Hearing a word from God - Isaiah 1:1-2

Perhaps we could turn please to the prophecy of Isaiah and chapter number one please. Isaiah's prophecy and chapter number one. Now it is a joy to be here in Cedar Falls for the first time, in fact in the USA for the first time.

We weren't sure we were going to get here, they didn't want us to cross the border last Friday, but we managed it. I was wondering whether I should evoke the fact that my second cousin used to be the president of this grand country. I'm talking of George Bush Jr. Of course he's a bush and I'm a plant so we're bound to be second cousins really aren't we? But anyway the Lord overruled and we're very glad to be here and to see one and another.

Now we just have a little word that we trust might be an encouragement at the start of the conference. Isaiah chapter one please in verse one. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah kings of Judah.

Hear O heavens and give ear O earth for the Lord hath spoken. Now we do trust that God will bless the reading of his precious word. I wonder in the lead up to this conference this week what you have been wanting to get out of this conference.

I wonder what's been upon your mind for this conference weekend. Probably I could imagine some of you have been thinking about food and preparation for meals and to make sure that the salad is sorted and the meals are sorted and the drinks are sorted and and everybody will be catered for. And then there's others and you've been sorting administration making sure that everybody knows the conference is on where it is making sure that the facility is suitable that they know that everything is sorted.

But my dear friend when it comes to this conference the great priority is not so much the physical but it's the spiritual. Surely a conference should be a time when we want God to speak. Well here's a man and in these two verses we have one or two things brought before us.

Firstly he speaks about the vision. Here's the prophecy. Here's what he received from God.

Now wouldn't it be good if we went away on Sunday evening after the closing gospel meeting and we said we had visions of God at that conference. God spoke to our hearts. God challenged our souls.

God gave us something that we needed and we had a vision and we had a vision of God. Wouldn't it be good too if we went away from this conference and we said we had a vision of Christ. My heart was drawn closer to Christ.

Closer to his word. Closer to his will. Here's a man and he starts by saying I've got a prophecy.

The vision. But then there's not only the prophecy there's the person. Isaiah.

That's who he was. Not what he received but who he was. Jehovah the Savior.

What a name to bear. What an honor to carry. Well we need a challenge as individual people and the amazing thing about a conference like this is that God is able to meet the need of every single young person, older person, every individual.

Whether you're going through trials and troubles and tribulations. Whether the storm clouds are above you or whether you're above the storm clouds basking in the goodness of God. Whether you have an exercise for some particular work for God.

God is able to meet the needs of every individual. Whatever your name and whatever your circumstances and that's what we've been praying for in this prayer meeting just now. That God's voice might be heard to us as individuals.

But there wasn't just the prophecy and not just the person. There was his pedigree. Who he knew.

The son of Amos. You say is that the same Amos that has a little book? Amos the herdsman of Tekoa? Well no it's not the same Amos but the name here just means strength. Well you say I wouldn't mind a bit of strength.

I do feel that there's many of us and we're going in the strength of another. We're going in the strength of who our parents were. We're going in the strength of who our grandparents were.

We're going in the strength of who we know. Oh well you know I know this preacher and I know that preacher and I know this brother and I know that sister and we're going in the strength of another. My dear friend at this conference it's good to look back at the pedigree I tell you.

I don't know how long the conference here in Cedar Falls has been going and Waterloo but I can imagine on the conference platform there have been some mighty men of God. Men that we esteem very highly and now they've gone home to their reward in heaven and some of you probably quite rightly are saying and look what it's come to now when we look around at some of the speakers that are likely to be here and the full-time workers. How much lower can we go? Ah but you see it's good to have that pedigree but that's not good enough for now.

You see what we need is a fresh strength that comes from heaven itself. Not the strength of those who have gone before, not the strength of those who are laying aside, not the strength of who we're related to but a personal individual strength drawn from the wells of salvation and the inexhaustible supply of God. Not only do we read of the prophecy and the person and the pedigree but what about his privilege? He says here the vision of Isaiah the son of Amos which he saw.

What he saw? He got it for himself. He didn't get it from somebody else. This was his vision what he saw.

Now you can come to the conference and I know young people. I remember as a young man newly saved I'd love to go to the conferences and it wasn't always just to listen to the ministry. We used to love going out and meeting with one another in the lunch interval or the tea interval or as you call it the supper interval and they never seemed to be quite long enough and sometimes the bible readings were way above our heads and far too deep.

Well I'm sure that our brother Scott will make sure that the bible reading is not way above our heads and not far too deep on Lord's Day morning but this is something he saw and so we need to come in an atmosphere and in a way that we're open to listen to what God is speaking to us so that we can say this is what I've got. That word was for me. That word was a help and an encouragement and a blessing for me.

Ah it's what he saw and we all need to see something of Christ because there is no ministry that will affect us and change us more than just to receive a ministry of the Lord Jesus. As the hymn writer said there is no subject so glorious as he and no theme so affecting to us. The prophecy, the person, the pedigree, the privilege, the place.

Where was he concerning Judah and Jerusalem? Where he was? Where he was laboring? Where he was pioneering? You say can you read that from another version and make it clearer? Yes I'll read it from the RV. That's Robert's version. Here it is concerning Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Stout, Iowa.

Ah you see we need a word from the Lord that helps us right where we are. Now just as I found that your rules for the road are slightly different to the rules that we have across in the United Kingdom. You drive on the right side of the road which is a little bit strange but we're getting used to it.

I wondered last year whether they should give me up in Canada one of these pickup trucks with a nice big snowplow on the front so I could push everyone to the proper side of the road but we're just about managing it and I'm just about learning that you just have one stop sign that you've got to look out for and not a whole series that warn you that in 200 meters you need to stop. You've just got to watch out for that one sign and with the help of Mary we've just about managed but there are certain needs that will be unique to this particular area. Certain needs that will be unique to the assemblies that you represent.

Certain needs that will be unique to Iowa and not to Wisconsin or Arkansas or Tennessee or Texas or any of the other states and so we're looking for God that he might meet the needs right where the assemblies are. The assemblies that bear the name of the Lord Jesus. The place Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Stout, Iowa.

The prophecy, the person, the pedigree, the privilege, the place, the period in the days of Uzziah, Jutha, Mahazan, Hezekiah. You say do you want to read from the RV version again? Well we can do. In the days of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Rishi Sunak, Vladimir Putin.

You see I used to try and read a sermon of C.H. Spurgeon every day but the fact it took me nearly two hours it just wasn't really going to work and after probably about three or four days, well I did plow on for a little bit longer than three or four days, I decided that wasn't going to work. But you see the ministry that Spurgeon gave or that Darby gave, if you're intelligent enough to understand Mr. Darby, or Mr. Kelly gave, you see that's not suitable for the day and age in which we live. We are facing a multitude of things that another generation never had to face up to.

Transgenderism. Who would have believed that the world would go overboard on such lepugnant things to God. Homosexuality.

We could go on and on and on. Ah, you say but I don't face that. No, but I tell you our young people in school, college, university, education, they're bombarded with it every day.

You know we've been praying today for souls to be saved and we've been rejoicing in a soul being saved last night that we've heard of. And we've been rejoicing the saints in Sussex up in New Brunswick were rejoicing over souls saved last year. But have you ever noticed that when a soul is saved, well we pray that they'll be baptised and then maybe we don't pray for them too much.

They're sort of left to stand on their own two feet. I tell you we need to pray for our young people. That God will preserve them, shelter them, hedge them and use them for his honour and for his glory.

The period we need a ministry for the day and age in which we live. The prophecy, the person, the pedigree, the privilege, the place, the period, the proclamation. This is what he said.

Hear, hear. That's what we want people to to hear in the gospel. We want them to have open ears.

And sometimes many a soul that's saved later in life, well there's a dear brother in our meeting and he said I remember once he said the gospel meetings were coming to an end. I thought what a relief next week no more gospel meetings. He said and then one of the brethren said he said well he said I think young David was listening pretty well this week.

He said I think we should go on for another week. He said he said my heart just hit the floor boom. He said I hadn't been listening to a word.

He said I'd just been sitting there with my eyes open. You're looking as if I was interested but my mind was miles away. Well each of us needs to come to this conference.

Speakers and hearers alike with ears open that we might hear. Says the Lord Jesus let him that have ears to hear. Hear.

The proclamation. But lastly most importantly the power. The Lord hath spoken.

This is what he presented. We need God. That's what we've been praying for.

I trust today the Lord has spoken. You know if you're anything like me certainly as a young man sometimes I have to confess even you know you go away. He wasn't he wasn't he wasn't as good today as he was last time we heard him.

He was well at least I don't have that that that worry. Well you might go away tomorrow or maybe on Sunday and say well you know I don't know what that chap came across in the UK for. Absolute absolute rubbish.

But but but you see sometimes don't we just mark the preachers. Oh that was a good word. So and so gate didn't enjoy what what what that brother said.

Oh that brother was all right. Oh that brother had the word of the conference. But we just need to stop and take a step back.

I'll say just hold on a minute. Was that God speaking. Oh he might not have been dynamic.

He might not have shouted. And he might not have hit the platform. And he might not have run from there to there.

And he might not have been too quick on his feet. And he might just have stood here. Well we had a brother whether he came over to Iowa or not I don't know.

But he was one of the best Bible teachers I ever heard by the name of Albert Leckie. And he just stood here with a piece of paper between his fingers and he rolled the piece of paper between his fingers and he just taught the Word of God word by word and verse for verse. And I'll tell you what.

God spoke to me many a time in those meetings. And there's many an assembly in England that was preserved by the ministry of Mr. Albert Leckie from Airdrie in Scotland. Oh he wasn't dynamic.

He didn't jump up and down. But he had power with God. And that's what we want.

To go away on Sunday evening to say the Lord has spoken. The Lord has spoken. Power.

Oh wouldn't it be good that we have power in the ministry. Power in the gospel. And power among the children.

We can do nothing without power that comes from God. And so here in the opening of this remarkable prophecy of Isaiah we find he gives us a wonderful outline of what we should be looking for over this weekend. Shall we pray? Oh God we do thank thee indeed for thy word and we do thank thee for thy people here.

Every one of them a trophy of thy grace and of thy mercy extended toward us. We thank thee afresh for the wonder of sins forgiven. We look to thee again for this conference and we ask of thee that thy voice might be heard.

Thy power might be known and that thy son would be glorified. Undertake for the needs of thy people we ask of thee. Undertake too we ask of thee for all the various administrative arrangements and we ask of thee that this conference might be marked with the presence and the power of God.

For those who need thee in a very special way at this time. For those knowing times of weakness and trial. We pray our God that thou would meet them in their varying needs.

Thou would minister unto each one. We commend these things to thee. We ask for journeying mercies as we part.

Worshipping thee afresh for thy son in his precious name. Amen.