Sermon #52 Series: Isaiah

Title: The Burden Of the Word of God

Text: Isaiah 13:1-24:1 - Reading Isaiah 24:1-23

Subject: The Message God’s Prophet Must Deliver

Date: Sunday Evening - August 26, 1990

Tape #

Introduction:

As I read through the Book of Isaiah this week, in the middle section of the book, I noticed a word that was reiterated again and again.

13:1 - “The burden of Babylon.”

15:1 - “The burden of Moab.”

17:1 - “The burden of Damascus.”

19:1 - “The burden of Egypt.”

21:1 - “The burden of the desert of the sea.”

21:11 - “The burden of Dumah.”

21:13 - “The burden of Arabia.”

22:1 - “The burden of the valley of vision.”

23:1 - “The burden of Tyre.”

Nine times the prophet of God introduced his message as “the burden.” He carried with him the burden of the Word of the Lord, and he felt the weight of that burden.

In these chapters Isaiah is addressing the people and the nations of the world individually, warning them of God’s wrath and impending judgment. These nations were but representative of all the nations of the earth. And God’s judgments which fell upon them were warnings to the whole world of that day when God will judge the earth in righteousness by Christ Jesus. The burden which Isaiah had to deliver reached its climax in chapter 24 - “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.”

Proposition: The burden of the Word of the Lord must be delivered.

Divisions:

1. God’s Prophets Are Men With A Burden.

2. The Prophet’s Burden Is A Twofold Message.

3. The Prophet Of God Will Deliver the Burden Of the Word Of the Lord.

I. GOD’S PROPHETS ARE MEN WITH A BURDEN.

I know that the prophet’s office and the gifts of prophecy have ceased in the church of God. Those special, supernatural gifts are no longer needed, because we have the complete revelation of God in Holy Scripture. But there is a sense in which God still supplies his church with prophets. A prophet is something more than a preacher, a teacher and a theologian. He is a man with a burden upon his heart that must be delivered. He has a message from God that burns like fire in his soul, consuming every other concern. I do not know that I can describe a prophet, but if you ever hear one you will know it. He is a man who cannot be controlled by custom, influenced by favor, bribed with money, or pressured into compromise. He is a man who has seen God, heard from God, and speaks for God with the authority of God.

· Isaiah was such a man (Isa. 6:1-11).

· Jeremiah was such a man (Jer. 8:18-9:1; 20:8-11).

· Ezekiel was such a man (Ezek. 3:1-3, 10-11, 14).

· The Apostle Paul was such a man (Rom. 1:16-17).

Like Elijah before the prophets of Baal, the prophet of God when he is in the Spirit of God fears nothing and no one but God and is motivated by nothing but the glory of God (I Kings 18:21-40).

The Hebrew word for burden, in its verb form, means “to lift up a heavy load.” In its noun form it means “a load that is lifted up.” The man who speaks for God is a man who carries in his heart and soul a heavy, heavy load - The burden of the Word of the Lord!

A. He speaks for God, as his ambassador (II Cor. 5:20).

B. He speaks to eternity bound men and women.

C. He knows that his message is a matter of eternal consequence to his hearers (II Cor. 2:14-17).

II. THE PROPHET’S BURDEN IS A TWOFOLD MESSAGE.

You can mark this down, every man who speaks for God has the same message. All God’s prophets carry the same burden. They may deliver it in different forms, with different styles, and in different language. But all God’s prophets preach the same thing. Our message is twofold. It is a message of judgment and a message of grace.

A. God’s prophet is a messenger of judgment.

When Isaiah delivered the burden of the word of God to men he faithfully warned them of God’s sure, impending and righteous judgment. He described the whole world as “The city of destruction” (19:18).

Will you hear me? This world and everything in it is marked for destruction. There is a day coming when God will destroy the earth, because it has been defiled by sin. And as this earth is under the sentence of condemnation, so are you. The wrath of God is upon you. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die!”

· God’s Wrath is Universal.

· God’s Wrath is Just.

· God’s Wrath is Sure.

· God’s Wrath is Eternal.

· God’s Wrath is Irresistible.

But blessed be God, our message does not end there!

B. God’s prophet is also a messenger of mercy, grace and salvation! (Read Isaiah 19:19-20).

You do not have to die!

1. There is a Way to God - “an altar to the Lord!”

2. There is a Pillar of Hope - The Gospel of Christ!

3. There is a Throne of Grace - “They shall cry unto the Lord!”

4. There is a Savior for Sinners!

5. Christ is a Great Savior!

6. Christ will Save all who come to God by Him!

III. GOD’S PROPHET WILL DELIVER THE BURDEN OF THE WORD OF THE LORD (Isa. 20:2-4).

The only responsibility God’s prophet has is to faithfully deliver the word of God as he has received it from the mouth of God - (Jer. 1:8-10; “He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully” 23:28) - (I Cor. 4:1-2).

· I am responsible to Deliver God’s message - (Ezek. 33; I Cor. 9:16).

· You are responsible to Obey God’s message.

· In the day of judgment, you will be judged by the gospel I have preached to you - (Rom. 2:16).

Application: The burden of the Word of the Lord calls for three things from you.

1. Repentance toward God.

2. Faith in Christ.

3. Commitment of Life.