Sermon #139 Series: Isaiah
Text: Isaiah 46:12-13
Office: Auditorium:
Subject: Subject Salvation for the Worst of Sinners
Date: Date Sunday Evening - December 27, 1992
Tape #
Introduction:
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.
We who believe see the wisdom, power and
glory of God in many, many places. To the eye of faith everything has the stamp
of God upon it. We see God's hand in everything. But there are five things
which constantly amaze our wondering hearts, as we behold the wondrous works of
our God.
1. We cannot fail to see the glory of God's
wisdom and power in creation.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament showeth his handiwork. -- Psa 19:1
Because that which may be known of God is
manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of
him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. -- Rom 1:19-20
Let infidels babble on as they may regarding
their foolish notions of evolution. They cannot help it. Fools think, act and
speak as fools. He who has no eyes cannot see. But the believer sees the glory
of God in creation. We see the Creator's fingerprints on the heavens, the earth
and the sea, in the rays of the sun, on the path of the falling leaf, in the wonders
of the snow, and in the paths of fish in the sea.
2. We also see irrefutable demonstrations of
God's greatness and glory in this blessed old Book, the Word of our God.
This Book bears the stamp of inspiration upon
its every page. Much could be said to demonstrate the truthfulness of Paul's
assertion, All scripture is STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page 2
given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
all good works. -- 2 Tim 3:16-17. But nothing more fully demonstrates the
infallibility of Holy Scripture than the numberless predictions given by God's
prophets, which have been accomplished with absolute accuracy.
NOTE The chapter before us, written centuries
before Cyrus was born, along with the preceding one, gives a detailed account
of how he would accomplish the deliverance of Israel out of Babylon.
3. Believers also see God's hand of grace and
his glorious goodness in the mysterious works of providence.
And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose. -- Rom 8:28
We declare with the psalmist, Surely the
wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. --
Psa 76:10
4. Above all else we see the glory of our God
in the redemption of our souls by Christ.
Redemption, blood redemption, is the
revelation of God's glory about which the saints of God shall forever sing. And
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto
our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. -- Rev 5:9-10
5. Once more, the transcendent riches of
God's free and infinite grace proclaimed to sinners in Christ by the gospel is
in our eyes a most delightful display of our great God's greatness and glory.
This is what we have presented in our text
tonight. The title of my message tonight is STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO
CHRIST. Read with me in Isaiah 46:12-13. 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.
STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page 3
Proposition Here the Lord God assures us of
the certain salvation of his people, while proclaiming his saving goodness and
grace to the most hardened of sinners.
Divisions
Let me show you three things in these two
verses, which I trust will be blessed of God to our hearts, as we endeavor to
worship our great God and Savior.
1. The Call of God - "Hearken unto
me!"
2. The People Called - "Ye stouthearted,
that are far from righteousness."
3. The Salvation Promised - "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. First, in the opening words of verse 12,
we see THE CALL OF GOD.
He says, "Hearken unto me!" Call it
an invitation, a command, or a call. It is all three. The God of all grace, the
God of glory, condescends to call poor sinners to hear and obey him.
A. When he says, "hearken unto me,"
he means, HEAR WHAT I SAY.
It is both your privilege and your
responsibility to hear the Word of God. God has graciously established his
gospel in this place. You have the privilege, three times every week, to hear
the Word of God faithfully expounded to your soul.
1. This is the means by which the Lord God
speaks to, saves and teaches his people. Once more, I want to show you from the
Scriptures that, if God Almighty speaks to you, it will be by the voice of a
gospel preacher.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they
be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all
obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. -- Rom 10:13-17
For after that in the wisdom of God the world
by wisdom STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page 4
knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. -- 1 Cor 1:21
For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart. -- Heb 4:12
Of his own will begat he us with the word of
truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. -- James 1:18
Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. --
1 Pet 1:23
2. The gospel ministry is one of the
ascension gifts of Christ to his church.
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ: -- Eph 4:8-12
NOTE To ignore and despise the gift God has
given you is to ignore and despise your own soul, to court eternal reprobation,
to lead your family to hell, and to invoke the judgment of God. Christ does
remove the candlestick from one place and establish it in another!
B. This call, "hearken unto me,"
means not only hear what I say, but also OBEY WHAT YOU HEAR!
God does not speak to men for nothing. He
does not speak merely to entertain you, or impress you. God almighty is a King
that demands obedience, immediate, unhesitating, unqualified obedience.
"Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5).
NOTE When I stand up here to preach, I am not
offering you an opinion, some good advice, which you should take under
consideration, or a theory for you to study. I have come here with a message
from God. I am here to deliver the King's Word. It is your responsibility to
obey it.
NOTE God calls upon you and me to believe
him, to believe his Word, and, believing, to act upon it.
STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page 5
-Repent of Your Sin!
-Trust Christ!
-Surrender Yourself to the Rule of Jesus
Christ!
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he
shall direct thy paths. -- Prov 3:5-6
II. Next, I want you to notice THE PEOPLE
CALLED. "Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from
righteousness."
In their primary meaning, these words refer
to those Jews who were unhumbled by the judgments God had inflicted upon them
in the Babylonian captivity, and were unaffected by his promises of deliverance
from it.
A. Men and women destitute of the grace of
God are stouthearted, stubborn, impenitent sinners.
Are there any stouthearted sinners here? You
will never acknowledge it, unless God breaks your heart. Let me see if I can
take your mask off. You may be a profane sinner, or a religious professor, but
you are a stouthearted rebel.
1. You have no sense of your inward
corruption and no remorse for your sin.
"Why then is this people of Jerusalem
slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to
return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him
of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as
the horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her
appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time
of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD. How do ye
say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain
made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they
are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what
wisdom is in them?" (Jer 8:5-9).
2. Stouthearted rebels have no concern about
their eternal salvation.
You are as unconcerned about the future as
you are the past. You have no concern for your immortal soul. Oh, no doubt, you
would like to go to heaven when you STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page
6
die; but you do not want to be bothered by
Christ. You live for the present, for the immediate gratification of your own
lusts, nothing more.
3. It may be that you are an obviously proud
rebel against God, who likes to flaunt your blasphemy and contempt of God
before others.
Perhaps you cover your contempt a little
around your family and the respectable people here, but when you are in other
company, you like to flaunt your contempt of God.
-You deride God's saints.
-You mock at righteousness
-You revel in sin and ungodliness.
-You poke fun at religion and the gospel of
Christ.
-You may even like to dare death.
4. Your stout heart is a haughty, proud heart
-Proud of Wisdom!
-Proud of Strength!
-Proud of Attainments!
-Proud of Righteousness!
You may be a stouthearted sinner; but God
knows how to humble the stout heart. One of these days, your heart will fail
you. God will humble your heart!
-By His Grace!
-Or By His Wrath!
B. Stouthearted sinners are "far from
righteousness."
-Far from the Righteous Requirements God
-Far from Being Righteous
-Far from Performing Righteousness
-Far from Christ, the Righteousness of God
III. In verse 13, I want you to see THE
SALVATION PROMISED.
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.
Blessed be God, there are some stouthearted
rebels who must and shall be saved! Here God declares that he will do it.
A. He says, "I BRING NEAR MY
RIGHTEOUSNESS."
STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page 7
This righteousness is the Lord Jesus Christ
himself, who is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Christ is our righteousness; and he
is the righteousness of God. Paul shows that in Romans 10.
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God
for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have
a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 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. For Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. -- Rom 10:1-4
1. It is called His Righteousness because it
is his work alone.
-He brought it in.
-He imputes it.
-He applies it.
2. This righteousness is revealed in the
Gospel.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
-- Rom 1:16-17
3. This righteousness, the righteousness of
God in Christ, is applied to sinners by the grace and power of God the Holy
Spirit.
-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.
4. This righteousness is very near. It is as
near as the Word of God, as near as the Gospel you now hear!
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:) Or, Who shall descend into the
deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 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; 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. -- Rom 10:6-11
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B. Then the Lord declares, "My salvation
shall not tarry!"
I know that these words have many
applications, but I want you to see just one thing: AS SOON AS YOU LOOK TO
CHRIST ALONE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SALVATION IS YOURS! It will not tarry!
C. Now, look at the last line of our text.
"I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory."
-Jesus Christ is God's Salvation!
-Zion is the Church of God (Heb 12:22-24).
-God has placed salvation in his Church
The Lord is not here implying that salvation
is obtained by the ordinances of the Church, or by Church membership. But he is
declaring that Jesus Christ, who is Salvation, is found where his Church is found.
He meets with his people. If you hope to meet him, you will be wise to find you
place with his people.
-God has placed salvation in Zion for Israel,
the Israel of God, all who chosen, redeemed and called in Christ.
-Israel is the glory of God!
What does that mean? God calls his elect,
"MY GLORY!" He does so because...
His glory is Revealed in the Saving of His
People.
His glory is Wrapped up in the Salvation of
His People.
He will Manifest His Glory to all the World
in His People. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he
loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. -- Eph 2:4-7
Application
Stouthearted sinners, saved by grace are the
very glory of God! We deserve his wrath. He gives us both grace and glory! We are
not worthy to call upon his STOUTHEARTED SINNERS CALLED TO CHRIST Page 9
name; but he makes the glory of his name to
depend upon the salvation of every stouthearted sinner, who...
-Was Chosen in Eternal Love!
-Was Redeemed by the Blood of Christ!
-Has bee Called by the Holy Spirit!
-Believes on The Lord Jesus Christ!
Come, then, glorify God by trusting his Son!
Whoever you are, whatever you have done, Christ is a Savior sufficient for you.