Good to see you. Thank you for coming. Thank you Sam and company for music. Oh is oh is oh is so good always God honoring Christ exalting heaven sent music.
I appreciate it very much. I Think I felt like I wanted to start this morning by Reminding you that are seated out there and listening that those of us who have the responsibility now and again Standing behind this pulpit and addressing you We're broken people Yeah, and so there's not one of us that ever stands up here with any ounce of pride or self-confidence We simply are fellow pilgrims. We're on a journey together and we want above all else to know and to make known the Lord Jesus Christ and we want to encourage one another and to comfort one another with his word and so it is his word today that we Want to focus on and not the preacher. I was talking with Dan who was speaking tonight In the evening meeting and before this meeting and we were Commiserating together about the wonderful thoughts we have about the Lord when we're preparing our messages and then we get up to speak and it just all goes who knows where it goes and But you know what it's not about how articulate or well we speak it It's it's all about the Holy Spirit taking the word of God and applying it to our hearts and Where he has spoken to me.
I trust he will speak to you as we read the word of God together So let's pray to that end shall we? Lord we thank you for the beautiful day that this is and we thank you for the opportunity that you've given to us Earlier on today to come together and to stand at the foot of the cross To realize how unworthy we are of your love and yet to be Inundated with that love just to be washed over with billows of love How blessed it is that he gave? That we might live and we thank you now for the opportunity the privilege that we've had to worship together to sing together And now father to hear from your word and we pray that by your spirit you would just Encourage and comfort us with your word challenge us with your word apply it to our hearts is is necessary and is needed individually You alone can do that. That's not something that I can do Lord you alone can do that So we ask that you would we pray this in Jesus name amen I would like today at least to attempt to finish up a series that I began in August of this year on the four voices Last year It's gone all wrong already Thank you last year August of last year and It's the four voices of comfort taken from Isaiah 40 So if you can turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 40 we're going to look at that passage again and here from the fourth and final voice fourth and final voice Isaiah chapter 40 and I've asked the people in the control booth to bring that scripture up So if you don't have your Bible that will show up there eventually I trust Isaiah 40 and I'm going to just remind you of what we've talked about because August of last year is a long time away And just as a little reminder of what we've already talked about but I won't take too long with that because we still have the fourth voice to get through We start off in Isaiah 40 verse 1 comfort.
Oh comfort my people says your God Kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended that her in equity has been removed She has received in the Lord's hand double for all her sins I see four voices here and the first voice that I see and here is the voice of God It's the voice of God and this first comforting voice the voice of comfort that is here is the comfort of salvation Do you remember that the comfort of salvation and you will notice in these verses now by the way? I gotta just step back and for a minute remind you that I'm not expounding from this passage I'm not teaching you the interpretation of this passage this passage has to do with the people of Israel It has to do with the prophecy that Isaiah is making concerning their future and And he's comforting them They are now in or they would be even if they're not now But they would be in Isaiah's day They would one day be in captivity and what Isaiah is saying to them are words of comfort that they would need while they're in that Position of bondage and captivity now. I'm not teaching on that what I'm trying to do is take this passage of scripture and make an application Do our daily lives? I'm not going to go back and do all the interpretation and the the formal exposition of the passage I just want to interpret this for us today Okay, so I wanted to make that clear and when I look at this passage by way of an application applying it to my life I hear God's voice saying there is comfort in knowing Salvation and having and obtaining and possessing the comfort of salvation of hearing God's voice say as he does in verse number two Set her in equity that call out to her that her warfare has ended that there is peace now with God therefore being justified by faith We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ I wonder if you know that in your heart this morning Do you have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ or is there still a warfare going on between yourself and God?
I can remember well what that warfare was like So if you're struggling with the warfare if you're struggling with God if he is not your friend if he is not your father But he is actually your enemy and you say I want God from my enemy No, you don't but maybe he is just the same because you are living a life that is so contrary to his will and there's a warfare going on There can be peace through Jesus Christ our Lord The comfort of salvation is that we have peace with God and then there's pardon in that verse number two again that her in equity is Pardon it's been removed pardon for sin. I was I was looking in Isaiah Chapter 55 I'm going to read this for you. I say of 55 listen to these verses and you can quote them in your heart I'm sure while I'm saying them some of you seek the Lord while he may be found I say a 55 or 6 call upon him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way in the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the Lord and he will have compassion on him think of that the Lord will have compassion on the wicked and the unrighteous Isn't that amazing that he would have compassion he would have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly What's the word pardon? He will abundantly pardon that's good news and I have had the experience of having abundant pardon God has pardoned my sins for they've been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ Do you know that do you know the joy the comfort of salvation?
There's peace in salvation There's pardon in salvation and then there's the provision of God for every spiritual blessing in salvation as well moving on to the next Two or three verses beginning at verse number three of this passage and then a voice is calling Here's the second voice a voice is calling clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness make smooth in the desert a highway for our God let every valley be lifted up in every mountain and he'll made low and let the rough ground become a plane and the rugged terrain a broad Valley then the glory of the Lord will be revealed in all flesh will see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken This is the second voice of comfort and this is the voice of communion the comfort of communion We saw it as John's voice because in the New Testament this passage is quoted by by John He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord But we're looking at it from a Christian perspective and we're saying this is communion This is the opportunity of communion to enjoy that comfort and there's a purpose There's a purpose given in these verses in verse number three a the purpose is to clear away for the Lord If we want communion with the Lord we need to clear away a path for the Lord to come in Clear the way for the Lord and the preparation is to make straight level and smooth the ground for him to come in and commune with us Straightness to be focused to have our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ We were reminded of this passage. It's a passage from Hebrews last evening as we got together with the college and career group Therefore Hebrews 2 verses 1 and 2 therefore since we are surrounded compassed about by so great a cloud witnesses Let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus Right so the preparation is to make a straight focus path You know be focused on the Lord be focused on seeing him a level path a consistency in our lives and a smooth path free of debris Now there's in this portion also a promise It says in verse 5 and the glory of the Lord will be revealed for the Lord has spoken so God promises that We can have communion with the Lord we can know that he's going to come and and commune with us simply by making a way for him preparing away for him opening the door and saying Lord I want to have communion with you I'm going to push aside all the stuff all the trash in my life push it out of the way Because I want preeminently to commune with you and you can have that there's a comfort in communion There's a comfort in salvation. There's a comforting communion and then thirdly We talked about the comfort of and I apologize for this But I had to come up with a word that would fit there the comfort of conjunction because I had to have an eye Oh, and on the end of these things You know, there's just the way it is the comfort of conjunction read with me these verses verses 6 to 8 a Voice says call out. There's our third voice and he answered what shall I call out?
All flesh is grass and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field the grass withers the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it surely the people are grass the grass withers and the flower fades How do you like to be compared to grass withering a flower that fades? But that's what God says the grass withers the flower fades and all flashes like grass just just like that The tennis says and there's the beautiful conjunction and the end of verse number eight, but The word of our God stands forever The truth and this is the voice of truth of the voice of reality the comfort of conjunction is the voice of reality We are perishing people we heard that this morning, didn't we at the Lord's table? We are dying people we're we're growing old. We're not getting better.
We're getting older, right? Have you come to grips with that? Have you embraced that truth because you and you can't embrace it because of the conjunction? But the word of our God stands forever that's good news God's words.
Well, how does that make any difference? I'm getting old and decrepit and things aren't working the way they used to in my body How is it any any good to know that the word of God stands together because the word of God tells us who we are in Christ and where we stand in Christ? I want to look with you just briefly at Romans chapter 8 This is this is part of that very word of God Romans chapter 8 and When you think of the fact of our mortality when you think of the fact that we are passing away physically What good news can you say to somebody who's passing away? Here's good news Here's good news.
Look at this Romans chapter 8 verse 35 the question is raised who will separate us from the love of Christ? Now there's an implied answer to that isn't there? No one right and we read on will tribulation answer is no Distress no can you say that word with me? persecution no famine no nakedness peril sword Christ continues to love us and just as it is written verse 36 for your sake we are being put to death all day long We are considered as she to be slaughtered.
That's that doesn't sound good does it? But in all these things and all those things that were listed in verse 35 in all those things We are more than conquerors to him and love this we overwhelmingly conquer isn't that something? That's good news and in that verse Instruct me as we were going through our work together in the college and careers group in all these things verse 37 says and in all these things All of these things Happened to believers it might they might not all happen to you But there's there are believers who experienced every one of these things and maybe they will happen to you But in them in the midst of these persecutions in the midst of the distresses in the midst of the tribulation the famine the nakedness apparel And the sort in the midst of that in all those things he still loves you He still loves you and as we read in verse 38 for unconvinced that neither death nor life or angels and principalities or things present Things to come powers height through depth or any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God Which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Did you see any other created thing?
It doesn't matter what you come up with it doesn't matter what your circumstance is It doesn't matter that you're like grass withering like a flower fading Because nothing not even death can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Is that comforting or not the older I get the more comforting that verse sounds huh? Well no is young that you know that's nice But I've seen most of my life for sure and the closer I get to eternity The more comforting that is nothing nothing nothing not even death in fact death just Sums it all up because I'll be in his presence. It's gain All right The comfort of salvation the comfort of communion and the comfort of conjunction We have in the comfort of salvation God's Gracious provision for us to be safe We have in the comfort of communion God's glorious presence to be with us and we have in the comfort of conjunction God's game-changing Promise it's a game-changing promise for us that we can hold on to it now the fourth and the final voice of comfort This is the comfort of proclamation versus 9 to 11 and this is the very best of all voices You know why because it's your voice and everybody loves to hear their voice right? Yeah, it's your voice that we're gonna be talking about in this last this fourth and final voice.
Let's read Picking it up at verse number nine get yourself up on a high mountain. Oh Zion bearer of good news Lift up your voice mightily Oh Jerusalem bearer of good news Lift up lift it up do not fear say to the cities of Judah. Here is your God Behold the Lord God will come with might with his arm ruling for him Behold his reward is with him and his recompense before him like a shepherd He will tend his flock in his arm He will gather his lamps and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead the nursing use the voice of proclamation If you know the comfort of salvation if you are enjoying the comfort of communion If you have come to terms with the comfort of conjunction then it's time to embrace the comfort of proclamation and that is simply You need to tell somebody if you're really old you'll remember somebody by the name of Don Francisco David McDonald's old nothing over that.
Yes, I And Don wrote a song many years ago called he's alive. He's alive and for those of us who at that time were younger That was a thrilling song It was a thrilling thrilling song and then he followed it up with a sequel and that sequel was called I've got to tell somebody I got to tell somebody and it's the story of the synagogue official whose daughter had died and He came to the Lord Jesus and and said you know You got to come and see my daughter and others were telling him no don't bother the master and but the Lord Jesus went anyway And he said when he came near the house the people were wailing and so on and going to it And he said don't don't wail because you know she's not really dead She's only sleeping and they laughed at him and the Lord Jesus went in and woke her up, right? And Francisco looking at this from the perspective of the father whose daughter had just been raised from the dead He said oh my you know I got to tell somebody I got to tell somebody what Jesus has done for me. That's That's the comfort of proclamation of taking the message of the gospel What God has done for you and taking it out and sharing it with other people and there's a comfort in that any of us who have ever done that Know that's true as scary and as terrifying as it might be sometimes To share that message of hope Peace pardon and provision with other people is an amazing blessing I've got to tell somebody now There are three imperatives here that I want to share with you before I step down the three imperatives in the Comfort of proclamation the first one is in verse 9 the very first part of that verse It says get yourself up on a high mountain of Zion bear of good news get up That's the first imperative get up right and I haven't my notes nothing for the kingdom gets done while watching Gaming or surfing the net All right, is that not true?
What do we accomplish? I've had the I've been as many of you know that we have been studying together this book called don't waste your life And I've just had the the wind kicked out of me so many times. I am bruised spiritually From what this gentleman has written in that book and one of the things that he brought up in the last chapter that we studied together Was the waste of time the waste of our lives don't waste your life is a title of the book and and I'm you know going into it thinking well I know wasting my life. Oh boy.
I'm wasting my life. I'm wasting my life so much of the time and so as I stand before you I'm not standing here pointing my finger out there. There's just too many fingers pointing back at me What am I doing with my life? What are you doing with your life?
Who are we telling? He says get up get up couch potatoes of the world You night get up get up and rebel against the status quo and do something else Brothers and sisters we get up it's time to get up. Where do we go? We get up?
Where do we go? We go to the high mountain we go to the high mountain now? What does that mean? You have to take up mountain climbing.
No mountaineering. No, what is the high mountain? What are we talking about here? We need to get out of the valley of doing what is really a waste of our time a waste of our lives We get out of that valley and move up into the rarefied air of service for the Lord Jesus Christ Wherever that may be the mountain is only symbolic.
It's just get out of the valley and get up to the mountain Whatever that mountain may be for you. I can't tell you what that mountain is. I'll tell you what I'm scared to death fights My knees quake when I get two runs up on a ladder I'm a mess. I'm no good at all, but God says we need to get up on that mountain.
Do you remember the story of lot? You do don't you know what you had I said lot. Yeah, I remember the story of lot Remember back in Genesis chapter 13 the scripture says there that that Abraham and lot they had heard lots of hurts lots of animals and and they're grazing grounds were being compromised because of over feeding and it was decided that they were gonna separate and go their separate ways and and Abraham the old Patriarch said to his nephew lot you you go whichever way you want to go and I'll go the opposite direction We'll have plenty of room for a flocks remember that and it says in Genesis chapter 13 in verse number 10 that lot lifted up his eyes and saw All the valley of the Jordan didn't he and how did it look? Oh?
Boy didn't look good. It was all green down there and if you've got flocks I used to raise cattle and if you have flocks you want green grass. That's where you want your flocks It's well watered. They have plenty of water plenty of grass.
That's where you want your flocks And so a lot look down there in verse 10 and then it says in verse 11. So lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan He saw the valley He made a choice chose the valley choice based on financial gain, right? There was no other Thought process in his mind, but I'm gonna make it I'm gonna be financially set down there and think about the other things that were down there And then it says in verse number 12 that Abraham settled in the land of Canaan Well lot settled in the cities of the valley and you know the rest of the story Don't you lot went down there to prosper? He came out of there didn't he later on?
What do you have with him? He lost everything didn't he I know you said well you had his two daughters read on Read on he lost everything brothers and sisters everything You know made a bad choice. He decided to leave the Highlands and go down into the valley now That's not that's just typical. That's a typical illustration of what the valley represents Get out of the valley and go to the mountain go up to the mountain climb up to the mountain and what do we do when we get up on that mountain?
Verse 9b you see what it says lift up your voice mightily Oh Jerusalem bear of good news lift it up do not fear Get up and speak up, right? Get up and speak up when you get up on that mountain if you go across the bridge and get into hell fact and you go Whipping around and find your way to highway 102 heading towards true Make an exit right away and get on highway 103 because that road will take you to your mouth Right, it'll take you towards your mouth And if you drive along the 103 highway and you make good time about three hour drive You will come to a little exit and a great big sign. It's way bigger than the town itself. It says Glenwood That's my hometown my home village That's where the three or four houses that are there That's where they exist and and if you get off at Glenwood if you take that exit you turn to the right You turn into Glenwood and you just go by the park that's on your right There's a Glenwood park in there That's the one thing we have in Glenwood is a park and you go just by the driveway to the park on the left hand side If you turn your head to the left, you'll see something amazing It's Mount Glenwood.
It's an amazing thing to see It was right when I got when I step out of my back door the house that I grew up in Mount Glenwood rose in its heights Behind me right behind our house in front of me and it's probably It's probably not quite as tall as this building Mount Glenwood, but when you're a little boy, right? There it is and as a little boy I remember climbing climbing up Mount Glenwood and it took all of 10 or 15 seconds to do it It was so tall and I remember going up your time and after time as a little fella and just looking around and From Mount Glenwood you could survey the entire country There was Willard Pittman's house over here. There was Percy Keos house over here. There was Grammy beans house over there Not my Grammy at all.
What her last name was Bean Grammy Bean over there. There was Mr. Andrew and Aunt Dorothy She was no aunt either, but they lived over there then there was the Baptist church right there and then over here was Uncle Arden and Angie again, no relation and if you looked across this way, you could see all the way over to Roberts Island Which was just a tree infested island. That was it.
You could see all of Glenwood from there. What a breathtaking view I remember one day going up there on top of this mountain and standing there and the air was just right There's something about it, and I remember going Hey, and then I heard hey Who's that? I was the only little boy in that village all the rest of people were old Who's that and I I hired up again? Hello?
Hello? You know what it was and eventually after 14 or 15. Hello. It dawned on me.
This was an echo I had heard about echoes, but I never heard an echo. I had never heard my own voice before It was fantastic. So I stood on the top of Mount Glen went and I just ballad it out. I just kept hollering Oh, hello.
Hey, hey, you know and and after a while there was this other voice that started mingling in with the echo It was a strangely familiar voice. It was that of my mother For she had heard and she had come out of the back door of our house and she said what in the world wrong? I said there's nothing wrong mom. Listen.
Hey, did you hear that? It was wonderful. The sound of my own voice. This is before you see I'm sold.
This is before tape recorders I had never heard my voice before I had never ever heard my voice before it was years later that my uncle brought a tape recorder And I heard my voice for the first time didn't even recognize my voice But that echo was incredible and mom said you have to stop that and I said why? Because all the neighbors all four of them will hear you and they'll think something's wrong My point is when you get up on the mountain speak up because people will hear you Might be your mother. I make me the only one here. So it might be your neighbors and say more than I said Which was just basically a lot of noise But if you get up on the mountain if God calls you up to a mountain whatever that venue might be wherever he takes you Speak up be heard.
Did you see what it says here? You say well brother Clyde? I'm a little shy Let me tell you something. There's nobody in this room There's more shy than I am I guarantee you you say that ain't true.
They're you are standing up there listen This is not natural for me. This is not natural. I am a very shy person. I have difficulty standing before people I have difficulty with that And I have difficulty speaking up sometimes But look what it says get yourself up on a high mountain was I bear of good news?
You've got something to say lift up your voice mightily oh Jerusalem bear of good news lift it up Don't be afraid don't be afraid Don't be afraid You've got good news Somebody needs to hear that good news. We've got good news to share. We have comforting news to share don't be afraid Don't let fear silence your voice What do we have to lose in comparison with what they have to gain brothers and sisters? When we when we compare what we have to lose what would be the most we could lose our lives, right?
I'll be the most as I was saying to somebody earlier. So if I die I Go to heaven and I'm with Christ which is gain, but if they don't hear my voice What do they lose that they lose the opportunity to go to heaven and to be with Christ? So what if I got to lose in comparison with what they had to gain don't be afraid don't be afraid Lift up your voice So find yourself a mountain and get up on it and find your voice and lift it up, right? Now let's finish off the final imperative get up speak up and then we have inverse number 10 It says Well in the latter part of verse number nine say to the cities of Judah.
Here is your God behold the Lord God will come with might God even tells us what to say Speak up. He says what am I supposed to say Lord? Behold or here is your God Tell them about God tell them about me a little while ago a couple of Someies ago in the Lord separate David was talking about Michael Angelo who painted all those ceiling things in sistine chaplain other places And how that because he was like this all the time painting what he came down off the scaffolding he'd go around like this Right you and I would too right because his neck Must have some pain in his neck, but he had his neck he had his head up like this all the time because of He was constantly looking up look up. That's the third imperative look up look up Stephen Michaels came right after David and talked about Christians going around like this, right?
Remember that Stephen Don't go around like that lift up your head lift up your head because the Lord is coming That's what it says here say to the cities of Judah say to the people around about you Shout out to the people of the village you glenwood down at the foot of Mount Glenwood shout out to them Here's your God behold the Lord God will come Let him know that the king is returning What's he when he returns what's he gonna be like really quickly? He's coming what manner will he come what manner will he come? Behold the Lord God will come verse and with might with his arm ruling for him. He is coming as a sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords you see that he's coming as a sovereign his arm is ruling for him He will reign his arm in Isaiah has been revealed in Isaiah 53 1 his arm is holy and Isaiah 52 verse 10 It provides salvation in Isaiah 59 16.
It is strong Isaiah 628. It is glorious Isaiah 6 312 We don't have time to look those verses up but through there go to your concordance and look at his arm in Isaiah It's an amazing study and his stretch out air look for that one too. That's an amazing thing his arm is stretch out behold He is coming his arm ruling for him and then it says behold his reward is with him his reward is with him And it says also that his recompense is before him. He's coming to rule.
He's bringing a reward and a recompense and a recompense Depending on which side of the fence you stand right? Are you a believer? Are you his child reward? Are you not recompense?
Are just desserts right and he's coming back as a sovereign quickly. He's also coming back in verse 11 as a what? It's an S word Shepherd. Thank you as a shepherd Coming back as King of Kings coming back also as a shepherd.
This is comforting isn't it? He's gonna tend his flock He's going to gather his land. He's gonna carry them close to his arm How is he gathered them in his arm? There's his arm again carry them close to his heart and leading those who are caring for others He's coming as a shepherd exercising loving care toward his flock.
He's the good shepherd who gave his life for the flock He's the great shepherd who rose again from the dead from our justification He's coming now Thank you and then and then he's the chief shepherd the chief shepherd the chief shepherd rewards The rewards faithful service brothers and sisters look up get up speak up and look up because he's coming back That's comforting isn't it? I find that comforting find your mountain and get up on it find your voice and speak up Tell people what Jesus has done for you and find your focus look up look up keep your eyes upon the eastern sky lift up your head Redemption draws an eye he's coming. I want to ask you are you ready for that? Are you ready?
He tells us to be ready if you're not ready if you're not one of his children you need to become one of his children is so simple You just embrace the fact that he died for you on the cross the Calvary You acknowledge that you're a sinner and you need salvation You acknowledge that your sins have separated you from your God and you're still at war with him And you need just to simply acknowledge that and repent of those sins say Lord I don't need those I need you I need your salvation In John chapter 3 verse 36 it says he who believes in the Sun has eternal life but He who does not obey the Sun will not see life but the wrath of God abides on him He's coming back as the sovereign with his rewards and with his recompense which will it be for you that choice is yours Brothers and sisters don't waste your lives and dear friend if you're not a brother of mine or a sister of mine Find life in the Lord Jesus Christ today. Let's pray. Thank you Lord For the privilege of being here today. Thank you for your word pray that you will give us a sense of what Comforter is and sharing our faith with others remind us O God of the need to do that Not because we're compelled not because you commanded us to but because the love of Christ in our hearts compels us Show us O God the mountain you wish for us to climb and open our mouths and pray this in Jesus name.
Amen. Thank you