Sermon #1588 Series: Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: The
Threefold Message of Evangelism
Text: Isaiah
40:1-31
Subject: The Message God’s Servants are Sent
to Preach
Date: Wednesday
Evening —
New
Ordination Message for Aaron
Dixon Introduction:
One
purpose of our meeting tonight is to publicly set aside Bro. Aaron Dixon for
the work of the Gospel Ministry. Bro. Crabtree and I are highly honored that
you have asked us to have a part in this special service. But I want to
emphasize the fact that we are here only at your invitation.
The
ordination of a gospel preacher is the work of a local church. It is this
church and pastor, being led by the Spirit of God, that
has recognized Bro. Aaron’s gifts and have called for his ordination.
The
call to the Gospel Ministry and the gifts required for the blessed work of
preaching the gospel are God’s work. But it is this local church that
recognizes those gifts and God’s call in his servant. That was the way God
worked in Acts 13 in separating Paul and Barnabas to the work to which he had
called them. And that is the way he works today. Bruce and I
are here simply as honored guests to assist you in your public recognition of
God’s gifts and call bestowed upon his servant.
No Ceremony
We
will not have any meaningless religious ceremonies, or examining counsel, as is
the custom in many places. We are not going to call Bro. Aaron up here, have
him kneel before us and lay hands on him.
Illustration: “I don’t see how you laying your empty hands
on my empty head will do either of us any good.”
Bruce
and I are here to instruct you and our dear brother in the things of God,
particularly with regard to the awesome work and responsibility of preaching
the gospel to eternity bound sinners for the glory of Christ.
Aaron
Bro.
Aaron, I want you to be fully aware of the privilege and responsibility that
God has given you (Eph. 3:8). It is your responsibility under God to devote
yourself to the work for which God has given you.
·
Study this Book.
·
Preach the Gospel. — Preach
all the counsel of God.
·
Preach to the hearts of your
hearers (Isa. 40:1-2).
(Isaiah 40:1-2)
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. (2) Speak ye
comfortably to
To preach the gospel, to preach to the hearts of men requires that you
preach in the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit. To preach the gospel is
to preach: Redemption Accomplished — Warfare Finished — Righteousness Brought In — “All flesh is grass!” — “Behold, your
God!”
· Preach to bring sinners to the throne of God.
· Preach for the glory of God.
I am addressing Bro. Aaron. I am talking about preaching. But I am aware that I am here to preach to you all. In this message, I want to do exactly what I have just told Bro. Aaron he must do every time he ascends the pulpit. So do not imagine that I am not talking to you. My message tonight is addressed to you as much as it is to him.
The title of
my message tonight is The Threefold Message of
Evangelism.
Historically,
Isaiah 40 is God’s promise of grace and restoration to
Yet, in its
scope this passage reaches far beyond
Proposition: In these 31 verses the Spirit of God
tells us what every man sent of God to preach the gospel is required of God to
preach.
God sends his
prophets to minister to different people in different ages and circumstances.
These men who are sent of God to preach the gospel vary from one another in
many things. Some are educated and refined. Some are uneducated and rough. Some
are scholars. Some are fishermen. Sometimes God’s messenger is a Moses, an
Elijah, or a John the Baptist. Sometimes he is an Isaiah, a John, or a Paul.
But God’s messenger is always:
·
A Man among Men.
·
God’s Man among Men.
·
God’s Man with God’s Message to Men.
And God’s
message to men never changes! Every man who claims to be a prophet, or a
preacher, sent from God must be examined, not by his personality,
persuasiveness, or success, but by his message. Tonight, I want you to see from
this chapter what that message is that God sends his servants to proclaim.
Divisions:
1.
The Work of the Gospel Preacher (vv. 1-5).
2.
The Word of Grace we are Sent
to Preach (vv. 6-31).
I.
In verses 1-5 Isaiah shows us the work of the gospel preacher.
What are
preachers supposed to do? What is involved in the work of the ministry? Most
people think preachers are supposed to build up the church membership, visit
the sick, marry the young, bury the dead, attend to civic affairs, and serve
the whims of people. By modern standards any good social worker, any good
coach, any good business man, any good band leader, any good motivator would
make a good preacher. But, as with all other spiritual matters, the opinions of
men are diametrically opposed to the Word of God. Here is what God says his
servants are to do.
A.
The preacher’s
job is to comfort God’s elect (vv. 1-2).
(Isaiah
40:1-2) "Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. (2) Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry
unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for
she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."
“My people”
are those sinners whom the Lord God has chosen in electing love, redeemed by
the blood of his Son, and called from death to life in Christ by the power of his
Spirit. “My people” are those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who
are saved by God’s almighty grace.
1.
In order to comfort God’s people we must speak to
their hearts.
The words “speak ye
comfortably to Jerusalem” might be better translated, “speak ye to the
heart of Jerusalem.” True preaching is delivering a message from the heart of
God to my heart, and from my heart to your heart.
2.
The basis of comfort is redemption accomplished by the
Lord Jesus Christ (v. 2).
Nothing comforts the hearts of
needy sinners like the good news of salvation accomplished. False prophets talk
about “salvation made possible,” “salvation offered,” and “salvation if…” God’s
servants preach salvation accomplished (Isa. 51:7). We declare to every sinner
who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ that…
a. His warfare is over— The Daysman has won the day!
b.
His iniquity is pardoned — The debt is fully paid!
c.
He has received, from the hand of God, double for all
his sins — God has not only put away your sins, he also makes you perfectly
righteous in Christ.
B.
It is the work
of the gospel preacher
to prepare the way of
the Lord (vv. 3-4).
(Isaiah
40:3-4) "The voice of him that
crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the
desert a highway for our God. (4) Every valley shall be exalted, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough places plain:"
We know that these two verses were given as a direct
prophecy of John the Baptist who was sent of God to prepare the way for the
Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23).
As John the
Baptist came to lay a highway right across the desert of apostate Judaism, so
God’s servants today, by preaching the gospel of Christ, lay a highway across
the desert of apostate religion upon which the Son of God comes to men and
women in saving Grace. The preaching of repentance and faith in Christ is like
building a big house. — Some excavation must be done.
1.
Every valley of hopeless despair must be filled.
2.
Every mountain and hell of self-righteousness must be
pushed down.
3.
Every crooked bend of works religion must be made
straight.
4.
Every rough place of legality must be made plain.
C.
As we faithfully perform our work, we have this word
of assurance from our God. — “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed” (v. 5).
(Isaiah 40:5)
"And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
·
At the Cross.
·
At Judgment (Rev. 1:7).
·
In the Gospel.
That is to
say, Christ will come to his people all over the world by the preaching of the
gospel, revealing the glory of God in redemption and grace. God’s elect shall be saved! ‘The mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it.”
That is the
work of the gospel preacher. It is my responsibility to…
·
Comfort God’s elect by proclaiming redemption
accomplished.
·
Prepare the way of the Lord.
·
Confidently wait for God to save his people.
II.
Now, in verses 6-31. Isaiah shows us the word of grace
we are sent to proclaim.
Our object in preaching the gospel is twofold.
·
The Glory of God.
·
The Salvation of God’s Elect.
How shall we
accomplish this twofold object? By what means can we both glorify the Lord our
God and persuade lost, ruined sinners to come to Christ? What message shall we
preach?
The world
tells us to appeal to man’s dignity. God tells us to declare man’s depravity!
The world tells us to preach the power of positive thinking. God tells us to
proclaim the immutability of his everlasting purpose! The world tells us to
talk about the love of God. God tells us to proclaim his greatness!
In verses
6-31 Isaiah shows us the threefold message of evangelism. This is the word of
grace God has sent us to preach. In thirty-seven years of preaching, I have
never deviated from it, not even an hair’s breadth; and, God helping me, I
never shall.
A.
This is the first message of all true evangelical
preaching. — “All flesh is grass!”
(vv. 6-8).
(Isaiah
40:6-8) "The voice said, Cry. And
he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness
thereof is as the flower of the field: (7) The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the
people is grass. (8) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but
the word of our God shall stand for ever."
It is the business of the gospel preacher to destroy
all hopes of self-righteousness by showing the utter inability and total
depravity of man.
1.
All flesh is worthless grass! Not hay for feed! —
Grass! — Just weeds, nothing more! — Just worthless weeds!
2.
All of man’s goodness is like the pretty bloom on
worthless weeds!
3.
Soon God will destroy the grass and its flower!
B.
Here is the second message of the gospel. — “The Word
of our God shall stand forever”
(v. 8).
1.
The Scriptures
— The written Word of God!
2.
The Decrees, Purposes, and Promises of God can never
be thwarted, altered, or even hindered!
3.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Living
Word of God shall stand forever!
C.
Here is the third thing we are sent of God to declare
to men. — “Behold
your God” (vv. 9-31).
The preacher
who brings good tidings to Zion is told to proclaim from the high mountain,
lifting up his voice with boldness, saying to all the cities of Judah, all the
cities of God’s domain. — “Behold your God!”
(Isaiah
40:9) "O Zion, that bringest good
tidings (or, O thou that tellest good things to Zion), get thee up into
the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice
with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold your God!"
Note: The Lord God
we tell men to behold, to look to with the eye of faith, is the God-man, our
Savior, the embodiment of the only true and living God. — “Behold your God!”
1.
He is the mighty Savior (v. 10).
(Isaiah
40:10) "Behold, the Lord GOD will
come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his
reward is with him, and his work before him."
2.
He is the good Shepherd (v. 11).
(Isaiah
40:11) "He shall feed his flock
like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in
his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
3.
He is the omnipotent, omniscient Creator (vv. 12-14;
Rom. 11:33-36).
(Isaiah
40:12-14) "Who hath measured the
waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and
comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in
scales, and the hills in a balance? (13) Who hath directed the Spirit of
the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? (14) With whom
took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of
judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of
understanding?"
(Romans
11:33-36) "O the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out! (34) For who hath known the
mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? (35) Or who hath
first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? (36) For
of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory
for ever. Amen."
4.
Compared to Him all the nations and peoples of the
earth are nothing, less than nothing, and vanity (15-17).
(Isaiah
40:15-17) "Behold, the nations are
as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. (16) And Lebanon is
not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt
offering. (17) All nations before him are as nothing; and they
are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity."
·
They cause him no concern- Dust!
·
He rules them with ease.
·
The whole world has nothing to offer him. (v. 16).
·
All creation, before the great Lord God is vanity.
5.
So great is our God that nothing can be compared to
him. — Idolatry is foolish nonsense (vv. 18-20).
(Isaiah
40:18-20) "To whom then will ye
liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? (19) The workman
melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and
casteth silver chains. (20) He that is so impoverished that he
hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him
a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be
moved."
6.
He is sovereign Monarch of the universe (vv. 21-26).
(Isaiah
40:21-26) "Have ye not known? have
ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not
understood from the foundations of the earth? (22) It is he that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as
grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them
out as a tent to dwell in: (23) That bringeth the princes to nothing; he
maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. (24) Yea, they shall not be
planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in
the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the
whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. (25) To whom then will ye
liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. (26) Lift up your
eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth
out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his
might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth."
7.
“Behold your God!” — He is able
to save them that wait upon him, them who trust in him (vv. 27-31).
·
God is greater than your need (vv. 27-28).
(Isaiah
40:27-28) "Why sayest thou, O
Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is
passed over from my God? (28) Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that
the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his
understanding."
·
He gives power to the faint and strength to the weak (v. 29).
(Isaiah
40:29) "He giveth power to the
faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."
·
He preserves and keeps his own when others, who appear
stranger and greater, faint, grow weary, and fall (vv. 30-31).
(Isaiah
40:30-31) "Even the youths shall
faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: (31) But they
that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall
walk, and not faint."
“They that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.” — “As thy days, so shall thy
strength be.” (Duet. 33:25). — In the beginning of their pilgrimage, God’s
saints soar and fly like the eagle. — As they continue and grow in grace, God’s
pilgrims run their race and never grow weary of it, though many do. — In their
mature years, Thy walk, making steady, but tranquil and almost unconscious,
advancement and faint not, though many fall.
Application: “Behold your God!” To behold
him is to…
1.
Know your need of him.
2.
Realize what he has done (v. 2).
3.
Trust him alone as your Savior.
4.
Be saved by him.
(Isaiah
45:20-25) "Assemble yourselves and
come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have
no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that
cannot save. (21) Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them
take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath
told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God
else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
(22) Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God,
and there is none else. (23) I have sworn by myself, the word is
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto
me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (24) Surely, shall one
say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him
shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
(25) In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall
glory."
AMEN.