(The Word for Today) Isaiah 28:9 - Part 3

Welcome to The Word for Today. The Word for Today is a continuous study of the Bible taught by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old Testament, and if you're following along in your Bible, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter 28, beginning with verse 9, as we continue with an in-depth message And now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck.

In a sarcastic way concerning Isaiah, they said, who will he teach knowledge? Who's Isaiah? Who is he to teach us? Where did he get his Ph.D.? Who shall he make to understand doctrine? We're the theologians. We're the graduates of Harvard. Those little children that have just been weaned from their mothers, and have just been taken away from the breast.

In other words, you are so simplistic. You actually believe the Bible, you know, and you don't understand the more technical aspects of theology. For your teaching is precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little, using simple illustrations and simple maxims and so forth for your instruction.

And this is really a putting down of Isaiah. But then he said, for with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people, to whom he said, this is the rest, wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, and yet they would not hear. Now prophecy is an interesting thing, because you can be dealing with a purely local event, but suddenly there's a prophetic aspect to what is being said.

And in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, as Paul is giving instruction concerning the use of the gift of tongues in the church, and in the life of the believer, Paul quotes this and relates it as a prophecy that does relate to the gift of speaking in tongues. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people, to whom he said, this is the rest, whereby ye may cause the weary to rest. And those who do have the gift of speaking in tongues tell of the rest that it gives to them in the exercise of the gift.

Paul said that we don't always know how to pray as we ought, because we don't always know what God's will is. Therefore the Spirit will help our weaknesses. Not understanding what the will of God is, He will make intercession through us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans chapter 8. But then Paul also said, for when I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, though my understanding is unfruitful. And so this is the rest, where any cause is weary to rest. When confused, we don't know exactly what God's purpose or plan is, those that have that gift can exercise that gift in their prayer life and they can know that they are praying and interceding for their friends or for the situation according to the will of God.

So this is the rest, wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest. This is the refreshing, very refreshing experience. And yet the Lord said, they will not hear.

For all of this, they will not hear. But the word of the Lord was unto them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go and fall backwards. As sort of Isaiah said in another place, hearing they do not hear, seeing they do not see, less than eight times, they hear with their ears and see with their eyes and be converted.

And so they fall backwards and they are broken and trapped and taken. Now to Judah, get the warning, wherefore, hear ye the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, ye scornful men who are saying, who is he going to teach? You ought to go back to babies, you know, that have been taken from their mother's breast. You scornful men that rule this people, which are here in Jerusalem.

Now to the leaders, he addresses these remarks. Because you have said, we have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hid ourselves.

This is what basically they were saying. They were being threatened with this Assyrian invasion. The Assyrians have wiped out Ephraim.

They are being threatened by the Assyrian invasion. But while the Assyrians were besieging Samaria, it took them three years to take Samaria, while this was going on to their north, and the northern kingdom was falling. They sent their emissaries down to Egypt to seek the help of the Pharaoh.

And they made these treaties with Egypt, where the Pharaoh promised to send up the Egyptians to help them to fight off the Assyrians and all. And they were trusting in the promises that were made to them by the Pharaoh of Egypt. But the promises of help that he had made, he was not able to fulfill.

And thus they were trusting in lies. Now they said, we have made this agreement, you know, with death. In other words, death won't overtake us, because we have this agreement with Egypt.

They're going to come and they're going to deliver us. So we have this agreement with death. With hell or the grave, we're in a covenant.

We won't go to our graves. But the prophet is saying, you know, you're trusting in lies. The agreements that are made.

And you're trying to find your refuge in lies. And under falsehoods you're trying to hide yourself. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth shall not make haste.

Now you're trusting in that which cannot deliver you. But I have laid in Zion for a foundation, something you can build upon, something that is sure, a precious stone. And this is a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ.

And Peter, in writing his first epistle, quotes this passage of scripture. And he said, unto you that believe, he that believeth, he said, shall not make haste. Peter said, unto you that believe, he is precious, our precious Lord Jesus, the foundation upon which we build our lives.

Now, they were building their lives on lies, on an agreement, on a treaty with Egypt, which was going to be broken. Actually, the Assyrians went down and wiped out the Pharaoh. He couldn't help them.

And so they were trusting in the broken reed of Pharaoh, and it wasn't going to happen. They had built their whole, you know, premise on Egypt will deliver us. And there are people today who are building their lives on lies, on false hopes, on false premises.

And it's tragic when a person builds his whole life on a lie. The lie that God does not exist. The lie that it doesn't matter how you live.

And people build their lives upon philosophies. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. I'll do my best.

I'll live a good life. I'll live a moral life. And so I'm all right.

Jesus said, you must be born again. And only on Jesus Christ, He only is a solid foundation. Now, Jesus said that if you cast yourself upon the rock, you will be saved.

But if the rock falls on you, fall upon the rock, you'll be saved. If the rock falls on you, it'll grind you to powder. And so the invitation is to God has laid for the sure foundation, even Jesus Christ, the precious cornerstone upon which our lives can be built.

And if you just put your life, cast your life on Christ, you'll be saved. But try to build on any other foundation. It's sinking sand and you'll be lost.

Religion can't save you. The church can't save you. Only a faith in the living Jesus Christ can bring you salvation.

He that believe it shall not make haste. He said, judgment also will I lay to the line, righteousness to the pulmit, and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. These lies that they're trusting in are going to be swept away.

Remember he talked about that storm that was going to come, the hail and the, and the waters overflowing, verse two. And so the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. You will not be sustained by these treaties.

And your covenant with death will be disannulled. Your agreement with hell will not stand when the overflowing scourge shall pass through. Then you will be trodden down by it.

You've trusted in a lying vanity. And when the storm comes, you're going to get wiped out. Jesus said there were two men who built houses.

One was wise, one was foolish. The foolish man built his house upon the sand and the storms came and the house built upon the sand collapsed. Great was the fall of it.

But the wise man dug deep and built his house upon the rock. And when the storms came, the house that was built upon the rock stood. And so he's talking here now about God has laid for a foundation in Zion, a stone, a sure cornerstone.

Build your house upon that. And when the storm comes, you'll stand. You'll see it through.

And believe me, storm clouds are on the horizon of the world in which we live today. If you can't see that, you're blind. Storm clouds over the whole banking industry.

I don't know why I do, but I read the business page every day in the paper. It depresses me. Sort of a masochist, I guess, but it's dismal.

The storm is coming. But if you've built your life upon Jesus Christ, I don't care how bad the storm, how high the water, you're going to survive. You're going to make it through.

He will sustain you. But if you've built upon another foundation, it's going to get swept away. You'll get swept away with it.

The lies, the waters will overflow, sweep away the refuge of lies, the hiding places. And from the time that it goes forth, it will take you for morning by morning shall it pass over and day and by night, and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. Every time you read the paper, you'll find yourself vexed.

How true. For the bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on, and the covering is narrower than he can wrap himself in. You've made this covenant, you say, with death and with hell, you're in agreement.

But man, that's a short bed and it's got narrow blankets. You'll never be able to rest on that foundation. And so we look at the things upon which people seek to build their lives and their short beds with narrow blankets.

You just can't rest. For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Parisim, and he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore, do not mock, lest your bands be made strong.

For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts of a consumption that is determined upon the whole earth. So he's warning them now of this consumption that God has determined. So give ear, hear my voice, hearken, hear my speech, God's spoken to me, listen to me, I'm warning you.

And so God always is faithful in warning a person. And I must say that. I look at my own life, and every place where I've stumbled and gotten into trouble, God warned me beforehand.

God was faithful. Now, I didn't always listen to the warning. And every time I failed to take heed to the warning, got into trouble.

God is faithful, he warns the people, but it's necessary that we listen and give heed. And so here the prophet is emphasizing, I've heard from the Lord, listen to what God has to say. Don't mock, but give ear, hear my voice, hearken, hear my speech.

Does the plow man plow all day to sow? Does he open and break the clods of the ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the the fitches, the seeds, and scatter the cumin, and the cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their place? The farmer, when he goes out and he tills the ground, he has a purpose in mind. He plans to plant the ground. And he doesn't mix the seed, he doesn't just take the rye and the wheat and the cumin and all and just mix it up in a big thing and then just scatter it together.

But he has the field for the wheat, the field for the barley, the field for the rye, the field for the spices, and he keeps them separated. And there's always that purpose in the mind of the farmer as he flattens the field, as he prepares the soil, as he plants the seed. For God gives him discretion, instructs him, and he teaches him.

For there is a different way by which each of these is harvested. The fitches are not threshed with the threshing instrument. Neither is a cartwheel turned upon the cumin.

But the fitches are beaten out with the staff and the cumin with a rod. There's a different way by which each of these is harvested. And bread corn is bruised because he will not ever be threshing it nor break it with the wheel of his cart nor bruise it with a horseman.

This also comes forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. So the Lord, he is saying, has prepared and is looking for a harvest. And he uses discretion in his dealing with people.

And with different people there are different ways. God doesn't work with us all as a mob. God respects our individuality and our differences.

And he's very gracious that way. But the whole idea is God is seeking for fruit to come forth from your life. And thus he is working with you, preparing your life, that he might plant the seed, that fruit might come forth, but working with you individually.

He has a plan and a purpose for each of your lives. And it's so important that we seek the Lord until we understand what his plan is for our lives. For when I get to the end of the road, there's only one thing that is vitally important.

And that is the fruit that I have to offer my master. The fruit that he desires from me. That I fulfill the purpose of God for my life.

That's the only thing that counts. When I get to the end of the road, and I'm lying there in bed, and I take my last breath, and I wink at my wife as I pass on, and they pull the sheet over the top of me, at that point there's only one thing that will be of vital importance. Have I done God's will? Have I brought forth fruit? Is God pleased and satisfied with me? When I face my maker, will he say, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful in the little things and now I will make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of the Lord. With your life it's the same thing.

God has put you here for one purpose. There's different fruit to be brought forth from our different lives. He has a plan for you just like he has a plan for me.

Now so many times we are so busy trying to work out our own plans, our own schemes, our own ambitions, that we spend our lives upon ourselves, and we come to the end of the road, and we realize that it's been a wasted life. I have nothing to show the Lord. Face to face, Lord, let me see you.

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Please call our customer service department to help you in finding that perfect gift that will reflect the true meaning of Christmas. And if you call right now and mention this radio ad, the word for today will give you a 20% discount on any resource carried by the word for today. So call the word for today at 1-800-272-WORD or write to us at P.O. Box 8000, Costa Mesa, California, 92628.

Once again, that number to call is 1-800-272-9673. And for those of you who would like to visit our website, you can do so at www.twft.com. Or if you'd like to email us, you can do so at info at twft.com. Well, coming up next time on the word for today, Pastor Chuck will be continuing his fascinating study through the book of Isaiah. That's coming up next time on the word for today.

And now with a few closing comments, here's Pastor Chuck. I spent my whole time in myself, my self-interest, and I have nothing to offer to God in that day. Tragic indeed.

May it not be so. But may we each one of us bring forth the fruit that God is seeking from our lives, that we will receive his approbation of good and faithful servant. Father, we thank you for every opportunity that you give to us to know you and to understand your purpose.

And Lord, even as the prophet said, I've heard from the Lord, listen to me, hear me. So Lord, may we have ears to hear what the Spirit would say to the church. And may we examine ourselves, Lord, the fruit of our lives, knowing that if we will judge ourselves, then we will not be judged of thee.

Help us, Lord, that we might bring forth fruit 30, 60, a hundredfold for your glory in Jesus name. Amen. This program is sponsored by the word for today, the radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.