WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 –> 00:00:03.280 Now I hope you’ll open your Bible at Isaiah 67 00:00:03.280 –> 00:00:05.000 that has been read for us. 00:00:05.000 –> 00:00:06.520 We’re continuing our series, 00:00:06.520 –> 00:00:11.080 Restore My Soul Nine Heart Cries for Revival. 00:00:11.080 –> 00:00:13.880 And we’re really asking that God would work 00:00:13.880 –> 00:00:15.760 in a new way in our lives. 00:00:15.760 –> 00:00:18.240 I hope you’re making that your prayer. 00:00:18.240 –> 00:00:21.160 That there will be a fresh outpouring 00:00:21.160 –> 00:00:25.400 of the Holy Spirit in many of our hearts 00:00:25.400 –> 00:00:29.120 and across our congregation more widely, 00:00:29.240 –> 00:00:33.200 that God will move in a fresh way in your life 00:00:33.200 –> 00:00:36.720 as we respond with faith and obedience 00:00:36.720 –> 00:00:39.439 to His Word as we hear it. 00:00:39.439 –> 00:00:44.439 And we’ve been learning that real life change begins 00:00:44.580 –> 00:00:46.700 when God restores faith. 00:00:46.700 –> 00:00:50.020 That’s the root of everything else in this series. 00:00:50.020 –> 00:00:53.200 Remember Isaiah presented in chapter 53 00:00:53.200 –> 00:00:56.480 the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ? 00:00:56.480 –> 00:00:58.840 But then he asks very significantly 00:00:58.840 –> 00:01:01.799 of the people of God who believes this. 00:01:01.799 –> 00:01:03.840 And not who says they believe it, 00:01:03.840 –> 00:01:06.720 but who really believes that God is totally 00:01:06.720 –> 00:01:09.000 for me in Jesus Christ. 00:01:09.000 –> 00:01:11.239 Who is tasting this and savoring this 00:01:11.239 –> 00:01:14.760 and living upon this? 00:01:14.760 –> 00:01:17.519 And we saw that the gospel is so staggeringly great 00:01:17.519 –> 00:01:21.160 that I need to preach it to myself every day. 00:01:21.160 –> 00:01:22.559 We all need to do that, 00:01:22.559 –> 00:01:25.540 who I am in Christ and all that is mine in Christ. 00:01:25.699 –> 00:01:28.120 And everything else in the Christian life 00:01:28.120 –> 00:01:32.559 flows from this fundamental conviction 00:01:32.559 –> 00:01:36.820 that God is totally for me in Jesus Christ. 00:01:36.820 –> 00:01:39.459 And I want to repeat that at the beginning today 00:01:39.459 –> 00:01:42.739 simply because you can’t skip that first heart cry 00:01:42.739 –> 00:01:45.279 and move on to the others. 00:01:45.279 –> 00:01:50.120 You could say, well I’d rather start with restore my joy, 00:01:50.120 –> 00:01:52.720 and you can ask God to restore your joy. 00:01:52.779 –> 00:01:56.080 But if you are not deeply believing 00:01:56.080 –> 00:01:57.900 in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:01:57.900 –> 00:01:59.860 nothing much will happen. 00:01:59.860 –> 00:02:02.820 Or you could try to begin with the cry 00:02:02.820 –> 00:02:04.779 that we’ve got today, restore repentance. 00:02:04.779 –> 00:02:06.239 You could say, oh that’s what I need. 00:02:06.239 –> 00:02:09.339 Lord, restore repentance, and you could ask that of God, 00:02:09.339 –> 00:02:11.259 and what I’m saying to you is that 00:02:11.259 –> 00:02:14.860 if you ask that of God but you are not deeply rooted 00:02:14.860 –> 00:02:17.000 in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:02:17.000 –> 00:02:18.139 and you don’t have your eyes fixed 00:02:18.139 –> 00:02:19.619 on the cross of Jesus Christ, 00:02:19.619 –> 00:02:22.279 nothing much will actually change in your life. 00:02:22.979 –> 00:02:26.740 Believing the gospel opens the door 00:02:26.740 –> 00:02:31.539 to all the other life changes that follow. 00:02:32.440 –> 00:02:34.039 We began to follow that path 00:02:34.039 –> 00:02:37.919 and saw that it is good to cry out, Lord, restore joy. 00:02:37.919 –> 00:02:39.679 Many people have found that sorrow 00:02:39.679 –> 00:02:42.720 is the back door to God’s joy, 00:02:42.720 –> 00:02:45.139 and that God uses sorrow to create a thirst 00:02:45.139 –> 00:02:48.300 within our own souls by which we come to him 00:02:48.300 –> 00:02:51.199 in a new way, which is why the first people 00:02:51.240 –> 00:02:54.679 to find God’s joy, as we saw last week, 00:02:54.679 –> 00:02:57.320 were surprisingly the barren woman 00:02:57.320 –> 00:03:00.440 and the deserted wife and the folks of the ruined city. 00:03:00.440 –> 00:03:02.080 And then when you realize that sorrow 00:03:02.080 –> 00:03:03.639 is often God’s back door to joy, 00:03:03.639 –> 00:03:07.080 it’s not so surprising that they were the first. 00:03:08.000 –> 00:03:12.100 Now some folks at this point, three weeks into our series, 00:03:12.100 –> 00:03:15.440 you may be feeling this sounds a long way off from me. 00:03:16.380 –> 00:03:21.380 Pastors talking about new work of the spirit in my life, 00:03:22.320 –> 00:03:26.139 and the truth is that right now I feel far from God. 00:03:27.160 –> 00:03:29.220 It may be that you have believed for some time, 00:03:29.220 –> 00:03:32.360 but honestly, heart religion, 00:03:32.360 –> 00:03:35.679 heart faith has gone cold for you. 00:03:35.679 –> 00:03:39.039 Yeah you believe, but you feel far from God. 00:03:39.039 –> 00:03:42.720 It may be that the reason you feel far from God 00:03:42.720 –> 00:03:45.320 is that you are far from God. 00:03:45.320 –> 00:03:47.639 And that he is far from you. 00:03:49.199 –> 00:03:51.320 Now if that is how you feel, 00:03:51.320 –> 00:03:53.559 sort of on the circumference of these things, 00:03:53.559 –> 00:03:56.520 feeling that they’re at a distance from you, 00:03:57.820 –> 00:04:01.220 I am especially glad that you are here today. 00:04:01.220 –> 00:04:04.100 Because in Isaiah chapter 57, 00:04:04.100 –> 00:04:07.259 the prophet speak specifically 00:04:07.259 –> 00:04:12.259 about how God reaches out to those who feel far from him 00:04:12.779 –> 00:04:14.559 to bring you near. 00:04:15.880 –> 00:04:18.000 Look at verse 19, for example. 00:04:19.140 –> 00:04:22.559 Where God speaks about peace to those who are far 00:04:23.660 –> 00:04:26.200 as well as peace to those who are near. 00:04:26.200 –> 00:04:28.200 So he’s speaking to those who are far from him. 00:04:28.200 –> 00:04:30.600 We’ll see why in just a moment. 00:04:30.600 –> 00:04:32.480 And notice what he’s doing for those 00:04:32.480 –> 00:04:35.160 who are far from him in verse 14. 00:04:35.160 –> 00:04:38.040 He speaks about building up the road. 00:04:38.040 –> 00:04:40.760 He speaks about removing obstacles 00:04:40.760 –> 00:04:43.640 out of the way of his people. 00:04:43.640 –> 00:04:48.239 So God, in this passage, is clearing away obstacles, 00:04:48.239 –> 00:04:52.959 clearing away roadblocks that separate you from him 00:04:52.959 –> 00:04:55.640 so that you may be able to come to him 00:04:55.640 –> 00:05:00.399 or perhaps better, so that he may be able to come to you. 00:05:01.480 –> 00:05:03.959 Now, the scripture this morning, therefore, 00:05:03.959 –> 00:05:06.799 speaks to those who may feel far from Christ. 00:05:08.000 –> 00:05:10.320 It speaks about what the roadblocks are 00:05:10.320 –> 00:05:13.559 that cause you to feel far from Christ. 00:05:13.559 –> 00:05:16.359 And what it is that God will do to remove them 00:05:16.359 –> 00:05:20.799 so that you may draw near to Christ today. 00:05:22.220 –> 00:05:25.440 Now, we’re going to look at three very simple questions 00:05:25.440 –> 00:05:28.600 as a way into these wonderful and important issues. 00:05:28.600 –> 00:05:31.320 And I want to begin with a very obvious question 00:05:31.320 –> 00:05:32.880 from verse 15. 00:05:32.880 –> 00:05:36.279 Where can I find God? 00:05:36.279 –> 00:05:37.799 And if you have felt far from him, 00:05:37.799 –> 00:05:39.320 this will be a very real question 00:05:39.320 –> 00:05:41.000 that perhaps you’ve pondered 00:05:41.000 –> 00:05:42.320 and perhaps wistfully said, 00:05:42.720 –> 00:05:46.019 how can I find God? 00:05:47.119 –> 00:05:49.320 Now, God’s presence of course, is everywhere. 00:05:49.320 –> 00:05:51.799 God is omnipresent, 00:05:51.799 –> 00:05:52.720 but that does not mean 00:05:52.720 –> 00:05:54.480 that you can find him everywhere. 00:05:55.380 –> 00:05:57.000 In fact, the Bible is very specific 00:05:57.000 –> 00:05:59.519 about places where God is found 00:05:59.519 –> 00:06:03.359 and never more clearly so than in Isaiah chapter 57 00:06:04.279 –> 00:06:06.779 that identifies two places. 00:06:06.779 –> 00:06:09.040 One of course is in heaven, verse 15. 00:06:09.040 –> 00:06:12.239 This is what the high and lofty one says 00:06:12.279 –> 00:06:15.779 he who lives forever, whose name is holy, 00:06:15.779 –> 00:06:20.779 I live in a high and holy place. 00:06:21.880 –> 00:06:24.859 So God says, I live in a high and a holy places, 00:06:24.859 –> 00:06:27.079 obviously referring to heaven. 00:06:27.079 –> 00:06:29.420 And if you could ascend to heaven, 00:06:29.420 –> 00:06:31.559 you would see him there. 00:06:31.559 –> 00:06:33.399 But of course, the problem is that none of us 00:06:33.399 –> 00:06:35.100 here can do that. 00:06:37.140 –> 00:06:38.760 But in the Old Testament, 00:06:38.839 –> 00:06:42.760 God’s people knew another answer to this question, 00:06:42.760 –> 00:06:43.959 where does God live? 00:06:46.200 –> 00:06:47.660 Remember the story of the Old Testament, 00:06:47.660 –> 00:06:49.600 and if it’s new to you, it’ll really help you 00:06:49.600 –> 00:06:52.299 to understand the part of what Isaiah is saying here. 00:06:53.579 –> 00:06:55.320 When God’s people came out of Egypt, 00:06:55.320 –> 00:06:57.519 God commanded them to make an ark, 00:06:57.519 –> 00:07:01.440 a rectangular box carried on poles, kept in a tent, 00:07:01.440 –> 00:07:06.440 which was where the priests made the sacrifices. 00:07:07.380 –> 00:07:11.600 And if you check out Exodus chapter 25 and verse 22, 00:07:11.600 –> 00:07:14.720 you will find that God made a specific promise. 00:07:14.720 –> 00:07:18.959 He said, I will meet you there at the ark of the covenant 00:07:18.959 –> 00:07:20.679 when the sacrifice is made. 00:07:20.679 –> 00:07:23.119 And if you read at the end of Exodus chapter 40 00:07:23.119 –> 00:07:26.160 and verse 34, you’ll find that when the sacrifice 00:07:26.160 –> 00:07:28.140 was made and the blood was applied 00:07:28.140 –> 00:07:31.260 to the lid on the top of the ark of the covenant, 00:07:31.260 –> 00:07:34.600 the cloud of the glory of God’s presence 00:07:34.619 –> 00:07:36.760 came to that tent and covered the people. 00:07:36.760 –> 00:07:37.839 Wonderful. 00:07:37.839 –> 00:07:39.440 They found God’s presence there. 00:07:40.679 –> 00:07:43.459 When God’s people entered into the Promised Land, 00:07:43.459 –> 00:07:45.559 God gave them very specific instructions 00:07:45.559 –> 00:07:48.260 about the place where they were to seek him 00:07:48.260 –> 00:07:50.140 and to find him. 00:07:50.140 –> 00:07:52.880 If you check it out in Deuteronomy chapter 12 00:07:52.880 –> 00:07:55.059 and reading from verse 5, 00:07:55.059 –> 00:07:57.519 you will find that when God told them very clearly, 00:07:57.519 –> 00:07:59.739 when you go into the land, you’re not to worship 00:07:59.739 –> 00:08:02.779 at any old place of your choosing, 00:08:02.779 –> 00:08:05.160 which is what the pagans did. 00:08:05.160 –> 00:08:08.619 See pagan worship was about convenience. 00:08:08.619 –> 00:08:11.160 And so whatever there was a little community of people, 00:08:11.160 –> 00:08:15.119 there would be a shrine and an altar that got put up, 00:08:15.119 –> 00:08:17.119 kind of like McDonald’s. 00:08:17.119 –> 00:08:18.160 Now everywhere, there’s a, 00:08:18.160 –> 00:08:19.899 everywhere has a decent sized community, 00:08:19.899 –> 00:08:22.179 is not long before those McDonald’s goes up, you see? 00:08:22.179 –> 00:08:23.880 Well in ancient pagan culture, 00:08:23.880 –> 00:08:25.959 shrines and altars popped up 00:08:25.959 –> 00:08:28.459 wherever there was a decent size community. 00:08:28.459 –> 00:08:31.519 Now, God says to them, Deuteronomy in chapter 12, 00:08:31.559 –> 00:08:32.539 when you go into the land, 00:08:32.539 –> 00:08:35.559 it is not to be like that for you. 00:08:36.979 –> 00:08:39.979 You are to worship Me at the place of my choosing. 00:08:39.979 –> 00:08:42.340 Let me read to you from Deuteronomy 00:08:42.340 –> 00:08:44.320 and chapter 12 and verse five. 00:08:44.320 –> 00:08:46.640 You are to seek the place 00:08:46.640 –> 00:08:49.020 that the Lord your God will choose 00:08:49.020 –> 00:08:52.659 from among all the tribes to put His name there. 00:08:52.659 –> 00:08:54.820 To that place you must go. 00:08:54.820 –> 00:08:57.619 There bring your offerings and sacrifices. 00:08:57.619 –> 00:09:00.840 There the presence of the Lord your God. 00:09:01.320 –> 00:09:02.200 You will rejoice with your families 00:09:02.200 –> 00:09:05.080 and you will eat and so forth and so on. 00:09:05.080 –> 00:09:06.260 This is a very important principle 00:09:06.260 –> 00:09:07.380 in the Old Testament, 00:09:07.380 –> 00:09:09.299 that we do not meet with God 00:09:09.299 –> 00:09:11.840 at the place of our choosing. 00:09:11.840 –> 00:09:15.599 We meet with God at the place of His choosing. 00:09:15.599 –> 00:09:17.119 When they got into the land, 00:09:17.119 –> 00:09:18.239 the question obviously was, 00:09:18.239 –> 00:09:19.419 well, what’s the place? 00:09:20.440 –> 00:09:23.299 In the time of King David, 00:09:23.299 –> 00:09:25.440 as the anointed leader of God’s people, 00:09:25.440 –> 00:09:27.200 David discerned that the place 00:09:27.260 –> 00:09:31.799 was the Great Holy City of Jerusalem. 00:09:31.799 –> 00:09:33.900 And that is why there was such great joy 00:09:33.900 –> 00:09:35.719 when the Ark of the Covenant 00:09:35.719 –> 00:09:37.599 was brought to the city of Jerusalem. 00:09:37.599 –> 00:09:39.940 And remember, in the time of Solomon, 00:09:39.940 –> 00:09:42.539 David’s son, a temple was built 00:09:42.539 –> 00:09:44.739 and when the temple was built 00:09:44.739 –> 00:09:45.719 and the priests went in 00:09:45.719 –> 00:09:48.020 to make the sacrifice on the Ark of the Covenant 00:09:48.020 –> 00:09:49.299 that was now at the center 00:09:49.299 –> 00:09:52.179 of this great temple that had been put up, 00:09:52.179 –> 00:09:54.820 the cloud of the glory of God’s presence 00:09:54.820 –> 00:09:57.359 came and filled the temple, 00:09:57.359 –> 00:09:59.679 God’s presence right there with His people. 00:10:00.679 –> 00:10:05.679 So, if you had asked an Israelite in Old Testament times, 00:10:06.340 –> 00:10:08.840 where can I go and meet with God? 00:10:08.840 –> 00:10:10.359 He would have known the answer. 00:10:10.359 –> 00:10:11.280 He would have said, easy, 00:10:11.280 –> 00:10:13.979 you go to Jerusalem, take a pilgrimage. 00:10:13.979 –> 00:10:15.359 Go to the Holy City. 00:10:15.359 –> 00:10:17.559 Go to the place where God has put His name, 00:10:17.559 –> 00:10:19.840 Deuteronomy chapter 12 and verse five 00:10:19.840 –> 00:10:22.840 and promised His presence, you seek Him there. 00:10:23.700 –> 00:10:26.500 And that, of course, is why pilgrimage to Jerusalem 00:10:26.500 –> 00:10:28.799 was so important in the Old Testament. 00:10:28.799 –> 00:10:32.140 Crowds of people every year going up the hill to Jerusalem, 00:10:32.140 –> 00:10:35.239 singing these songs of ascents, 00:10:35.239 –> 00:10:36.359 which are recorded for us. 00:10:36.359 –> 00:10:41.260 Psalm 120 to 134 are all Psalms that were sung 00:10:41.260 –> 00:10:43.559 as God’s people went to the place 00:10:43.559 –> 00:10:45.080 where they could find Him. 00:10:45.080 –> 00:10:50.080 Now, remember that right in the middle of Isaiah’s ministry 00:10:50.919 –> 00:10:55.140 the year 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom, 00:10:55.140 –> 00:10:58.039 where 10 of the 12 tribes lived, 00:10:58.039 –> 00:11:02.619 was completely overrun by the Assyrian army. 00:11:02.619 –> 00:11:04.679 The people were deported. 00:11:04.679 –> 00:11:08.419 They were repatriated to foreign countries. 00:11:08.419 –> 00:11:12.039 And if you had been a person in one of these 10 tribes, 00:11:12.039 –> 00:11:16.559 you would never have seen Jerusalem again. 00:11:17.000 –> 00:11:19.299 Which would make you think, 00:11:19.299 –> 00:11:22.140 I’m miles from Jerusalem. 00:11:22.140 –> 00:11:25.219 I’ve no chance of ever going to the place 00:11:25.219 –> 00:11:27.700 where God has placed His name. 00:11:28.900 –> 00:11:33.900 I’m living my life far from God. 00:11:35.080 –> 00:11:37.000 It would’ve been very obvious to you 00:11:37.000 –> 00:11:39.619 if you’d lived in Old Testament times. 00:11:41.119 –> 00:11:45.280 And these folks must have really owned Psalm 42. 00:11:46.159 –> 00:11:50.099 You remember Psalm 42, my soul thirsted for God? 00:11:50.099 –> 00:11:52.960 When can I go and meet with God? 00:11:54.099 –> 00:11:56.820 These things I remember how I used to go 00:11:56.820 –> 00:11:59.219 with the multitude leading the procession 00:11:59.219 –> 00:12:01.960 to the house of God with songs of joy. 00:12:01.960 –> 00:12:04.460 But I can’t get back there now. 00:12:04.460 –> 00:12:06.099 Maybe you have some sense of that. 00:12:06.099 –> 00:12:09.880 Maybe you remember times when you came to worship 00:12:09.880 –> 00:12:12.299 with a heart full of joy! 00:12:12.359 –> 00:12:14.979 But that seems a long, long way away 00:12:15.940 –> 00:12:17.599 and a long time ago. 00:12:18.619 –> 00:12:20.280 And you don’t have very much idea 00:12:20.280 –> 00:12:23.859 as to how you could get back there again. 00:12:25.539 –> 00:12:29.179 Well now 150 years later, now after the time of Isaiah 00:12:29.179 –> 00:12:31.739 when others would have been reading his book 00:12:31.739 –> 00:12:35.380 and thanking God for it, something even worse happened. 00:12:35.380 –> 00:12:38.099 Remember the Babylonian army marched against 00:12:38.099 –> 00:12:41.500 the remaining two tribes in the Southern Kingdom. 00:12:41.599 –> 00:12:44.059 And of course Jerusalem itself, the Great Holy City, 00:12:44.059 –> 00:12:46.359 was in that Southern part. 00:12:46.359 –> 00:12:50.820 And when the Babylonian army came 586 BC 00:12:50.820 –> 00:12:54.059 and invaded the Southern territory, 00:12:54.059 –> 00:12:57.940 Jerusalem, the Holy City itself including the Temple, 00:12:57.940 –> 00:13:02.539 was destroyed and the Ark of the Covenant 00:13:02.539 –> 00:13:06.739 at the very center of their worship was lost 00:13:06.739 –> 00:13:11.260 and has never, ever, ever, ever been found 00:13:11.479 –> 00:13:12.400 to this day. 00:13:14.020 –> 00:13:18.400 And Jerusalem then lay in ruins for 70 years 00:13:18.400 –> 00:13:22.380 with God’s people being now reduced 00:13:22.380 –> 00:13:26.419 to just a small group of refugees 00:13:28.219 –> 00:13:32.559 living by the Kebar River in Babylon, modern-day Iraq, 00:13:33.580 –> 00:13:35.239 and singing songs like this, 00:13:35.239 –> 00:13:40.239 “‘How can we sing the Lord’s Song in a strange land?’ 00:13:41.239 –> 00:13:44.700 Now, I want you to put yourself for a moment in their shoes. 00:13:45.880 –> 00:13:48.640 You know that God is in heaven, 00:13:48.640 –> 00:13:50.520 but you can’t go there to meet Him. 00:13:52.059 –> 00:13:53.659 You know that God has promised 00:13:53.659 –> 00:13:55.940 to meet His people in Jerusalem 00:13:55.940 –> 00:13:59.500 and particularly above the Ark of the Covenant, 00:13:59.500 –> 00:14:01.500 but the city of Jerusalem is destroyed, 00:14:01.500 –> 00:14:03.619 and besides, you are now a refugee in Babylon. 00:14:03.619 –> 00:14:04.799 There’s no way in the world, therefore, 00:14:04.799 –> 00:14:05.979 you can meet Him there. 00:14:07.619 –> 00:14:09.419 What hope is there, therefore, 00:14:10.219 –> 00:14:12.419 you would ask yourself, of me finding God 00:14:12.419 –> 00:14:14.979 in any real and meaningful way 00:14:14.979 –> 00:14:17.659 when the holy city is destroyed, 00:14:17.659 –> 00:14:19.739 the temple of God is in ruins, 00:14:19.739 –> 00:14:22.580 and the Ark of the Covenant is totally lost? 00:14:24.419 –> 00:14:28.059 So, there you are, far from home and feeling far from God, 00:14:29.500 –> 00:14:32.859 and one of your neighbors has a scroll 00:14:32.859 –> 00:14:35.080 with the words of the prophet Isaiah on it. 00:14:35.080 –> 00:14:38.059 And you say, you know, let’s have some prayer here. 00:14:39.020 –> 00:14:40.979 Let’s read what the prophet says. 00:14:42.219 –> 00:14:44.179 And so, you’re sitting there by the Kibar River, 00:14:44.179 –> 00:14:47.700 feeling far from God, and you read chapter 57 in verse 15. 00:14:47.700 –> 00:14:49.739 This is what the high and lofty one says, 00:14:49.739 –> 00:14:52.700 he who lives forever, whose name is holy, 00:14:52.700 –> 00:14:55.679 I live in a high and holy place. 00:14:55.679 –> 00:14:57.700 And you say, yes, Amen, Lord, I know that. 00:14:57.700 –> 00:14:58.760 You live in Heaven. 00:14:59.820 –> 00:15:01.260 I just wish I was there. 00:15:02.700 –> 00:15:04.539 And you are absolutely sure, 00:15:04.539 –> 00:15:06.679 as a believing Old Testament Israelite, 00:15:06.760 –> 00:15:09.099 that you know what Isaiah will say next. 00:15:10.299 –> 00:15:14.299 He’s got to say, I the high and the lofty one, 00:15:14.299 –> 00:15:17.880 the Lord speaking, I live in a high and a holy place, 00:15:17.880 –> 00:15:21.119 and also on Zion, my holy city. 00:15:22.479 –> 00:15:24.200 And already you’re saying in your mind, 00:15:24.200 –> 00:15:26.919 because you’re quite sure that’s what Isaiah’s got to say. 00:15:26.919 –> 00:15:30.119 Well, there’s another place that God’s promised his presence 00:15:30.119 –> 00:15:31.679 and I can’t get to it. 00:15:33.599 –> 00:15:34.960 But as you pull down the scroll 00:15:34.960 –> 00:15:38.119 you suddenly realize to your amazement and your joy 00:15:38.119 –> 00:15:40.919 that is not what Isaiah says. 00:15:42.599 –> 00:15:44.960 I lived, look at verse 15 if you would, 00:15:44.960 –> 00:15:48.239 in a high and holy place, the Lord says, 00:15:48.239 –> 00:15:51.580 but also, not in Jerusalem, 00:15:52.679 –> 00:15:57.679 but with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit. 00:15:58.679 –> 00:15:59.359 And lowly in spirit. 00:16:02.200 –> 00:16:05.239 That was mind-blowing. 00:16:07.799 –> 00:16:11.159 Not heaven and Jerusalem, 00:16:11.159 –> 00:16:16.159 but heaven and the contrite heart. 00:16:18.359 –> 00:16:21.760 This is mind-blowing stuff for deported people 00:16:21.760 –> 00:16:24.440 who feel that they are miles from Jerusalem, 00:16:24.479 –> 00:16:26.760 far from God. 00:16:26.760 –> 00:16:30.119 And it is mind-blowing stuff for some of us 00:16:30.119 –> 00:16:31.719 who feel far from God, 00:16:31.719 –> 00:16:34.840 and are not sure how to get back. 00:16:34.840 –> 00:16:37.159 Look at what God is saying right here. 00:16:37.159 –> 00:16:42.159 I live with Him who is contrite. 00:16:43.020 –> 00:16:45.960 Contrite of course means penitent, 00:16:45.960 –> 00:16:49.200 humbled by our own sins and failures. 00:16:49.200 –> 00:16:51.400 Seeking after God. 00:16:51.419 –> 00:16:53.559 And God says, 00:16:53.559 –> 00:16:55.960 when I see a contrite spirit, 00:16:55.960 –> 00:16:57.080 whatever you’ve done, 00:16:58.000 –> 00:16:59.820 however cold you’ve become, 00:17:01.000 –> 00:17:02.200 whatever your background, 00:17:02.200 –> 00:17:05.920 when I see a contrite spirit, 00:17:05.920 –> 00:17:08.699 I will choose that person as my friend. 00:17:09.920 –> 00:17:11.300 If you have a contrite spirit, 00:17:11.300 –> 00:17:12.459 I will come to you. 00:17:13.680 –> 00:17:14.959 And I will not just come to you, 00:17:14.959 –> 00:17:17.180 I will stay with you. 00:17:17.199 –> 00:17:21.520 I will, notice the word, live with you. 00:17:22.939 –> 00:17:26.140 I will make my home in your life. 00:17:27.880 –> 00:17:31.500 So, God lives with the person who is contrite. 00:17:31.500 –> 00:17:32.459 And notice what he does 00:17:32.459 –> 00:17:34.500 when he comes to the contrite heart, 00:17:34.500 –> 00:17:35.839 I live in a high and holy place, 00:17:35.839 –> 00:17:38.819 but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit. 00:17:38.819 –> 00:17:39.859 Here’s what he does, 00:17:39.859 –> 00:17:41.959 to revive the spirit of the lowly 00:17:41.959 –> 00:17:44.959 and to revive the heart of the contrite. 00:17:45.500 –> 00:17:49.479 Now, we call this series, Restore My Soul, 00:17:49.479 –> 00:17:52.400 Nine Heart Cries For Revival. 00:17:52.400 –> 00:17:57.400 And here’s that word right here in Isaiah chapter 57, 00:17:58.079 –> 00:17:59.719 Revive. 00:17:59.719 –> 00:18:01.880 When God comes to the contrite 00:18:01.880 –> 00:18:03.239 what does he do? 00:18:03.239 –> 00:18:06.680 He will revive your spirit. 00:18:06.680 –> 00:18:10.160 He will breathe new life into your heart. 00:18:10.160 –> 00:18:13.800 Just as God imparted the breath of life 00:18:13.800 –> 00:18:16.560 into the corpse of Adam. 00:18:16.560 –> 00:18:21.099 So he brings breath, life 00:18:22.040 –> 00:18:24.000 freshly into the heart, 00:18:24.000 –> 00:18:27.040 the contrite’s heart when he draws near. 00:18:27.040 –> 00:18:29.400 By the way just so we’re very clear, 00:18:29.400 –> 00:18:32.180 revival in the Bible 00:18:32.180 –> 00:18:36.400 isn’t a series of meetings with a traveling evangelist. 00:18:36.400 –> 00:18:39.400 That’s a definition some of us have become used to. 00:18:39.400 –> 00:18:41.599 It’s kind of unique to this country 00:18:41.599 –> 00:18:43.560 where it’s been used that way. 00:18:43.579 –> 00:18:46.959 But revival in the Bible is not a series of meetings 00:18:46.959 –> 00:18:48.280 with a traveling evangelist. 00:18:48.280 –> 00:18:50.780 Revival in the Bible 00:18:50.780 –> 00:18:54.119 is God coming to the contrite heart. 00:18:55.140 –> 00:18:57.540 It is God’s life, God’s wind, God’s breath 00:18:57.540 –> 00:18:59.760 God’s spirit being poured into you, 00:18:59.760 –> 00:19:03.119 breathed into you, bringing to you new life, 00:19:03.119 –> 00:19:05.800 new peace, new joy, new hope. 00:19:07.839 –> 00:19:10.119 Now this opens what seems to be 00:19:10.119 –> 00:19:12.239 a wonderful door of opportunity. 00:19:13.800 –> 00:19:15.359 I want to press a little further 00:19:17.319 –> 00:19:19.579 because maybe at first sight this looks easy. 00:19:20.540 –> 00:19:22.359 You know, if you want your soul to be restored, 00:19:22.359 –> 00:19:24.160 here’s what you have to do. 00:19:24.160 –> 00:19:25.459 Get a contrite heart. 00:19:26.459 –> 00:19:27.619 God will come to you. 00:19:28.739 –> 00:19:31.680 Just be contrite, just be penitent, just be very humble 00:19:31.680 –> 00:19:33.020 and you will find God. 00:19:33.020 –> 00:19:35.300 Isn’t that easy, right? 00:19:35.300 –> 00:19:40.300 Wrong, because a contrite heart isn’t natural 00:19:44.500 –> 00:19:45.780 to a sinful person. 00:19:47.599 –> 00:19:49.599 So I want to go to a second question here 00:19:49.599 –> 00:19:51.000 that’s going to take us further 00:19:51.000 –> 00:19:52.819 so that we can make this thing 00:19:52.819 –> 00:19:55.160 that God is speaking of our own. 00:19:55.160 –> 00:19:57.540 And we have to ask the question I think today, 00:19:57.540 –> 00:20:00.359 why then is my heart not contrite? 00:20:01.819 –> 00:20:04.959 The natural inclination of the human heart 00:20:04.959 –> 00:20:08.599 is not to come to God in order to seek Him 00:20:08.599 –> 00:20:11.800 but rather to hide from Him. 00:20:13.660 –> 00:20:16.359 Now, if you glance back to verse 10, 00:20:16.359 –> 00:20:21.359 Isaiah gives a powerful picture of the stubborn heart. 00:20:23.219 –> 00:20:28.219 He says, you were wearied in all your ways 00:20:28.400 –> 00:20:30.500 and he’s talking here about idolatrous 00:20:30.500 –> 00:20:33.239 or sinful and destructive ways. 00:20:33.239 –> 00:20:36.459 You got tired in all these ways 00:20:36.459 –> 00:20:38.660 but you would not say it’s hopeless. 00:20:40.119 –> 00:20:42.439 You found renewal of your strength 00:20:44.020 –> 00:20:46.040 and so you did not faint. 00:20:48.020 –> 00:20:49.719 If you’re battling an addiction 00:20:50.739 –> 00:20:53.699 or if you love someone who is an addict, 00:20:54.500 –> 00:20:56.819 you will know exactly and immediately 00:20:56.819 –> 00:20:59.119 what Isaiah is describing here. 00:21:00.920 –> 00:21:04.119 You know the thing that you are doing is killing you 00:21:04.119 –> 00:21:05.300 but you keep doing it. 00:21:07.140 –> 00:21:11.619 The sinner gets tired, not just the word weary in verse 10, 00:21:11.619 –> 00:21:13.280 he gets tired of his sin. 00:21:13.359 –> 00:21:15.479 This isn’t getting me anywhere, he says. 00:21:15.479 –> 00:21:17.920 I must give this up but he will not give it up. 00:21:19.319 –> 00:21:23.199 Somehow, however destructive the particular pattern 00:21:23.199 –> 00:21:26.280 of behavior is, he or she finds strength, 00:21:26.280 –> 00:21:29.079 finds energy to go on repeating 00:21:29.079 –> 00:21:30.880 the same destructive pattern of behavior 00:21:30.880 –> 00:21:32.459 again and again and again. 00:21:32.459 –> 00:21:34.260 So that sin is a mystery. 00:21:35.239 –> 00:21:37.479 It makes absolutely no sense. 00:21:38.420 –> 00:21:40.319 Why would you ever do again something 00:21:40.319 –> 00:21:41.839 that made you miserable last time 00:21:42.140 –> 00:21:44.699 but yet it’s within us all? 00:21:44.699 –> 00:21:46.119 It’s the mystery of sin. 00:21:47.420 –> 00:21:52.099 The stubborn heart is never contrite towards God. 00:21:52.099 –> 00:21:55.300 The stubborn heart says I know this is killing me, 00:21:55.300 –> 00:21:56.180 I’ll do it anyway. 00:21:56.180 –> 00:21:59.060 The stubborn heart says I know God invites me 00:21:59.060 –> 00:22:02.619 to a fresh knowledge of himself but I’m not gonna come. 00:22:02.619 –> 00:22:05.520 The stubborn heart sits and resists 00:22:05.520 –> 00:22:08.260 even under the word of God. 00:22:08.979 –> 00:22:12.760 Now let’s not limit this to addictions 00:22:12.760 –> 00:22:14.359 because that’s only one example. 00:22:15.339 –> 00:22:20.319 You can have an open Bible and a stubborn heart. 00:22:21.640 –> 00:22:24.680 You can be in life group with a stubborn heart. 00:22:25.660 –> 00:22:28.280 Be in a Bible study with a stubborn heart. 00:22:29.280 –> 00:22:32.800 And in saying that I’m thinking of John chapter 5 00:22:32.800 –> 00:22:36.660 where our Lord Jesus says to the Pharisees, 00:22:36.680 –> 00:22:39.599 you diligently study the scripture, 00:22:41.119 –> 00:22:45.500 yet you refuse to come to me. 00:22:47.199 –> 00:22:50.780 And it is very easy to deceive yourself 00:22:50.780 –> 00:22:53.280 because you have some activity that relates to the Bible 00:22:53.280 –> 00:22:55.359 like being here in worship today. 00:22:55.359 –> 00:22:59.699 And yet that masks the reality 00:22:59.699 –> 00:23:03.000 that underneath there’s a heart that is staying 00:23:03.000 –> 00:23:04.739 at a distance from Jesus Christ. 00:23:04.739 –> 00:23:06.459 So the truth is really today, 00:23:06.459 –> 00:23:08.140 even with a Bible on your lap, 00:23:08.140 –> 00:23:12.739 perhaps you could be quite far from him. 00:23:14.739 –> 00:23:16.500 And that’s a stubborn heart. 00:23:17.420 –> 00:23:20.739 That’s a roadblock between you and God 00:23:20.739 –> 00:23:25.739 that needs, verse 14, to be cleared away. 00:23:27.140 –> 00:23:29.699 Of course, the stubborn heart goes all the way back 00:23:29.699 –> 00:23:32.859 to Genesis itself. 00:23:32.859 –> 00:23:37.280 When God comes to walk in wonderful fellowship 00:23:37.280 –> 00:23:39.560 with Eve and Adam, where are they? 00:23:39.560 –> 00:23:41.099 They’re hiding in the trees. 00:23:41.099 –> 00:23:42.459 And why are they hiding in the trees 00:23:42.459 –> 00:23:43.939 rather than walking with God? 00:23:44.939 –> 00:23:46.140 Cause they’re trying to avoid God. 00:23:46.140 –> 00:23:48.560 Why, because they feel embarrassed and ashamed 00:23:48.560 –> 00:23:50.060 about what they’ve been doing. 00:23:52.319 –> 00:23:53.839 We like to think of ourselves 00:23:53.839 –> 00:23:57.239 as being genuine seekers after God. 00:23:58.359 –> 00:24:00.819 But the sinful heart never seeks God. 00:24:00.819 –> 00:24:03.400 Paul says so in Romans 3. 00:24:03.400 –> 00:24:06.459 There is no one who seeks God, not even one. 00:24:06.459 –> 00:24:08.959 The truth is that though we flatter ourselves 00:24:08.959 –> 00:24:11.079 about being those who seek, 00:24:11.079 –> 00:24:15.920 the reality of the sinful heart is that it always hides. 00:24:17.739 –> 00:24:22.479 Now, I want us to see the scale of this problem clearly. 00:24:23.339 –> 00:24:25.219 Because some of us have been brought up 00:24:25.219 –> 00:24:27.900 on teaching about the contrite heart 00:24:27.900 –> 00:24:31.900 that sounded easy and proved much more difficult. 00:24:32.939 –> 00:24:34.739 You were perhaps brought up with a teaching 00:24:34.739 –> 00:24:37.040 that said something like this, 00:24:37.040 –> 00:24:39.400 All you have to do is draw near to God, 00:24:40.319 –> 00:24:42.939 all you have to do is have a contrite heart. 00:24:42.939 –> 00:24:46.500 I think, all I have to do is have a contrite heart. 00:24:46.500 –> 00:24:47.520 You gotta be sorry, 00:24:47.520 –> 00:24:49.380 you gotta be really sorry for your sins. 00:24:49.380 –> 00:24:52.579 You gotta hate your sins, and you’ve got to love Jesus. 00:24:53.699 –> 00:24:56.300 The message sounded simple, 00:24:56.339 –> 00:24:59.079 but the reality you found was much harder. 00:24:59.079 –> 00:25:01.819 You found that you loved yourself 00:25:01.819 –> 00:25:03.979 more than you loved Jesus. 00:25:03.979 –> 00:25:06.180 You found that your love for sin 00:25:06.180 –> 00:25:08.300 was stronger than you thought, 00:25:08.300 –> 00:25:09.660 and that it’s root in your life 00:25:09.660 –> 00:25:11.939 was deeper than you thought. 00:25:11.939 –> 00:25:14.599 You find that even when you were sorry, 00:25:14.599 –> 00:25:18.199 too often you went back and did the same things again. 00:25:18.199 –> 00:25:22.140 You found that your heart was more stubborn 00:25:22.979 –> 00:25:23.979 than you thought. 00:25:24.479 –> 00:25:29.479 So, the wonderful good news is that God says, 00:25:29.920 –> 00:25:34.920 I will live with the person who has a contrite heart, 00:25:36.260 –> 00:25:37.900 the problem is that the contrite heart 00:25:37.900 –> 00:25:39.959 isn’t natural to me, nor to you. 00:25:41.500 –> 00:25:44.459 The sinful heart is not contrite, period. 00:25:44.459 –> 00:25:47.540 It is stubborn, it resists God, 00:25:47.540 –> 00:25:52.339 and is far more comfortable hiding at a distance from Him. 00:25:53.260 –> 00:25:57.599 And that is why we come to this third heart cry 00:25:57.599 –> 00:26:02.599 in our series, in which we cry out to God, 00:26:04.780 –> 00:26:09.020 Restore Repentance. 00:26:09.020 –> 00:26:10.280 See the point. 00:26:11.300 –> 00:26:15.479 We’re saying, this is something that you need to do. 00:26:15.479 –> 00:26:17.119 You need to change this heart. 00:26:17.119 –> 00:26:21.939 I cannot change this heart, but I’m asking of you. 00:26:22.560 –> 00:26:25.680 That you would change this heart, 00:26:25.680 –> 00:26:29.599 that you would pour out your spirit on this heart 00:26:29.599 –> 00:26:32.319 that resists you to change it into a heart 00:26:32.319 –> 00:26:33.819 that is contrite towards you 00:26:33.819 –> 00:26:36.680 so that you can come and live with me 00:26:36.680 –> 00:26:38.739 and cause me to hate what you hate 00:26:38.739 –> 00:26:39.800 and to love what you love 00:26:39.800 –> 00:26:43.020 because I can’t get there on my own. 00:26:45.479 –> 00:26:47.239 Now at this point you may be saying, 00:26:47.239 –> 00:26:48.719 wait a minute, wait a minute. 00:26:49.660 –> 00:26:53.520 Isn’t repentance something that God tells us to do? 00:26:55.400 –> 00:26:57.579 Is repentance something God tells us to do? 00:26:58.619 –> 00:26:59.560 Yes! 00:27:01.219 –> 00:27:02.719 But it’s more than that. 00:27:02.719 –> 00:27:05.959 Very important to understand that in the Bible 00:27:05.959 –> 00:27:09.219 repentance is a command, 00:27:09.219 –> 00:27:12.420 but it is also God’s gift. 00:27:12.420 –> 00:27:14.760 I want you to see these two things. 00:27:14.760 –> 00:27:18.000 First repentance is a command, Acts 17 in verse 30. 00:27:18.040 –> 00:27:20.520 God commands all people everywhere to repent. 00:27:20.520 –> 00:27:23.560 Couldn’t be clearer than that – it’s a command. 00:27:23.560 –> 00:27:26.520 But now look at this in Acts 11 in verse 18 00:27:27.400 –> 00:27:32.140 where we read that God granted repentance 00:27:32.140 –> 00:27:35.160 to the Gentiles unto life. 00:27:35.160 –> 00:27:37.880 Or in 2 Timothy 2 in verse 25, 00:27:37.880 –> 00:27:40.640 where Paul says, we must gently instruct people 00:27:40.640 –> 00:27:45.640 who oppose us in the hope that God will grant repentance, 00:27:45.920 –> 00:27:48.599 leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 00:27:48.599 –> 00:27:51.260 So on the one hand in the Scriptures, 00:27:51.260 –> 00:27:54.359 repentance is a command, repent, be baptized. 00:27:54.359 –> 00:27:57.280 You find many examples of it as a command. 00:27:57.280 –> 00:28:00.719 You will also find that in the New Testament, 00:28:00.719 –> 00:28:04.239 repentance is spoken of repeatedly as a gift, 00:28:04.239 –> 00:28:07.380 something that God grants. 00:28:07.380 –> 00:28:10.079 And we have to take both seriously. 00:28:11.160 –> 00:28:14.199 God grants repentance. 00:28:14.199 –> 00:28:15.439 That is wonderful. 00:28:16.400 –> 00:28:18.479 Because what that means is that God 00:28:18.479 –> 00:28:21.400 can give the contrite heart 00:28:22.400 –> 00:28:24.239 that enables me to pursue his command. 00:28:24.239 –> 00:28:26.680 Remember Augustine’s famous prayer, 00:28:26.680 –> 00:28:31.420 Lord, command what you will, just give what you command. 00:28:31.420 –> 00:28:34.979 That’s right where we are on the subject of repentance. 00:28:34.979 –> 00:28:36.359 I’ve got to have a contrite heart. 00:28:36.359 –> 00:28:38.560 But Lord, I’m not gonna have a contrite heart 00:28:38.560 –> 00:28:39.380 unless you give it. 00:28:39.380 –> 00:28:42.000 Lord, restore repentance 00:28:42.000 –> 00:28:44.680 so that I may walk this path and truly repent. 00:28:46.400 –> 00:28:49.319 Now, this is nothing other than the promise of the gospel. 00:28:50.579 –> 00:28:53.880 See, God says at the heart of the promise, 00:28:53.880 –> 00:28:57.160 I will give you a new heart. 00:28:58.079 –> 00:29:01.959 Ezekiel 36, 26, I will give you a new heart 00:29:01.959 –> 00:29:03.479 and I’ll give you a new spirit. 00:29:04.339 –> 00:29:06.979 I will remove your heart of stone, 00:29:06.979 –> 00:29:09.599 I’ll remove, in other words, the old stubborn heart 00:29:09.599 –> 00:29:12.520 and I will give you a heart of flesh. 00:29:12.560 –> 00:29:16.219 I will put my spirit in you and move you, 00:29:16.219 –> 00:29:17.760 I’ll move you. 00:29:17.760 –> 00:29:19.540 Internally I will move you, 00:29:19.540 –> 00:29:24.079 motivate you to follow my decrees. 00:29:25.000 –> 00:29:29.359 Now, for that reason, we can come today 00:29:29.359 –> 00:29:33.380 and however far you feel from God, 00:29:34.520 –> 00:29:37.239 you can make this cry to him. 00:29:37.239 –> 00:29:38.260 You can make it yourself. 00:29:38.260 –> 00:29:43.260 You can say, Lord, restore repentance. 00:29:44.660 –> 00:29:47.699 Lord, renew my heart, 00:29:47.699 –> 00:29:50.359 turn me in a new way towards yourself, 00:29:51.739 –> 00:29:56.339 make me the kind of person in whose life you may dwell. 00:29:57.920 –> 00:30:00.060 Now, that leads to the last thing this morning 00:30:00.060 –> 00:30:03.579 and our third question, which is very important. 00:30:03.819 –> 00:30:08.380 How then does God make a stubborn heart contrite? 00:30:08.380 –> 00:30:09.680 How does he do that? 00:30:11.099 –> 00:30:13.380 I want us to see two things that are very important 00:30:13.380 –> 00:30:16.060 from verses 16 through 18. 00:30:16.060 –> 00:30:18.420 One negative and one positive. 00:30:18.420 –> 00:30:22.540 How does God make a stubborn heart contrite? 00:30:22.540 –> 00:30:26.920 The stubborn heart is never changed by judgment 00:30:28.319 –> 00:30:30.800 but always changed by mercy. 00:30:31.619 –> 00:30:35.040 The stubborn heart is never changed by judgment 00:30:35.040 –> 00:30:38.939 but always changed by mercy. 00:30:40.000 –> 00:30:42.099 Now, look at verse 17 to see the first 00:30:42.099 –> 00:30:43.760 because here’s judgment. 00:30:43.760 –> 00:30:44.959 And God is speaking, of course, 00:30:44.959 –> 00:30:49.500 about these great judgments of history upon his own people, 00:30:49.500 –> 00:30:53.439 the evacuation of the North, the over-running of the South, 00:30:53.439 –> 00:30:56.920 real events of God’s judgment poured out in history. 00:30:56.920 –> 00:30:59.640 And he describes what they would be in verse 17. 00:30:59.640 –> 00:31:04.640 I was enraged, God says, by his sinful greed. 00:31:06.599 –> 00:31:10.939 I punished him and hid my face in anger, 00:31:12.199 –> 00:31:14.680 yet he kept on in his willful ways. 00:31:14.680 –> 00:31:16.839 Now, just let’s pause there for a moment. 00:31:17.880 –> 00:31:19.839 God is provoked over hundreds of years 00:31:19.839 –> 00:31:23.959 of old testament history by the sinful greed of his people. 00:31:23.959 –> 00:31:28.280 He is angry, enraged by sinful greed, he punishes. 00:31:28.839 –> 00:31:33.719 He brings these great punishments in history to Israel 00:31:33.719 –> 00:31:36.520 and he hides his face in anger. 00:31:38.199 –> 00:31:39.520 And so after all of this, 00:31:39.520 –> 00:31:41.939 what is the effect of all this punishing 00:31:41.939 –> 00:31:44.560 upon the hearts of the people? 00:31:44.560 –> 00:31:49.140 Notice what it says, yet he kept on, 00:31:49.140 –> 00:31:53.219 verse 17, in his willful ways. 00:31:54.280 –> 00:31:56.680 So God’s judgment has what effect, 00:31:56.680 –> 00:31:59.160 it just makes the sinful heart harder. 00:32:00.599 –> 00:32:04.319 God’s judgment makes the sinner hate God more, 00:32:05.839 –> 00:32:07.619 which is why, at the end of the Bible, 00:32:07.619 –> 00:32:09.839 when God’s judgments are being poured out 00:32:09.839 –> 00:32:12.459 from heaven in the book of Revelation, 00:32:12.459 –> 00:32:16.199 do you find then turning to God in repentance 00:32:16.199 –> 00:32:18.319 and acknowledging Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? 00:32:18.319 –> 00:32:19.520 No, you do not. 00:32:20.660 –> 00:32:22.260 When God’s judgments are poured out 00:32:22.260 –> 00:32:23.300 in the book of Revelation, 00:32:23.300 –> 00:32:24.660 I’m thinking about Revelation six, 00:32:24.660 –> 00:32:25.900 when the rocks are falling 00:32:25.920 –> 00:32:27.420 and the mountains are shaking, 00:32:28.619 –> 00:32:29.880 and it says the kings of the earth 00:32:29.880 –> 00:32:32.199 called to the mountains and to the rocks 00:32:32.199 –> 00:32:34.839 and said, fall on us and hide us. 00:32:34.839 –> 00:32:36.479 Notice that word. 00:32:36.479 –> 00:32:38.640 From the face of him who sits on the throne. 00:32:39.579 –> 00:32:43.160 In other words, sinners are saying, 00:32:43.160 –> 00:32:47.020 we’d rather die than come to God, 00:32:48.339 –> 00:32:49.640 which is, of course, just one reason 00:32:49.640 –> 00:32:51.280 why hell is forever and forever. 00:32:53.079 –> 00:32:54.760 A sinful heart never turns. 00:32:56.719 –> 00:33:01.040 And God’s judgement merely confirm his people 00:33:01.040 –> 00:33:02.920 in their willful ways. 00:33:04.979 –> 00:33:06.800 Quick application, that should remind us 00:33:06.800 –> 00:33:08.579 about the limits of law. 00:33:10.020 –> 00:33:11.739 And some of us who have the idea 00:33:11.739 –> 00:33:13.619 that being a Christian is basically 00:33:13.619 –> 00:33:16.180 conforming your life to a certain moral pattern, 00:33:17.859 –> 00:33:20.599 that will never, never, never change your heart. 00:33:20.599 –> 00:33:24.000 It will never ignite within you a love for Jesus Christ. 00:33:24.000 –> 00:33:26.099 The law can’t do that. 00:33:28.699 –> 00:33:31.420 So, judgement, punishing never changes the human heart, 00:33:31.420 –> 00:33:32.560 I mean, it can alter behavior, 00:33:32.560 –> 00:33:34.680 but never change the heart. 00:33:37.119 –> 00:33:41.699 What does change a stubborn heart? 00:33:41.699 –> 00:33:45.540 Well, look at verse 17 and then 18, 00:33:45.540 –> 00:33:48.579 and I want you to notice the newness 00:33:48.579 –> 00:33:51.180 of what is said in verse 18. 00:33:51.359 –> 00:33:52.199 I begin with 17. 00:33:52.199 –> 00:33:54.359 I was enraged by his sinful greed. 00:33:54.359 –> 00:33:55.439 I punished him. 00:33:55.439 –> 00:33:57.280 He hit my face in anger yet. 00:33:58.119 –> 00:34:02.599 Yet, he kept on in his willful ways. 00:34:02.599 –> 00:34:04.439 I have seen his ways, 00:34:04.439 –> 00:34:05.959 and then notice this word, 00:34:05.959 –> 00:34:10.639 but I will heal him. 00:34:10.639 –> 00:34:12.919 I will guide him. 00:34:12.919 –> 00:34:15.399 I will restore comfort to him. 00:34:16.439 –> 00:34:17.540 So, putting that together, 00:34:17.540 –> 00:34:19.439 it is as if God is saying, 00:34:19.580 –> 00:34:20.820 I have poured out my judgments 00:34:20.820 –> 00:34:21.860 on these people. 00:34:23.360 –> 00:34:24.500 10 northern tribes, 00:34:24.500 –> 00:34:26.080 two southern tribes, 00:34:27.620 –> 00:34:31.939 and it made not a scrap of difference. 00:34:31.939 –> 00:34:33.860 Judgment never changes the human heart. 00:34:33.860 –> 00:34:35.020 They did not turn to me. 00:34:35.020 –> 00:34:37.459 They just kept on in their sinful ways. 00:34:38.879 –> 00:34:42.820 But, I want to heal them. 00:34:43.979 –> 00:34:48.080 Therefore, I will stop punishing them, 00:34:48.080 –> 00:34:50.379 and I will show them my mercy. 00:34:51.699 –> 00:34:54.439 This is like a kind of new edict 00:34:54.439 –> 00:34:56.000 that is coming out of heaven. 00:34:56.919 –> 00:35:01.320 God is saying I will do something, 00:35:01.320 –> 00:35:05.239 I will choose something very different than punishing, 00:35:06.320 –> 00:35:08.320 in order to heal my people, 00:35:08.320 –> 00:35:09.820 because the law condemns, 00:35:09.820 –> 00:35:11.540 but God’s love redeems, 00:35:13.080 –> 00:35:18.040 and you see, that is why repentance begins 00:35:18.060 –> 00:35:20.659 not with a sense of impending judgment, 00:35:21.760 –> 00:35:24.560 but with a sense of imminent mercy. 00:35:27.199 –> 00:35:29.260 Judgment might make you scared of God, 00:35:29.260 –> 00:35:31.020 but you’ll never love him that way. 00:35:33.800 –> 00:35:35.560 But when your heart is gripped 00:35:35.560 –> 00:35:38.000 with a sense of the mercy of God 00:35:38.000 –> 00:35:41.000 flowing from the hands and feet 00:35:41.000 –> 00:35:43.159 of Jesus Christ crucified for you, 00:35:43.159 –> 00:35:45.560 when you see there is one who deserved 00:35:45.580 –> 00:35:48.560 ongoing punishment forever and forever, 00:35:48.560 –> 00:35:50.879 God just went a different track 00:35:50.879 –> 00:35:55.879 because he wanted to heal you and to change your heart, 00:35:57.860 –> 00:35:59.760 when you see his mercy, 00:36:00.679 –> 00:36:02.639 you will gather the courage 00:36:03.919 –> 00:36:05.800 to repent. 00:36:05.800 –> 00:36:08.340 See, that is why restore faith 00:36:08.340 –> 00:36:11.020 has to be the first heart cry in the series. 00:36:12.199 –> 00:36:14.860 It’s not restore repentance, and then restore faith, 00:36:15.520 –> 00:36:17.879 it’s restore faith and then restore repentance 00:36:17.879 –> 00:36:20.320 because you’ll never repent until you see 00:36:20.320 –> 00:36:22.919 the mercy of God in Jesus Christ 00:36:22.919 –> 00:36:25.820 Then you’ll begin to come to him when you really get that. 00:36:27.840 –> 00:36:32.840 Faith is logically and psychologically prior to repentance, 00:36:33.820 –> 00:36:38.159 the two are born together but repentance flows from faith, 00:36:38.159 –> 00:36:39.860 not the other way around. 00:36:41.340 –> 00:36:43.399 And it is faith in the mercy of God 00:36:43.399 –> 00:36:46.219 that makes repentance possible. 00:36:47.699 –> 00:36:50.639 The prodigal son sits there eating with the pigs 00:36:50.639 –> 00:36:52.379 he is absolutely miserable, 00:36:53.239 –> 00:36:56.419 but what is the thing that will motivate him to come back? 00:36:58.879 –> 00:37:01.439 It is that he comes to his senses and remembers 00:37:01.439 –> 00:37:05.360 I have a father who will receive me. 00:37:06.600 –> 00:37:08.899 I have a father who has always been for me. 00:37:09.760 –> 00:37:14.679 I have a father who I have failed in unspeakable ways, 00:37:16.320 –> 00:37:21.159 but my father loves me and you find that to be true of God 00:37:21.159 –> 00:37:25.080 in the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:37:26.360 –> 00:37:29.820 Now, I believe that there may be a number of us here 00:37:29.820 –> 00:37:31.320 in this congregation, 00:37:32.320 –> 00:37:34.120 and you have drifted far from God. 00:37:35.239 –> 00:37:38.000 You remember times when there was joy in your heart 00:37:38.080 –> 00:37:40.719 as you worshipped him and a passion to serve him, 00:37:40.719 –> 00:37:42.699 but some of that’s died, it’s gone cold, 00:37:42.699 –> 00:37:44.959 and you would feel like someone at the Kibar River, 00:37:44.959 –> 00:37:46.760 just so far away, 00:37:46.760 –> 00:37:49.719 from a felt experience of the presence of God, 00:37:49.719 –> 00:37:52.159 and right now, God is speaking to you, 00:37:53.479 –> 00:37:57.199 and he’s not drawing near to you in order to punish you, 00:37:57.199 –> 00:37:58.580 but to heal you. 00:37:59.560 –> 00:38:01.919 He has seen your ways, 00:38:01.919 –> 00:38:04.159 he knows all about that, 00:38:04.159 –> 00:38:06.000 but he wants to show you mercy, 00:38:06.959 –> 00:38:09.439 and he has come to revive your heart. 00:38:11.199 –> 00:38:13.659 One quotation and then we’re through. 00:38:13.659 –> 00:38:16.399 Alec Matyr, who has written I think the finest book 00:38:16.399 –> 00:38:20.120 on the prophecy of Isaiah in our lifetimes, 00:38:20.120 –> 00:38:21.560 he has this wonderful statement 00:38:21.560 –> 00:38:23.040 that just opens the door of hope, 00:38:23.040 –> 00:38:25.000 so let me read it to you. 00:38:26.139 –> 00:38:27.679 Without repentance, he says, 00:38:27.679 –> 00:38:30.739 there is no entering into the comforts of salvation, 00:38:31.679 –> 00:38:34.600 and only God can sovereignly create 00:38:34.739 –> 00:38:36.379 the ability to repent. 00:38:37.399 –> 00:38:39.459 There is nothing in the whole of salvation 00:38:39.459 –> 00:38:43.179 that is not God’s sole creative work, 00:38:43.179 –> 00:38:45.639 not even the words of sorrow 00:38:46.679 –> 00:38:48.760 by which the penitent comes home. 00:38:50.580 –> 00:38:53.379 See, this is all what God does within the human soul, 00:38:54.840 –> 00:38:57.379 and that opens the door of hope. 00:38:57.379 –> 00:38:59.419 If God can do that in a human heart, 00:38:59.419 –> 00:39:01.879 he can do it in your heart, 00:39:01.879 –> 00:39:04.080 and that means that you have every reason 00:39:04.500 –> 00:39:07.239 to bow your head in your heart before him today 00:39:07.239 –> 00:39:09.699 and to say, God, restore repentance! 00:39:11.120 –> 00:39:13.280 Doing your work in my heart. 00:39:13.280 –> 00:39:17.639 Change this stubborn heart into a contrite heart. 00:39:17.639 –> 00:39:21.080 And he will do that as you fix both eyes, 00:39:21.080 –> 00:39:24.000 both eyes, not on your failure, 00:39:24.000 –> 00:39:25.179 not on your stubbornness, 00:39:25.179 –> 00:39:28.360 but on the cross of Jesus Christ 00:39:29.399 –> 00:39:31.040 and the son of God who loved you 00:39:32.120 –> 00:39:33.580 and gave himself for you. 00:39:34.659 –> 00:39:36.419 Restore faith. 00:39:37.840 –> 00:39:39.080 Restore joy. 00:39:40.080 –> 00:39:42.820 Restore repentance.