Sermon #244 Series: Isaiah

Title: Where Does He Dwell?

Text: Isaiah 66:1-4

Readings: Office: Bob Poncer Auditorium: Ron Wood

Subject: The Greatness, Grace, and Judgment of God

Date: Sunday Evening - July 21, 1996

Tape # S-77

Introduction:

A poor, uneducated man, who was often ridiculed by others because of his faith in Christ, was once tauntingly asked by a scoffer, “Tell me about your God. Is he a great God or a little God?” He answered, “My God is so great that the heavens cannot contain him; yet he condescends to be so little that he dwells in every broken and contrite heart.” That is a pretty good summarization of what I want to preach to you tonight. My text is...

Isaiah 66:1-4 "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? (2) For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (3) He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. (4) I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."

Proposition: Without any introduction, I want to show you from these four verses that THOUGH THE LORD GOD HOLDS THE RELIGION OF THIS WORLD IN UTTER CONTEMPT, HE GRACIOUSLY LOOKS TO AND DWELLS WITH EVERY POOR, CONTRITE SOUL TREMBLING AT HIS WORD.

Divisions: Listen carefully as I try to preach to you. Pray for me; and pray for yourself. I am going to make four awesome, powerful statements that desperately need to be heard and understood in this day. I draw these four statements directly from the four verses we have read in Isaiah 66:1-4.

1. God almighty will not dwell in the houses and temples that men erect in his name (vv. 1-2).

2. The Lord God dwells in the hearts of chosen, redeemed sinners, born of his Spirit and saved by his grace (v. 2).

3. Every form of self-righteous, works religion is an abomination in the sight of God.

4. When men and women will not obey the gospel God fixes it so that they cannot obey the gospel, by sending them delusions to destroy their souls (v. 4).

I. First, I want to assert with all the emphatic dogmatism possible that GOD ALMIGHTY WILL NOT DWELL IN THE HOUSES AND TEMPLES THAT MEN ERECT IN HIS NAME.

This is exactly what God himself tells us in verses one and two. "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD.”

In these verses we have a declaration from the lips of God himself that he has forever rejected all material temples and all the carnal rituals of ceremonial worship. I grant, there was a time when it could be said that there was a house of God upon the earth. During the days of the church’s infancy, when she was being taught the ABCs of the gospel under the types and shadows of the Old Testament, God required Israel to build a tabernacle and later permitted them to build a temple, which was called “the house of the Lord.” But even then, on the very day when Solomon offered his prayer of dedication for the temple, he declared what all who knew and worshipped God understood - That the temple in Jerusalem was only symbolically the house of God. This is what Solomon said in his prayer of dedication...

1 Kings 8:27 "Will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?"

The holy of holies, the fiery and cloudy pillar were only symbols of his presence. But the time of symbols is now over. At that moment when the Lord Jesus Christ cried, “It is finished” and dismissed his spirit, the veil of the was rent from top to bottom by the hand of God, declaring that the age of carnal, symbolic, ceremonial worship was forever over. A short while later, God sent the armies of Rome into Jerusalem to destroy forever that very temple which had been the symbol of his presence and of his worship since the days of Solomon.

I mean to be understood. It is nothing short of base, pagan idolatry in this gospel age to speak of buildings as the house of God, or to speak of altars, priests, holy places, and holy days! In this gospel age all the carnal ordinances of legal worship are expressly forbidden.

· Colossians 2:16-23

John 4:23-24 "The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

Philippians 3:3 "We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

A. The Lord our God is infinite in his Being.

God is Spirit, the infinite, unlimited, independent, self-sufficient Spirit. He is omnipresent, everywhere present at once and always. God is infinitely immense. He is not limited either by time or space. He does not need us to build him a house!

1. Heaven is his throne.

There he sits, infinitely exalted above all blessing and praise. Be sure you read it right. Heaven is his throne, not his house. It is...

· The Throne of Absolute Sovereignty!

· The Throne of Universal Dominion!

· The Throne of Righteousness!

· The Throne of Grace!

· The Throne of Judgment

2. The earth is his footstool.

The great King of the universe lays his feet upon the earth and rules all its affairs with indescribable ease. This earth, indeed, our universe is but a speck before the immense, infinite God! With heaven as his throne and the earth as his footstool, where is the house that men will build for him? If he needed one, where would we establish the place of his rest?

God almighty does not dwell in shrines, temples, and holy places! This is what Stephen was preaching when the Jews stoned him to death.

Acts 7:48-50 "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, (49) Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? (50) Hath not my hand made all these things?"

B. Our great, infinite God is the Creator of all things.

If he needed a house or a place of rest, he would not need our puny, empty hands to build it for him. He says, “For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD.”

This universe in which we live is such a vast, immeasurable thing that scientists are baffled by it. They try to tell us that they know how it evolved and how it works; but they have not even measured it! Yet, vast as it is, the heavens and the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, all the planets of our solar system, and others not yet discovered by those little mechanical, multi-million dollar fleas we call satellites, all are nothing and less than nothing before our God! He could create ten thousand more by nothing but his thought! He is...

· The Creator of All!

· The Sustainer of All!

· The Ruler of all!

· The Disposer of All!

II. Second, I want you to see that THIS GREAT, INFINITE, IMMENSE, SOVEREIGN, ALMIGHTY LORD GOD DWELLS IN THE HEARTS OF CHOSEN, REDEEMED SINNERS, BORN OF HIS SPIRIT AND SAVED BY HIS GRACE!

This is what he declares in our text - “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”

I do not need to tell you that the poverty here spoken of is not a material poverty, nor even spiritual poverty. Material poverty does not secure grace. And all men are spiritually poor. The Lord here declares that he will look to and dwell in those who are poor in spirit, of a broken and contrite heart, and tremble at his word.

Psalms 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

Isaiah 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

A. Only chosen, redeemed sinners, regenerated, born again, called, and saved by the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit are poor, contrite, and trembling before God.

God has chosen for his holy temple the hearts of saved sinners.

John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

All of those things that we think of as important, distinguishing, and attractive are utterly contemptible before God. “God is no respecter of persons!” It is nowhere written that God dwells with...

· Men of Rank.

· Men of Wealth.

· Men of Intelligence.

· Men of Education

· Men of Power.

· Men of Fame.

· Men of a Specific Religious Order or Denomination.

Rather we read, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Those points of character most specifically despised and ridiculed by the world are the very traits of character for which God looks and which grace alone can create in the hearts of men.

1. Those who are poor in spirit are sinners who know

themselves to be utterly without merit before God.

· The Publican

· The Syrophenician Woman

Those who know themselves to be guilty, doomed, damned, lost sinners, utterly incapable of doing good, totally dependent upon God’s sovereign mercy and Christ’s all-sufficient merit are the people with whom God almighty takes up residence.

Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

2. Those who are, in there spirits, contrite before God are

the objects of his saving mercy and grace in whom he

resides.

Contrition is not the cause of grace, but the result. The person who has seen Christ in his redemptive fullness, grace, and glory, is broken and contrite before him.

· Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-5)

· Daniel (Dan. 9:4-10)

· David (Ps. 51:1-17)

3. Those who are the objects of God’s saving operations of

grace are poor and contrite, people who tremble at his

word.

Believers are people who truly reverence the Word of God. We tremble before it. We do not tremble like Felix, who trembled in fear at the prospect of judgment to come, but relaxed as soon as the sermon as over. Believers have an internal, unceasing awe of God’s majesty, holiness, grace, and glory. We tremble at God’s Word because we believe it all!

a. The law once caused our hearts to tremble with terror.

b. The gospel causes our hearts to tremble with amazed gratitude.

c. God’s precepts of worship cause our hearts to tremble because we understand what the ordinances of worship represent. - The Gospel! (1 Chron. 15:13).

d. The preaching of the Word causes us to tremble because e know its power to save and to condemn.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. (15) For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: (16) To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?"

We do not tremble with slavish fear. We know that God’s mercy, love, and grace toward us in Christ is immutable. We know that the Almighty will not cast us off. Eternal love will never reject those it has chosen. But we tremble lest we should abuse that grace, mar its beauty, or dishonor our God. We tremble lest we should sin against our great and gracious God and Savior. We rejoice with trembling and tremble with joy. We “serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:11).

NOTE: This reverence for the Word and worship of God ought to be reflected when we gather in his name for worship.

· In our Attitude: Prayer - Sobriety - Submission - Humility!

· In our Actions: Promoting the Hearing of the Word.

· In our Attire: Dress as men and women coming to meet the King!

B. If you and I bow to the Lord God almighty, this infinite, sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe as poor sinners, broken and contrite, trembling at his Word, acknowledging our sin, trusting his Son as our only, all-sufficient Savior, trusting his blood, his righteousness, his intercession, and his saving fullness, God himself tells us that he will look our way!

“To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Imagine that! If God almighty looks my way, I cannot want more!

1. If he looks our way in time, it is because he has looked upon us from everlasting as the objects of his mercy, love, and grace.

2. If the holy Lord God looks upon us, he looks upon us in Christ.

3. If he looks upon me, he approves of me.

4. If he looks upon me, he accepts me.

5. If he looks upon me, he delights in me.

6. If God almighty looks upon me, he looks after me to take care of me forever!

III. Third, the Lord solemnly declares that EVERY FORM OF SELF-RIGHTEOUS, WORKS RELIGION IS AN ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.

Isaiah 66:3 "He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations."

The Lord could not have chosen more contemptible words with which to describe his abhorence of self-righteous, works religion.

Proverbs 15:8 "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD."

It is, in the sight of God, as great a crime as murder and open blasphemy, to come before God even with great sacrifices and religious devotion, if you come to him with the works of your own hands and your own righteousness. Your religious works, sacrifices, and ceremonies, which you think will please God are an abomination to him! As he rejected Cain and his sacrifice, so he will reject you and your sacrifice!

Luke 16:15 "And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."

Those who trust in themselves and yet pretend to worship God, in effect, set aside Christ’s sacrifice, tread under foot his precious blood, and make themselves guilty of the body and blood of the Lord by setting up in his place their own works. That person who attempts to establish righteousness for himself and to make atonement for his is as if he had cut off a dog’s neck, offered swine’s blood, and blessed an idol! This is exactly what Israel did in Paul’s day; and multitudes are following in their steps.

· Romans 9:30-10:4

IV. Fourth, I want everyone here, especially you who yet refuse to obey the gospel, to hear and seriously consider this fact. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will write it upon your hearts. WHEN MEN AND WOMEN WILL NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL GOD FIXES IT SO THAT THEY CANNOT OBEY THE GOSPEL, BY SENDING THEM DELUSIONS TO DESTROY THEIR SOULS.

Isaiah 66:4 "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."

If you turn a deaf ear to God when he speaks, you are courting eternal damnation! Having heard the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ, if you still hope to stand before God upon the footing of your own merit, if you still thumb your nose at his darling Son, God will fix it so that you cannot come to him. If you refuse to repent, God will give you what you desire. He will fix it so that you cannot repent. If you refuse to trust Christ, God will give you what you want. He will fix it so that you cannot trust Christ. God has many delusions by which to destroy reprobate men. And I will tell you this - That man, that woman that God deludes is deluded forever! If you had any idea what God says in this text, it would make you tremble. "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; BECAUSE when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Application:

Proverbs 1:22-33 "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. (24) Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. (28) Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: (29) For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: (30) They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. (31) Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. (32) For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. (33) But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."

You have once more been privileged of God to hear the gospel. God has been more merciful to you today than he is to many in a lifetime. What is your response to him? Will you bow to him? Will you trust hie dear Son;or Will you continue to thumb your nose in God’s face? Which will it be? Oh, may God be pleased this day to compel you by his almighty grace to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!

If the Lord God has given you faith in Christ, rejoice and give thanks to him. Your faith is his gift, a gift of grace bestowed upon you in Christ because of God’s sovereign electing love.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: (14) Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."