Sermon #231 Series: Isaiah
Title: The
Presence of God
Text: Isaiah
64:1-3
Reading: Off.
Larry Criss Aud.
Merle Hart
Subject: The
Blessedness of God’s Presence
Date: Sunday
Evening - February 11, 1996
Tape # S-23
Introduction:
Illustration: Christmas Evans - “Lord, I’ve
gone into that
pulpit alone for the last time.”
I want to talk to you tonight about The Presence of God.
Read Isaiah 64:1-3 with me.
Did you notice in those three verses that Isaiah’s
dominate concern was God’s presence? He was praying for the Lord God to
intervene, to make himself known, to deliver, save, and bless his people. But
the thing he kept asking for was “Thy presence.” Three times he prayed,
remembering and seeking, “Thy presence.” He was praying for revival; but the
revival he wanted was the presence of God. He was praying for freedom from
bondage and oppression; but all the freedom he wanted was the presence of God.
He seems to be saying, Lord, if you will grant us your presence, everything
will be all right. We need no more. We want no more. But we must have the
presence of God.
Here is a man whose heart and soul are intense. He
intensely longed for the presence of God for himself and for his people. He is
so eager that God should come down and come at once that he cries for him to
appear with a holy violence. “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou
wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.”
When our Lord Jesus appeared and opened the way by which
God might come down to us poor, guilty creatures, he did not lift up the veil
of the temple, or push it aside. No, he rent the veil, from top to bottom. He
split it wide open! It was through that open door, through that rent veil, that
the Holy Spirit was poured out upon his church. It is through that rent veil,
by the blood atonement of Christ, that God comes down to us in grace. And it is
through that rent veil that we are now able to draw near to and find acceptance
with the holy Lord God.
Proposition: As God’s presence was the salvation, joy,
and glory of his people in the ages past, so the presence of God is our
salvation, joy, and glory today.
May God the Holy Spirit be my help and my strength as I
endeavor to show you four things from this text about the presence of God.
I. The presence of God is the
one thing we must have.
Our only hope is the presence of God. Is not this the
thing that Isaiah’s prayer shows us? We must have God’s presence, his manifest,
glorious presence. We rejoice in the fact that God is everywhere present, the
omniscient God. But we want to know his presence. We are truly thankful for his
promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” We believe it. But we
want to see him in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. Isaiah knew that
God was with his people. What he wanted was that God would show himself with
them. Therefore he prays, Oh that thou wouldest come down! We ask not for a
bountiful harvest. We ask not for favor from the princes and kings of the
earth. We ask not for a increase of wealth. The one thing we want, the one
thing we need, the one thing we must have, O God, is you. Oh that thou wouldest
rend the heavens and come down!
Have we come to this? Do we yet understand this? The one
thing we must have is the presence of God. The church does not need more
wealth, finer buildings, more elaborate services, or even better, more learned,
more gifted, and more eloquent preachers. What we need, what I hope we crave,
above all things is the presence of God.
A. Throughout the history of
God’s people Israel in the Old Testament, the presence of God was the thing
that set them apart from all other people.
Isaiah knew that Israel’s very existence as a nation was
entirely dependent upon the presence of God with them. It had been so from the
very beginning of the nation.
It was the presence of God
with Abraham that made him great.
It was the presence of God
with Isaac that preserved him.
It was the presence of God
with Jacob that kept him alive.
It was the presence of God with
Joseph that saved the nation.
It was the presence of God
with Israel that preserved them in Egypt.
It was the presence of God
with the chosen nation, behind the blood stained doors of Goshen, that
preserved Israel when God passed through the land of Egypt in judgment.
It was the presence of God
that opened their way through the Red Sea.
It was the presence of God
that provided for them and led them through the wilderness.
It was the presence of God
that fetched manna from heaven, water out of the rock, and gave them favor
among their enemies.
Israel’s history is the story of God’s presence. God’s
presence was the salvation, joy, and glory of that insignificant nation. The
symbol of God’s presence was the tabernacle, the altar, and the mercy-seat, the
ark of blessing, those pictures of the gospel, of redemption and grace by
Christ.
Moses understood that everything, every blessing, every
conquest, every privilege, every act of worship, sacrifice, service, and
devotion depended upon the presence of God.
Exodus 33:15
David knew that God’s presence is everything.
Psalm 9:3
Psalm 31:20
Psalm 51:11
Solomon understood this, too. In his prayer of dedication
for the temple, everything revolved around the presence of God. And the
blessedness of the temple was neither more nor less than God’s presence.
II Chronicles 20:9
Even in eternity, the whole blessedness of salvation
shall be the presence of God.
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 140:13
Do you see the point I am trying to make? The one thing
we must have is the presence of God. We have no other hope.
B. Our only hope of salvation
is that God will come to us. - “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens and come
down!”
The incarnation of Christ
gives fallen men the hope of salvation (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Matt. 1:21).
We are saved when God the Holy
Spirit comes to us, carrying the blood of atonement in his hands to sprinkle
our consciences with blood, declaring the pardon of sin in Christ.
Our salvation will not be
complete until the Lord God, our Savior comes to us again. “Even so, come
quickly, Lord Jesus!”
C. Until the Lord’s second,
glorious advent, the only hope we have as the church of God is the blessed
presence of his Holy Spirit.
Without him, we can do nothing. Without the presence of
God the Holy Spirit...
Our Prayers are Vain.
Our Preaching is Vain.
The Ordinances are Nothing but
Empty Rituals.
Our Evangelistic Efforts are
Vain.
Our Missionary Labors are Vain
Our Witnessing is Vain.
D. The presence of God is
essential to each of us if we are to be saved.
1. We are saved when God comes
to us.
The prodigal is saved when the
Father comes to meet him.
The lost sheep is saved when
the Shepherd comes to fetch it home.
The dead live when Christ who
is our life comes to give life.
2. Our perseverance and
preservation depend entirely upon the presence of God the Holy Spirit with us
(Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30).
We are sealed in grace by the Spirit. Thank God for that.
He leaves to ourselves just often enough and just long enough to make us
understand that if he did not keep us we would not be kept!
The presence of God is everything! Let us never presume
that we can get along without him. And let us never be presumptuous of his
presence. Let this be our prayer every time we come to the house of God.- “Oh
that thou wouldest rend the heavens and come down.”
II. The presence of God
creates great surprises.
“When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for,
thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.”
Whenever God comes down to men they are always surprised,
both by his presence and his wonders. Even the most expectant and hopeful
believer finds his hopes and expectations exceeded.
Read verse 4, and learn the surprising nature of grace.
The fact is, we are surprised by God’s presence and his works because...
Our greatest conceptions of
God fall far short of his greatness.
Our experience of God is very
slight.
Our faith in God is very
small.
A. Can you imagine how
surprised Adam was to hear the voice of the Lord God seeking him, clothing him,
and preaching the gospel to him?
B. I cannot even think about
how astonished Jacob must have been, when he heard those words, “Joseph is yet
alive.”
C. As for myself, the most
wonderful, astonishing thing I have ever known or experienced in this world is
God’s saving, adopting grace.
I John 3:1
I used to think how great it would be to be pardoned of
all sin, filled with the joy of forgiveness, and live before God without guilt.
I dreamed about it; but I never expected to experience it. Imagine my surprise
when I discovered that I am not only forgiven, but an heir of God and
joint-heir with Jesus Christ!
D. Though we believe it as a
matter of divine Revelation and live in hope of it, I am certain that we will
be utterly astonished in the resurrection, when our Lord comes to take us up to
glory.
The lives of God’s saints are lives full of surprises
because our lives are marked by grace. Other men get tired of their hum-drum
lives. They have to read those dime store romance novels to put a little
excitement into their lives. For God’s saints life is a constant experience of
God’s surprising grace! His mercies are new every morning. With every rising
sun he brings new surprises of goodness. I think I shall never get tired of
living so long as the grace of God takes me by surprise.
Whenever we get into some trouble, we ought to fall on
our faces with laughter and gratitude, and thank God for sending it. The
trouble is sure to bring another surprise of grace!
Illustrations: (1.)The conversion of Mr. W. Haslam, a Welsh
parson, while preaching on “What think ye
of Christ? Twenty others professed to have been
saved that same day.’
(2.) The conversion of the Catholic priest while saying mass and
reading Hebrews 10:10-14.
III. If you read these three
verses again, you will see that the presence of God dissolves great
difficulties.
Mountains of heresies flow
down at thy presence.
Melting fires of conviction
burn and boiling waters of holy desire arise at thy presence.
Nations tremble at the
presence of God.
Maybe you think, Don, you are talking about another time.
We cannot expect God’s presence to bring about such great, surprising things
today. Oh, how mistaken you are. I want you to see in the last place that...
IV. We may confidently expect
to see the same results from God’s presence today.
A. God is the same.
B. We are the same.
C. Our enemies and obstacles
are the same.
D. God’s promises are the
same.
E. Oh, my brethren, I want you
to realize that there are yet great things to be done by our God through the
instrumentality of his church.
Read the 65th chapter of Isaiah. God is not done working
yet. He yet has a people whom he will save, a kingdom he will build, and
sinners he will make to be new creatures in
Christ (vv. 1,2,9,17,18,19,24,25).
Application: Exodus 33:15
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Xunto you, they are spirit,
and they are life."
To be called is to be regenerated, born-again, raised
from spiritual death to spiritual life in Christ by the power and grace of God
the Holy Spirit. That will take a little bit more than the power of your
free-will. This work of regeneration requires the sovereign power of God’s
irresistible grace.
Ephesians 1:19 "And what is the exceeding greatness of
his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power,"
Ephesians 2:1-4 "And you hath he quickened, who were
dead in trespasses and sins: (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we
all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of
wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us,"
Illustrations: Mephibosheth!
Zachaeus!
Lazarus!
All who were chosen by God the Father in eternal election
and all who were redeemed by God the Son at Calvary shall, at God’s appointed
time, be brought to Christ by the irresistible, saving operations, power, and
grace of God the Holy Spirit. And they can never be lost.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it
shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and
God doeth it, that men should fear before him."
Not on of the elect can be
lost, because election is God’s work.
Not one of the redeemed can be
lost, because redemption is God’s work.
Not one of the called can be
lost, because the calling is God’s work.
EVERY SINNER WHO BELIEVES ON
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WILL BE SAVED.
There is absolutely no contradiction between that
statement and everything else I have said. Faith in Christ is the proof and
evidence of the Father’s election, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s call.
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
We make our calling and
election sure by trusting Christ! If you trust Christ, your faith in him is the
result of God’s grace in you; and God, who cannot lie, declares that you are
saved.
Mark 16:15-16 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him."
Acts 16:31 "And they said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we
keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
I am calling upon you, right now, to do what you are
responsible under God to do, what only God can enable you to do, yet what you
must do. I am calling upon you who hear my voice to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Not to Seek Him, but to
Believe Him!
Not to Pray, but o Believe!
Not to Feel, but to Believe!
Not to Mourn, but to Believe!
Not to Do, but to Believe!
NOTE: Put nothing between yourself and Christ; and et no
one else put anything between you and Christ. Anything that keeps you from
Christ, or comes between you and Christ is idolatry and damning.
Illustration: The Handkerchief
Listen to me no. I am telling you upon the authority of
God’s Word that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved!
God the Father elected you to
salvation.
God the Son redeemed you and
purchased salvation for you.
God the Holy Spirit has called
you.
And you shall not come into
condemnation!
Application:
This is what God says in his Word - “Salvation is of the
Lord!” “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” You
cannot read your election until you believe; but you never could or would
believe without God’s election. When time shall be no more, when all things are
finished, hen all believers are with Christ in glory and all the damned are in
hell, this will be the conclusion of the matter to the praise, honor, and glory
of our great God… “The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded”
(Rom. 11:7).
Amen.
Scripture Reading
for
Sunday Morning - December 8,
1996
Romans 10:1-17
"Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. (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. (5) For Moses describeth the righteousness which is
of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. (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. (12) For there is no difference between the Jew and the
Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (13) For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (14) 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? (15) 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! (16) But they have not all obeyed the
gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? (17) So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
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Sermon #1266 Who Will Be Saved? Jonah 2:9 and Romans 10:13
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