-4 with a word to his remnant in Israel, saying his
elect are “borne by me from the belly,
which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to
hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry,
and will deliver you.”
In
verses 5-8 he declares there is no likeness to him. All who worship idols of their imagination
are vanity. Then in verses 9-10, God
declares, “I am God and there is none
else; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.’”
He brought forth Christ his Son—the Man of his council—who executed
all his council—he spoke it, he has
brought it to pass, he purposed it, he also has done it.
God is
bringing to pass through Christ everything which he purposed and predestinated
before the world began to glorify his name through the salvation of his people.
Now, those
who are hard-hearted despise God because this is who God is. He has the absolute sovereign ability to
predestinate and rule every last thing and person in this earth to bring to
pass his eternal purpose in righteousness and truth, without using lies and
deceit like sinful heard-hearted rebels do.
The hard-hearted think God is unfair to entrust all this into the hands
of Christ who is the Power and Wisdom in whom God foreordained his council and by
whose hand his council is executed in truth and righteousness.
Though
stout-hearted rebels seek to forsake their own mercy notice this: after making
this declaration that God saves according to his eternal purpose, notice who
God addresses first:
Isaiah 46: 12: Hearken unto me, ye
stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness;
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place
salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
God
ministers to his elect no matter what our state.
·
Isaiah 51: 1 he
addresses beginners in whom he has begun a work of grace. “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the
LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence
ye are digged. 2: Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare
you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. 3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will
comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and
her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found
therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”
·
Isaish 51: 4 he
addresses those who believe the Lord but whose faith is weak. They need
assurance. “Hearken unto me, my people;
and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will
make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. In verse 6, he says the heavens and earth
shall perish, “but my salvation shall be
for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”
·
In Isaiah 51: 7, the
Lord speaks to those strong in faith suffering reproach from self-justifying
men. “7: Hearken unto me, ye that know
righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of
men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 8: For the moth shall eat them up
like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness
shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
No
matter what state his elect child is found God’s gospel ministers to each of
us, according to our need. So back in
chapter 46, our Lord begins where each elect child begins.
·
Isaiah 46: 12: Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 13:
I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall
not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
I. THE COMMAND—v12: HEARKEN UNTO ME, YE
STOUTHEARTED, THAT ARE FAR FROM RIGHTEOUSNESS
Hearken!
“Hearken
unto me!” means listen up, pay attention, let nothing distract you, hear what
God is saying and obey God!
God’s
word never returns to him without accomplishing God’s purpose. God’s gospel does two things: by it he calls
out his sheep and further hardens and condemns those who will not hearken to
God. All
will submit—in the day of grace or in the day of judgment.
Application:
I hope all in this place are in that first number—sheep chosen of God, redeemed
by his blood and called by his grace.
But be
sure you pay attention: this word is the message from the King and Judge and
God of this whole earth. You may have called God unfair. Now he speaks to you so that you are without
excuse. It is your responsibility to
hearken and obey what God says. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ye Stouthearted!
Hearkedn
ye stouthearted means you have been
proud of your wisdom, power, and strength and stout against God, mocking at
sin, at believers, at our gospel.
The
stout-hearted fit into two categories:
1. Isaiah 48: 1, the stout-hearted call
themselves by the name of the Lord but do not submit to Christ. God says to them, “Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of
Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name
of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth,
nor in righteousness.”
Of his religious countrymen, Paul said, Romans
10: 2: For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge. 3: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going
about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. 4: For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth.
2. Or
stout-hearted sinners are those who seek wisdom but regard the gospel as
foolishness.
1
Corinthians 22: For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto
the Greeks foolishness; 24: But unto them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
GOD’S
ELECT BEGIN AS HARD-HEARTED REBELS. GOD SAYS, HEARKEN UNTO ME, YE STOUTHEARTED.
You Are Far From Righteousness!
All the stouthearted have this in common, you are 12:...far from righteousness. To
be righteous is to have perfectly obeyed the law of God, to be completely justified
before the law of God. It is to have no
sin, to be only righteousness through and through before God the Judge. But God the Judge says of you who have not
submitted to his Son in faith, that in yourself, by your own works, you are far
from righteousness.
Application: What a sad, solemn thought! Some here this morning are in the kingdom of
darkness, dead in your sins, unaccepted and unacceptable to God. God says of all who have not submitted to his
Son, Christ Jesus, in faith,
Romans 3: 10: As it is written, There is none righteous,
no, not one: 11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh
after God. 12: They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
You are
not yet convinced of your sins, not convinced Christ is the only Righteousness
God will accept, not convinced judgment has been settled by the blood of Christ
Jesus.
I hope
the Spirit of God convinces someone here today that they fit this description.
You will find it is the beginning of grace for you if he does.
II. HOW
DOES THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS COME?--GOD BRINGS IT—V13: I bring near my righteousness
Righteousness!
The Lord’s righteousness spoken of here is the work of
righteousness wrought out by the GodMan, the Lord Jesus Christ, and brought to
those for whom he accomplished it, through the Gospel, for our justification.
Since God says, “he brings it” then righteousness comes
from a source outside the sinner who he saves.
Since God says it is “my
righteousness” then it is God who established it; since God says it is “my righteousness” it is God’s to give
or withhold as he pleases.
Before God delivers his child, God first must deal
judicially with his child. Those God
saves fell in Adam our first head. God’s
law demands satisfaction—Ezekiel 18:20:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
God the Son, Christ Jesus, came near
·
His children were flesh—he was made flesh
·
His children could not keep the law—Christ was
made under the law to keep it for them.
·
His children must die to pay the wages of sin
to justify them—Christ died in their place and accomplished our justification
Substitution!
The
elect of God are the “for us”—for whom Christ was made sin. When you read scripture realize that the “for
us” for whom God did his work in his Son is a work finished so that each one
shall receive exactly what God has done for them because God will see to it
that they do. With that in mind you may
be able to grasp the truth that God did not send his Son to die for all
men. Did Christ die for those already in
hell? If not then he did not die for all
men. Did Christ die for men who pass
from this life in unbelief and perish and go to hell? If he did then he failed in what he came to
do and that cannot be. God forbid! The “for
us” for whom Christ died are redeemed and must be saved our God ceases to be
righteous which is the very thing Christ died to declare in the first place. The “for us” are those who are redeemed and shall
be saved.
2
Corinthians 5: 21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
Galatians
3: 13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree:
Romans 5: 8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Corinthians 5: 7:…Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Ephesians 5: 2: And walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
1 John 3: 16: Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us:
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Hebrews 9: 24: For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Titus
2: 14: Who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works.
Since God has brought righteousness by the work of his
Son—then it is brought—it is done, accomplished—IT IS FINISHED! This is the good news God declares to his child
Romans 5: 19: For as by one man’s disobedience many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20: Moreover
the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might
grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
The
Lord says, I bring near my
righteousness. This righteousness is
the Lord Jesus Christ himself, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Application:
Hearken, ye stouthearted—if you could obtain righteousness by your own works
would God have sent his only begotten Son?
Can confess from the heart, saying, “I am one of the stout-hearted,
underserving sinners—one of the “for us” for whom Christ finished this work and
I rest in him?
III. HOW CAN I HAVE GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS? V13:…it
shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: (Romans 10)
Near!
It is
as near as the Word of God, as near as the Gospel you now hear! There was Isaiah preaching this gospel and
there was God as near as the word going forth—just like you are hearing this
gospel right now. It is brought near when
the Spirit of God breaks the stoutheart and creates us anew in righteousness
and holiness—when Christ is formed in you.
He
shows us that we have no righteousness. He shows us the sufficiency of Christ's
righteousness. He gives us faith in Christ
as our only, all-sufficient righteousness. He brings
it as near—as near as, even in your
mouth and in your heart.
Romans 10: 6: But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise,
Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ
down from above:) 7 Or, Who shall
descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8: But
what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9: That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10: For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed.
When God grants us repentance and faith, we are no
longer ashamed to declare in agreement with God, what God has already declared
in his Son.
Romans
3: 26 To declare, I say, at this
time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is
boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of
faith. 28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law.
Salvation Shall Not Tarry!
The
Lord declares, "My salvation shall
not tarry!" AS SOON AS YOU BELIEVE ON
CHRIST IN THE HEART—RIGHTEOUSNES IS YOURS; AS SOON AS YOU CONFESS CHRIST WITH
THE MOUTH, SALVATION IS YOURS! It will not tarry!
Romans 8: 32: He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?
Romans 3: 24: Being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25: Whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood,…
IV. WHERE IS OUR SALVATION?--Isaiah 46: 13…and
I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
Salvation!
Jesus Christ is Salvation. (Heb 12). God raised him from the dead. He is seated at God’s right hand in heaven’s
Zion. Christ dwells in the hearts of
those who have been called by his grace, living stones who are his church, the
temple of the living God. He dwells
amongst his local assemblies in the church—walking among the candlesticks.
Hebrews
12: 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion,
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, 23 To the
general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and
to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that
of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not
him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth,
much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh
from heaven:
For Israel My Glory!
He set salvation in Zion for whom? For Israel my glory. Israel
is first the name of Christ the head of his church—Jesus Christ—Jesus Christ is
the glory of God. And those who make up his body: those chosen,
redeemed, and called by God—are Israel—his glory—inseparably united to Christ
our Head.
How are
we his glory? The glory of God is revealed
in the salvation of his people by Christ Jesus his Son.
Isaiah 60:21 Thy
people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for
ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
John 17: 10: And all mine are thine, and thine are mine;
and I am glorified in them.
In the ages to come God will manifest his
Glory to all the world in how he saved his people.
Ephesians
2: 4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ
Jesus.
Ephesians
3: 10 To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God, 11
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord:
Go home with this!
Hearken,
stout-hearted sinners. God has brought
near his righteousness today. Repent
from your imaginary righteousness and believe on Christ Jesus-the LORD our
Righteousness and salvation is yours. Blessed
is the man unto whom the Lord imputes righteousness without works. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not
impute sin—all iniquities forgiven, all sins covered.
Brethren,
go home today and think on God’s amazing grace to us. We are stout-hearted sinners saved by the
grace of God. His salvation in every
trial, in every time of need is near—believe God and his salvation will not
tarry to comfort our hearts. In the day
when he makes up his jewels—he shall come to be glorified in us—and we in him
and not one will be lost because our God has inseparably connected the glory of
his own name to our salvation.
Amen!