Sermon #85                                                            Series:  Isaiah

 

          Title:       The Character and the Blessedness Of A True

                         Believer

          Text:       Isaiah 33:15-16

          Subject:  The Effects Of Grace Upon A Person’s Life

          Date:      Sunday Evening - August 25, 1991

          Tape #

 

          Introduction:

 

          The title of my message tonight is The Character and the Blessedness Of A True Believer.  When things are going well it is impossible to separate the precious from the vile, to distinguish wheat from tares, sheep from goats, true believers from mere hypocritical professions.  In times of peace and prosperity we cannot tell which are the good fish and which are the bad.  But when trying times come, when adversity comes, when the fires of persecution burn, false brethren soon show themselves.  When the rains of providential judgment begin to fall, and the floods of earthly care rise, and the winds of persecution blow, those houses that are built upon the sand will fall.  At such times “sinners in Zion are afraid” and fearfulness takes the hypocrites by surprise. 

 

          The chapter in which our text is found describes a time of great trouble in Judah.

 

·        Sennacherib and the Assyrians had invaded the land.

·        Many nations around Judah had fallen prey to the barbaric invader.

·        But the Lord promised Judah he would protect her (II Kings 19:32-34).

·        Yet, there were many among the chosen people who did not believe God.  They were terrified at the sight of Sennacherib.

 

          Though they were in Israel, they were not of Israel.  Though they had the name of God’s people, they were not God’s people.  They professed to be saints.  But they were really sinners at heart.  They claimed to worship God.  But they were only base hypocrites.  The sinners and the hypocrites in Zion, in the time of trial were discovered.  The sinners showed their fear.  The hypocrites showed their unbelief.  Because they did not believe God, they began to flee, though none pursued.  They trembled, though the enemy was not seen.

 

          My friends, let us make certain of our calling and election.  Do not be satisfied with being in Zion, or in the church.  Let us not rest until we are sure we are in Christ.  “Beware of hypocrisy!”  You can be sure of this - If our religion is not true, it will fail in time of trouble.  If our hope in God does not make us calm and peaceful in the hour of trial and the night of sorrow, of what use is it?  Your religion will be of no use to you in times of difficulty if it is not true.

 

Proposition:  Trials do not produce anything.  They only prove what we are.  The trials we endure prove whether our faith is true or false.

 

          Our text promises safety to God’s saints.  But there is no safety for the hypocrite.  Mr. Spurgeon said, “Safety in Zion belongs to those born in her by regeneration, reared in her by sanctification, enfranchised in her by faith in the Son of God, settled in her by fixed principles, confirmed in her by obedience to her laws, and bound to her by intense love of her King and her citizens.”

 

Divisions:  My text (Isa. 33:15-16) reveals two things:

 

1.   The Character Of the True Believer - (v. 15).

2.   The Blessedness Of the True Believer - (v. 16).

 

          The promise of verse 16 is a blessed, blessed promise.  But it is a promise that belongs only to those who meet the character described in verse 15.  We have no right to claim the promise unless we meet the character of the one to whom the promise is given.

 

I.      Believers are men and women who may be known by the character of their lives.  And verse 15 describes THE CHARACTER OF EVERY TRUE BELIEVER.

 

          Do not judge the state and condition of your own soul, or anyone else’s by isolated acts of righteousness or wickedness.  It is not by acts, but by character, the bent, direction and tenor of a man’s life that his faith must be measured.

 

Note:  We are not here to judge one another.  We are here to examine and judge ourselves (II Cor. 13:5).  If we will honestly judge ourselves, we will not be condemned with the world (I Cor. 11:32-33).

 

Note:  You can be sure of this - The grace of God does change a man.  It affects what he is and what he does.  It alters both his character and his conduct (Rom. 6:12-13, 18, 22; II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:17-20; Tit. 2:11-12).

 

          In this chapter there are three things that stand out as marks and characteristics of true believers - Their confidence in God, their conversation before men and their composure in times of trouble.

 

A.  Their confidence in God (v. 2).

 

          The true believer is a man, or woman, of humble faith and confidence in the Lord God.

 

1.   They are a praying people - “O Lord, be gracious unto us.”

 

          We know our need and feel it.  Because we are not stoics, we feel things.  Because we are not fatalists, we pray.  Because we know our own insufficiency, we seek God’s help.

 

          What we seek from God is grace, nothing but grace.  The whole basis of our approach to God is grace.  Those who know God know their need of grace and love to acknowledge it.

 

·        Eternal Grace!

·        Redeeming Grace!

·        Saving Grace!

·        Preserving Grace!

·        Daily Grace!

·        Helping Grace!

 

2.   Believers are a waiting people  - “We have waited for thee.”

 

          Having spread our case before him, we wait.  Knowing that God always does what is best, we wait for him.  We bow to his will, acknowledge his wisdom and wait for him to work.

 

3.   Believers are men and women who exercise a present faith - “Be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.”

 

          True believers do not foolishly imagine that by having trusted God years ago they have obtained salvation.  We look to Christ now!  We believe today!  We live by faith.  To the believer faith is not an act of life.  It is a way of life.  “The fear of the Lord is his treasure.”

 

          The true believer is a person of humble, present faith and confidence in the Lord God.

 

                             “My faith has found a resting place,

                             Not in device, nor creed:

                             I trust the ever-living One,

                             His wounds for me shall plead.”

 

B. Their conversation before men - (v. 15).

 

          Not only are God’s people men and women of implicit faith in God, they are men and women whose lives are, in character, holy and righteous - (Eph. 4:22-30; Phil. 1:27; Heb. 13:5; James 3:13; I Pet. 1:15-17; 2: 12-13; 3:16; II Pet. 3:11).

 

          Now look at Isaiah’s description of the believer’s holy conversation.  The way we live does not gain us an entrance into heaven.  Christ alone is our way of entrance.

 

·        His Blood!

·        His Righteousness!

·        His Grace!

 

But if you and I have been made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in glory, the grace that has saved us does affect the way we live in this world!  Believers are men and women who…

 

1.   Walk Righteously.

2.   Speak Uprightly.

3.   Despise the Gain of Oppression/Ill-gotten Gain/Bribery.

4.   Refuse to Hear Wickedness/Violent Speech (Eph. 4).

5.   Turn their Eyes from Wickedness.

 

·        Doctrinal Wickedness.

·        Moral Wickedness.

 

          The believer is a righteous man.  Righteousness rules his heart.  And righteousness rules his life.  “He will not be flattered into pride, nor bribed into deceit, nor allured into unholiness.  The Holy Spirit has wrought in him a holy spirit, and integrity and uprightness preserve him” - (Spurgeon).

 

          The believer is, by no means, a man whose life is perfect.  We are full of sin.  And our righteousness’ are but filthy rags in God’s sight.  Yet, the believer is an upright and righteous man.  Grace has made him so - (Ps. 15:1-5; 24:3-5).

 

          The true believer is characterized by confidence in God, a holy conversation before men.  And believers are identified by…

 

C. Their composure in the face of trouble - (v. 22).

 

          “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and a sound mind.”  When real trouble comes, the hypocrite, the mere profession of faith is revealed by his consternation and confusion.  The believer is the man of calm composure.

 

1.   “For the Lord is our Judge!” - It matters not what men say and do.

2.   “The Lord is our Lawgiver!” - His word is our law.

3.   “The Lord is our King!” - We bow to his dominion.

4.   “He will save us!” - We trust his grace and providence.

          If my faith in God does not give me composure in the midst of trouble, my faith, it seems to me, is more useless than the tranquilizers doctors prescribe for people who cannot cope with life.  “Hope copes.”

 

          The three things characterize every true believer.

 

·        Confidence in God.

·        A Holy Conversation before men.

·        Composure in the Face of Trouble.

 

II.   Now, look briefly at THE BLESSEDNESS PROMISED TO EVERY BELIEVER (V. 16).

 

          The blessedness is that which believers enjoy in this world, in the face of their enemies and earthly troubles.

 

A.  “He shall dwell on high” - Above and beyond the reach of his enemies - Christ (Col. 3:3; Pro. 18:10).

B. “His place of defense shall be the munitions of the rocks.”

 

·        God’s Covenant.

·        God’s Character.

·        God’s Word.

·        God’s Providence.

·        Christ’s Intercession.

 

C. “Bread shall be given him.”

 

1.   Daily Bread - The widow’s “barrel of meal did not waste.”

 

·        Daily bread is never stale.

·        Daily bread calls for daily faith.

·        Daily bread calls for daily gratitude.

·        Daily bread is sufficient.

 

2.   “His waters shall be sure.”

 

 

·        To Quench His Thirst.

·        To Bathe His Soul.

·        To Refresh His Heart.

 

Application:

 

1.   How can I have this promised blessedness?

 

·        Do not try to gain it by hypocrisy.

·        Do not hope to win it by self-righteous reformation.

·        Trust Christ.

 

2.  If we are assured of such blessedness, how we ought to rejoice in God our Savior (Phil. 4:3-4).