Sermon Tone Analysis
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In the midst of adversity, God speaks through Isaiah to the People of God to foretell of renewal, revival and a flourishing time to come.
However bad the people of God’s present situation, the future before them is incredibly bright and secure.
For the reunion of Zion with the ways of God brings material and spiritual blessings.
God will establish His people in His righteousness.
God is in the recovery and reclamation business and He wants us to live in the light of His resurrection promises.
We can because He promises to guard us in His righteousness and keep us secure.
!
I.
A PRECIOUS REBUILDING vv.
11-12
#. verse 11 begins to present the coming change in the situation of Zion
* /“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires.”/
!! A. ZION IS AN AFFLICTED CITY
#. the Jews have been through many troubles and instabilities
#.
Isaiah here calls them storms
#. and no one had comforted her
* /“Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are upon her cheeks.
Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.”/
(Lamentations 1:2, NIV84)
#. the Lord is intimately aware of the concerns of His people and has compassion for them
#. the Lord will build up the city with stones made of precious gems, symbolic of His care and esteem for the value of the city
#. the contrast is between a devastated city and a most glorious one
#. it is intended to represent the contrast between who we are and who we will become, between what we have experienced and what we will experience
#. standing on the hilltops of heaven, God sees the storms of affliction that have threatened and tossed you
#. every wave, every pitch, every buffeting is discerned and felt by Him
#.
He too has sailed through many stormy seas, and is acquainted with our suffering
#.
He is acquainted with our suffering by what Jesus suffered
#. though not comforted by man, you will be consoled by the divine Comforter
!! B. HE PROMISES TO LAY A FOUNDATION AND REBUILD YOUR LIFE
#.
He will spare no setting however costly, no stone however precious when He rebuilds you for life eternal
#. the imagery of unearthly transformation continues in verse12.
* /“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones.”/
#.
Sapphires, rubies, and crystal are very resplendent and beautiful, but they are all the products of fire
#. you will not have them unless prepared to pay the cost in blood, sweat, and tears
#. these jewels are produced of very ordinary elements, which have been subjected to tremendous pressure and terrific heat
#. when you have misgivings amid your fiery trials, remember that God is at work making the sapphires, rubies, and crystal of your eternal character
#. you will be incomparably compensated
#. remember to hope in the God who will see you through the storms and comfort you
!
II.
ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS vv.
13-14
#. verse 13 contains the promise and peace of discipleship—“All your sons will be taught of the Lord; and the well-being of your sons will be great.”
!!A.
PEACE OR WELL BEING COMES FROM A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
#. there is no way to have a right relationship with God with out being taught of God
#.
God would have us learn His ways that we might be transformed into His precious character by His Spirit
#. as a result Zion’s sons will possess an abundance of well-being or peace
* /“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”/
(Philippians 4:7, NIV84)
* /“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
And be thankful.”/
(Colossians 3:15, NIV84)
#. such peace only comes to those who know the Lord and are His disciples
#. verse 14 teaches that real security is established in righteousness
* /"In righteousness you will be established.
You will be far from oppression- for you will not fear-and from terror, for it will not come near you.”/
#. righteousness is the practice of right thinking that results in right behavior because of a right relationship with God
#.
God promises that righteousness will bring about security
* /“I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel.”/
(Isaiah 46:13, NIV84)
* /“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.”/
(Isaiah 58:8, NIV84)
#.
I love that phrase, the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard
* ILLUS.
Picture the Israelites; their backs to the sea, and Pharaoh’s army on the horizon.
A slaughter is immanent.
But suddenly the glory of the Lord moves behind the Hebrews to protect them as the sea opens and they pass through on dry ground.
God was their rear guard!
#. the promises of security speaks to three communities of faith
#.
First, it spoke to the exiled community
#. how precious all these promises must have been to the Jews in the years when their very existence as a people seemed to be threatened from one day to the next
#.
Second, it speaks to us
#. it is the righteous who are secure in the love and the good purposes of God
#. this security holds them fast, even when the world is falling down around them
* /“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”/
(Lamentations 3:21–26, NIV84)
#. this changing world has no security
#. all things pass and fade
#. all the old and comfortable is replaced with the new and strange
#. if we look for security here, we shall never find it
#.
but those who have submitted themselves to become disciples of the Lord, in whom peace and righteousness have come to dwell, can rest in the eternal purposes of God that is profound and undisturbed
#. that is security
#.
Third, these promises speak of the end of history, /"when time and change shall be no more"/
#. when the Creator will call all things to an end and the Holy City, the congregation of those made righteous by the blood of the Lamb, will dwell securely forevermore
#. in the second half of the verse the prophet commands oppression and terror to be distant from these righteous
#. they no longer fear, for the Lord will protect them from tyranny
* /“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.
“Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”/
(1 Peter 3:14, NIV84)
!
III.
THE HERITAGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS vv.
15-17
#. verse 15 contains another assuring promise
* /“If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. Whoever assails you will fall because of you.”/
#. whatever trouble may come to them, God will not have sent it to them as a means of judgment and destruction, which was the case surrounding the events of the exile
#.
God may providentially allow His people to suffer as a consequence of their sin, but after their return from exile never again will God inflict His wrath upon His people
#. we live in a fallen world where trouble comes to all people
#. but those who are living in obedience to the righteousness of God need not fear His wrath upon us
#. our conflict is neither a sign of retribution nor punishment
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