[0:00] Good morning. A warm welcome to everyone that's joined in person, those that are online.! We pray that the Lord will bless us in our time together as we draw near to him, as we! call on him in prayer, as we sing praises to him and read his word. We pray that we would bless him together on this day.
[0:23] Just like to, the images have been on the screen, just highlight the Elders Prayer Meeting on Monday, and Midwick Prayer Meeting on Wednesday evening at half past seven. All are invited to attend Midwick, and we pray God's blessing upon these intimations, which are all God willing.
[0:45] I just want to say also a quick note of thanks, everyone, that has extended a congratulations or sent a gift or a card or something like that. Me and Fiona had a wee baby boy, past sadly, Angus Alstead, and they were both doing well. So thank you for everyone who's been in touch in regards to that.
[1:12] Thank you for listening. So let's begin our time of worship together. And we'll do so by singing in praise in Scottish Psalter Psalm 103. We'll sing from the beginning of that Psalm, down to verse 5.
[1:26] O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless. So we'll stand to sing these words together through God's praise.
[1:41] O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and to magnify and bless.
[2:41] O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and
[4:11] O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and what do you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what you do what before God, and that we would acknowledge her sinfulness as we come, that we would be confessing these before you, and that we would trust in your promises, that you are our God that can cleanse us from all unrighteousness, all the sins that we have committed, from the past week and even this morning, that you will wash us clean if we trust in you, if we come to you and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So we pray this morning, unblock our eyes and our ears to see and understand who Jesus is in a way that we have never seen him before, that we would understand what has happened on the cross, and it is a cross that shows how much he loves us, that he would bear our sin, that he would take our sin upon himself. All the things that we have done wrong, he takes them and he bears that great punishment so that we may be set free, so that there is no guilt accounted to our name. And so if there is no guilt and no sin, we can come into the presence of God and be welcomed into the presence of God. And so we come today in the name of Jesus Christ, in that name that has cleansed us from all our sin, that we draw near to God and we call upon your presence to be with us. Lord, we pray that as we come to your word, as we read it together, that it would speak into the depths of our hearts, that it would be our word in season, our word just what we need today, to help us, to encourage us, to correct us, to guide us, to lead us, whatever it may be today. Speak to us, Lord, we ask, as we come with all differing lives, differing experiences, differing difficulties and worries and anxieties this morning, we pray that you would speak to us. We pray that we would know your hand over us. We pray that we would know that you are someone that we can come to trust in and lean upon every day of our lives. As a father that knows what is good to give to us children, you know what is best for us. And so whatever the gospel is preached, whatever your word is read today, we pray that you would bless. We pray that it would go with the power of your spirit, that it would be persuading and enabling people to believe and trust, to give their lives to Jesus Christ, knowing that there is no other offer of salvation in this world.
[8:02] Though it makes the offer, it can never give it to us. And we long for something more than this world. We long to be somewhere where we find satisfaction and eternal enjoyment. And we pray that you would make it clear to us that we only find that when we are with you in heaven, a place that we cannot explain or understand. We pray that through Jesus Christ, we can be welcomed into that place of eternal enjoyment and joy. We can enjoy in the praise of God with all people from all nations who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
[8:48] Lord, we pray also for each and every one here. We pray for each and every one's difficulties. We pray for the wider church. We pray for the presbytery here on the island. We pray for vacancies.
[9:00] We give thanks for settled ministries. We give thanks for David Felkson in Newest. We pray for him in his relatively new charge. We remember also Mowgli in Dunfermline being inducted yesterday. We pray for your precious ministry there.
[9:19] We remember also Murdoch Campbell in Knock Bay. And we pray also for him as he settles there. Blessed preaching of your word, we pray. May it go with great effect throughout this world.
[9:33] We pray for this world that seems so lost, that seems so upside down, that seems to be worrying and fighting. We pray for those places that have experienced disaster. We pray for aid. We pray for your hand to be in that situation.
[9:51] And as we don't know how to pray, we just ask that you would be there. We ask that you would be present. We ask that you would bring peace. We ask that you would give guidance to our leaders.
[10:03] We ask that you would do the unthinkable and bring people back to you to call upon your name, to trust in you. So Lord, as we gather, speak to us, we pray, to each and every one of us, from the oldest to the youngest.
[10:18] Be with us, guide us, and keep us. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen. Now I could ask the young ones to come down to the front here. We'll have a wee talk for you guys.
[10:30] And then afterwards we have Sunday school for you, even though it's a holiday. We'll come down to the front here. How are you today?
[10:49] Okay. Enjoying all this? Yeah? It's good? Good? Good not be in school? Do you enjoy school? Yeah.
[11:00] Sometimes. Sometimes. Now this morning I was outside. It's a lovely day. I had my cup of coffee and my toast outside. And I was standing there just looking out from my house.
[11:14] You can see Scalpip here. The water was flat, calm. You could actually see through the water. See it up quite high. You could see it out. And I thought, well, isn't this wonderful?
[11:26] Really nice weather that we've been having. You're on holiday and you think, this is great. I'm standing there and I'm looking out over the sea. I think, isn't this beautiful, this place where we stay?
[11:39] I think, I wonder if this is what heaven is like. Well, we don't really know what heaven will really be like. But unfortunately for Scalp Box, we could say it's going to be far better than Scalp Bay even on a nice day.
[11:56] It's a place that is amazing. Now, the Bible tells us a little bit about heaven. But we're not told exactly what it is like.
[12:09] And I remember someone saying to me, we don't know what it's like, heaven. But it's like trying to explain to our baby what it's going to be like to come into the world.
[12:22] Now, as many of you know, we had a wee baby boy last week. He's called Angus. I'll show you a wee picture on him. There. That's him.
[12:34] Just when he was born. Your baby Angus. And if you were to be able to speak to him when he's in his mummy's tummy of faith, you're going to be born, and you're going to get to see things that you have never seen before.
[12:51] You're going to feel things that you've never seen before. You're going to understand the world. You're going to see this great creation that God has made for you to live in.
[13:03] You're going to meet your parents. You're going to meet your sisters. You're going to meet all these different people. And the baby would probably be like, I don't understand.
[13:16] That is totally different. The baby's just in his mummy's tummy. The baby's probably nice, cozy, and warm in there. He doesn't want to go anywhere else. But he can't stay in there forever.
[13:29] He has to come in. And he comes out into this great world that has been created for us. That's true of every one of us. We have come into this great world that God has created.
[13:42] And if you were to speak to the baby, they wouldn't really understand what you meant, what the world was like. And that's what it's like for us today when we think about heaven.
[13:53] It's so great. It'll be so good. It'll be something totally different to what we know. We just can't quite fully understand what it's like.
[14:07] But if we did, I think we'd want to be there straight away. It'd be a place to be so amazing. And there's a passage in the Bible that says about heaven that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart can imagine what God has prepared for those that love him.
[14:34] Everyone that loves God, that believes in Jesus, will get to go to this amazing place called heaven. And you know what?
[14:48] God loved to have you there. God and everyone there will rejoice when you come. They will be singing and they will be so happy because he loves you and he's like a father to you.
[15:08] So although we don't understand heaven fully, we know that that's where God our Father is. We know that that's where Jesus is. And if we believe in Jesus, we will be in heaven.
[15:23] If we love Jesus, we will get to this place that we don't understand how beautiful it is. Even if I'm more beautiful than Harrison and Lovely Day, it'll be amazing.
[15:36] So don't forget how amazing heaven will be. Don't forget to think about and wonder about how amazing heaven will be.
[15:48] Because it'll be greater than we can ever imagine. But we must believe in Jesus. We must love God to get there.
[15:59] Okay? So let's say a prayer before you go. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for all that you have done for us today.
[16:10] But we wonder at all the things that you will prepare for us in heaven. For everything that will be there for us. For all the people that we will meet. That we will be part of a new family in heaven.
[16:24] That you will be a Father. And it'll be a place like nowhere else. A place so amazing. A place that we will want to last forever. And a place that will last forever and ever and ever.
[16:39] A place where we are made to be. And a place where we will love to be. So help us to love Jesus. To love God. And wonder about how great it will be to be in heaven with him.
[16:54] Forgive us our sins we ask. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So we're going to sing again. And we're going to sing now. Seek ye first the kingdom of God.
[17:10] After the introduction we'll stand to sing. Seek ye first the kingdom of God.
[17:32] And his righteousness. And all these sins shall be added unto you.
[17:45] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
[17:56] Alleluia. Alleluia.
[18:08] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. I shall not live by death alone but by every word I shall not live Alleluia.
[18:57] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
[19:56] Okay, we'll turn to our Bibles now and read from Isaiah chapter 1. We'll pray for the young ones as they go into Sunday school.
[20:08] Please remember them. Currently we are reading in Isaiah chapter 1 from the beginning of that chapter. And we'll read down to verse Mark 20.
[20:21] That first word that Isaiah brought to the people in his prophecy. A word that Isaiah had in a vision. And a word that he spoke to the people.
[20:35] Calling them back to God. So let us hear God's word. The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos. Which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Isaiah, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah, the kings of Judah.
[20:56] Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. For the Lord has spoken. Children I have reared and brought up. But they have rebelled against me.
[21:08] The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation.
[21:21] A people laden with iniquity. Offspring of evildoers. Children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
[21:33] They are utterly estranged. Why will you be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick. The whole heart faint.
[21:45] From the sole of the foot even to the head. There is no soundness in it. But bruises and sores and raw wounds. They are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.
[22:00] Your country lies desolate. Your cities are burned with fire in your very presence. Foreigners devour your land. It is desolate and overthrown by foreigners.
[22:12] And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard. Like a lodge in a cucumber field. Like a besieged city. If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors.
[22:25] We should have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah.
[22:37] What to me is a multitude of your sacrifices? Says the Lord. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and of the fat of well-fed beasts.
[22:47] I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who is required of you this trampling of my coat?
[22:59] Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations. I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
[23:12] Your new moon and your appointed feast my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing it. And when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you.
[23:25] Even though you make prayer, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from before your eyes.
[23:40] Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless. Plead to the widow's cause.
[23:51] Come now. Let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
[24:07] If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
[24:22] Amen. May God's word be a blessing to all who have heard it. We will now sing in Gaelic, from Psalm 51, from the beginning of that psalm.
[24:34] after thy loving kindness, Lord, have mercy upon me. For thy compassions, great, beloved, call mine iniquities.
[24:49] Me cleanse from sin, and throughly wash from mine iniquities. For my transgressions, I confess, my sin, I ever see.
[25:02] So we remain seated while we sing Psalm 51, from the beginning. what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what do you do what Thank you.
[26:06] Thank you. Thank you.
[26:40] Thank you.
[27:10] Thank you.
[27:40] Thank you.
[28:10] Thank you. Thank you.
[28:42] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I want to turn now back to the passage that we read in Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 1.
[28:56] We'll look at the whole passage, but I really want to focus on the words of verse 18. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.
[29:10] Though your sins are like scarlet, though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
[29:22] Differences between people are part of life. Difficulties can occur as a result of that.
[29:34] Disputes can fall, people can fall out. Whether it's between people or companies. Relationships break down.
[29:45] David, before he came into ministry, I believe, worked in conflict resolution. Or he would bring two companies that weren't talking back together to resolve an issue.
[30:00] That's probably fair to say it's not the most desirable of jobs to have had. It's difficult to get people to talk to one another again. To break down walls that have been built between people.
[30:15] To break down these divisions that have been made. And often in these divisions, it's as if people keep adding blocks to build a higher wall. So they never see each other and they never think of each other.
[30:30] But when we do that, it can often be a sore and difficult thing. It can be a pain that never goes away when we keep building upon walls that maintain a divide.
[30:40] It can be a tiresome thing to maintain a divide. But to resolve that division and divide, someone must do something.
[30:51] Someone must come to the other party. Someone must make a change. Someone must make a start. But they both must come together and communicate.
[31:02] If they're going to resolve the issue. Now the prophets in the Old Testament didn't have a great job either. They were the voice of God to the people.
[31:14] They were really in the business of conflict resolution. Between God and the people of Israel. Isaiah here and the prophets.
[31:25] They would bring a message to the people. A message of reconciliation. God's outreaching of his arm to them. To come back.
[31:37] Because there was a great divide being formed by the people and God. God's calling them to come back. Reaching out. To restore a relationship with Israel.
[31:49] With his people. With his children. With his children. So the walls of division are broken down. The walls that the people themselves have made.
[32:02] Are flattened. I wonder is God reaching out to anyone here today. I wonder if any of us are maintaining a divide. Between ourselves and God.
[32:13] Do we have a sin. That we hold on to. That keeps us from God. Or has our heart become so hard.
[32:24] That we've built up this blockade. We're building this wall to stay separate. So we don't hear about Jesus. And we don't read about Jesus. We don't come to church. We're building this wall.
[32:35] And we're fighting against it. To maintain a division. Our God is reaching over that wall. That divide this morning.
[32:47] To ask and to call each and every one of us. To reach out and to make that first action. To you and everyone. To break down that divide.
[32:59] To restore a relationship with himself. To talk to you. To tell you to come. And reason with him once more. So that you would have peace with him.
[33:12] And that there is no more division. Now as we look at this passage. We'll set the scene by looking at the verses that come from the beginning up to verse 11. And what we have in this passage here is a series of pictures that explain.
[33:28] Just how sinful the people of Israel were. Just how they were so condemned by God. Just how guilty they were in the sight of God.
[33:42] How they were so scarlet. How they were so crimson. There's a series of pictures here. But God is not just a God that condemns. God is a God that graciously in his mercy and love calls the people back.
[34:00] He is a God that reaches out over the wall of divide that we have built. That they have built. Calling us to come back. To restore our relationship.
[34:12] He is calling them to come. And he will be the one that will wash away these sins. He will be the one that will wash away all these sins that they have done. And make them clean. He will cleanse.
[34:23] So they are condemned. They are called. And finally they are cleansed. Three points to hang our thoughts off this morning. Isaiah came.
[34:35] In this condemning message really to the people of Israel. It is not a nice message for them to have heard. He comes to Judah. And as Isaiah comes to Judah.
[34:47] With God's message. The prophets Amos and Hosea. Are in the northern kingdom. Judah is in the south. Israel remains. Called Israel in the north.
[34:59] And Amos and Hosea are there preaching God's message. While Isaiah is in the southern part where Jerusalem is. And the first thing we must say is that. The message that comes is true.
[35:12] It is God's word. This is absolutely true. There is no arguing the case. This is exactly how it is. This is exactly how God sees it. And it is how he sees the whole nation.
[35:25] You will see there in verse 2. He calls it here. Here, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. Children that I have reared up. They have rebelled against me.
[35:38] They are rebellious children. They have turned their back on God. God has done so much for us. He has looked after them. He has fed them. He has taken them from Egypt. He has given them this land of Cairn.
[35:50] And they have turned their back on him. They have rejected him. They have refused him. And he compares them here as a. Compared to an ox and a donkey. They are worse than an ox and a donkey.
[36:02] The donkey and the ox will come back to their owner. Come back to the one that looks after them. Come back to the one that feeds them. The one that nourishes them. Israel, this people.
[36:14] They are so rebellious. These children that have turned their back on him. They are not even so wise. It says. They don't understand.
[36:24] My people do not understand. They are worse than a donkey. And he says that these children. In verse 4.
[36:35] They are absolutely full of iniquity. Because they are children of people. Of their fathers. That have lived corruptly. Full of sin.
[36:46] They have forsaken the Lord. And because that they are so corrupt. These children. It's their cut off. It's very strange. It says in verse 4. They are absolutely cut off.
[36:59] And the cutting off is entirely their doing. This nation is then compared in verse 5. To a body that is sick. It says the whole head is sick.
[37:12] Right from its head down to its feet. And even into the heart. And the sickness. And the wounds of this sickness.
[37:22] The bruises. And the source of this sickness. That they have brought upon themselves. Are never killed. There is no oil. There is no comfort for this thing. And.
[37:34] In many ways. That's serious. As we were saying. When we have a dispute with one another. When we fall out with one another. In a sense. There is always a sting.
[37:45] There is always something. That causes a sting. And it's not until we resolve the issue. Does that sting completely go away. There is no bad.
[37:57] There is no healing to it. Until we resolve to make peace with one another. Israel has walked away from God. And they have got this ever pleasant wound in their lives.
[38:08] You go to verse 7. It says that the country lies deathly. This nation is here. It's compared to how we shed in our feet. This great nation.
[38:21] Great city Jerusalem. This great people of God. That he defended. That he protected. Years from life. Has become as weak.
[38:32] And as frail. As a little shack. Washed on an alley out the moor. Just a little shed. That is so isolated.
[38:42] So fragile. So weak. So poor. This is what they have to come. So we get the picture. Don't we? What Israel is like.
[38:54] Stubborn children. They've brought this. Pain upon themselves. They're essentially killing themselves. With this division of the earth. And this anger against God. Turning away from him.
[39:05] But surprisingly. They actually maintain a form of worship. You go to verse 11. It speaks about sacrifices that are made.
[39:17] It goes on then. It speaks about the lambs that come. The goats. The bulls. The festivals that they keep. In verse 13. They maintain a form of worship. Even though they're turned right against God.
[39:30] Weirshby says that this is the most disgusting thing about them. Because they're pretending to worship God. But really their lives are totally different.
[39:43] And you think. Well surely that they're bringing sacrifices. Would be a good thing. Is this not what God asked for? Well it is. But it is a total abuse of what a sacrifice is.
[39:54] They're just coming to tick the box. To please what they think is pleasing God. But they're actually just pleasing themselves. They're satisfying themselves. To make themselves feel better.
[40:06] But they've come to offer this temporal sacrifice. They're not coming with a sore heart. They're not coming with a heart. That wants to distance themselves from sin.
[40:17] To push it away. To get rid of it. To bring a lamb that they know should be them. That be sacrificed to cleanse them from sin. That was the point in the sacrifice.
[40:30] But they brought it because they were sorry for their sin. It hurt them. And they knew that they should pay the price. But the lamb went instead of them. But they abused us completely.
[40:45] They abused the sacrificial system. Just to make themselves feel better. Now if you think about this nation.
[40:56] And if you think. Don't put yourselves in God's shoes. But if you were in charge of these people. If you were in a business with these people. You wouldn't want them. These people that don't listen to you.
[41:08] That turn their back on you. That just abuse every privilege that you've given them. You've spent so much looking after them in a sense. Your time. Your gifts. Everything that you have has gone into them.
[41:20] They just turn their back on you. Would you go into business with them? You would say. You're having a laugh. And you're just going to take me for a ride. They're going to make a fool out of you.
[41:33] They're going to throw back everything I'm going to give them. They're living two lives. These people. They're doing what makes them feel good. But their heart is completely in another place.
[41:48] That's how scarlet their sins were to God. And maybe they thought that all this sinfulness was hidden from God. But God sees everything.
[42:00] God sees the full extent of how scarlet they would be. And we expect God to destroy them. To get rid of them. In a sense. The dividing wall that they've built up. He should just flat it on top of them.
[42:13] In a way he's every right to do that. But he doesn't. He reaches out over that division. To bring them back.
[42:25] To call them to himself. And we can be so like this. We can be so caught up in the things of this world. We can be so. We can turn our backs on God so often.
[42:36] We can be children that have been brought up. Knowing the Bible. And learning the Bible. And we just go off and do our own thing. And even if we come to church. How is our life lived the rest of the week?
[42:50] Are we honouring God? Are we sorrowful for our sins? Do our sins hurt us? If we come to God. He knows our sins. And he knows just how scarlet the sins are.
[43:03] And the secret sins of our lives. And it's not a nice thing to talk about. It's a passage. The prophets that we don't come to often. But the secret thing is.
[43:14] If we miss the seriousness of sin to God. If we miss how serious our sins are in the sight of God. How scarlet they are. We're going to miss how great his grace is to us.
[43:28] If we miss the seriousness of our sins. We're going to miss the greatness of his grace towards us. Though your sins are so scarred.
[43:44] His great grace. His amazing grace. That's why it could be some. It's because we are washed clean. And he calls everyone to hear that message today.
[43:55] That's their second point. The call. The condemnation that he brings. It's an element of the call. Because he wants them to understand.
[44:06] Their serious sin is. He wants them to see. That this is a dividing thing in the relationship. He wants them to see. That it is entirely their fault.
[44:17] And God's call. Is made throughout this passage. There in verse 2. He says hear. He calls them to hear. He calls them to hear. But he calls the whole world to hear.
[44:29] It's like he's calling the whole world. To witness to what he's going to say. This is what I'm going to say. Because this is the absolute truth of it. And no one in this world can argue against it.
[44:39] Hear this message that I'm bringing. You're condemned. Your sins condemn you. You'll turn your back on me. And he asks them in verse 5. He calls them to think.
[44:50] Why? Why are you living your life like this? Why would you want me to punish you? He calls them to hear in verse 10.
[45:03] I am here to speak to you. Hear to my teaching. And he calls them in verse 16. To wash themselves. He calls them in verse 18.
[45:18] It's then to come. Come and let us reason together. Let us speak to you on earth once more. God is reaching over to break down all barriers.
[45:30] He's set the record straight. And he wants us to fairly weigh up the weight of our sin before him. He wants us to see our own sin. He's a God of grace. He calls them to come back to him.
[45:47] And he's a God of grace. That calls each and every one of us. To come back to him again. To acknowledge our sin. To confess our sin.
[45:57] As we sung of David and do in Psalm 51. Knowing even the coldness of our hearts at times. To come back. To hear his call.
[46:10] To listen to his words. To wash ourselves clean if we can at all. But let us speak to God. Let us pray to him. Let us reason with him once more.
[46:23] God has every right to leave us for our sins. To punish us. But he will not. Even when we are the children that don't want to listen to him.
[46:37] Even when we are the children that have walked away from him. He says, hear my words. My sinful child. I am calling out to you.
[46:48] I am calling out to you. I am calling out to you. Today. To hear. To see the hand that comes over that wall of division.
[47:04] To respond to him. In his call. To take that offer. That is offered to us today. To come and meet him with him once more.
[47:18] And you might think. Well my sin. Deserves the anger of God. And rightly it does. And what. Why would he listen to my prayer?
[47:30] It says there. That he didn't listen to the prayers of these people. That they called out to him. That is because. Their heart wasn't in it.
[47:45] There was an emptiness to that prayer. It was just a ritual. A motion that they went through. Their heart. Was sin. Longing.
[47:55] To restore. A relationship with God. Their heart wasn't sore. For the sin. And the division. That it caused. They didn't hate sin. God says.
[48:11] Show me that you are serious. Show me that you are serious. About your sin. And the words that you pray to me. He says. Wash yourselves.
[48:22] Remove these evil deeds from before my eyes. Stop doing this evil. Learn to do good. Seek to do justice. Bring justice to the Father. Let's plead the widow's cause.
[48:33] Show me that you are serious in your life. About the sin. That causes this great division. God. I listen to you. I listen to you then.
[48:45] When your heart is broken. Because of the sin of your life. When you see your sin. And you come to him. Acknowledging how guilty you are.
[48:57] How scarred you are. God will listen to you. God will hear. The prayer. Of a broken sinner. When you want to restore.
[49:10] A relationship with God. He will listen to you. And he calls you to come. And speak with him. No matter what our sins have been.
[49:22] How we have treated God in the past. We think that. He will never listen to us. But he will if we come with a right heart. If we are serious about this.
[49:35] Knowing that our sins condemn us as guilty. He's asking you. Why are you going to continue in such a life. Where you fully expect punishment.
[49:48] And his justice. To be exercised over you. Why would you continue? He's calling you. Today to come. He is the one that can wash that guilt away.
[50:02] Take all that scarlet. And crimson sins of your life. And cleanse you. So that there will be no more condemnation for you.
[50:16] And that's the promise of those who believe in Jesus Christ. That is the only way we can be cleansed. Through the blood of the Lamb of Jesus Christ.
[50:29] He is the only one that can cleanse us. That's the third point. Cleansed. We are condemned. We are condemned. As we are. We are called. As we are.
[50:40] But we are going to be cleansed. If we receive Jesus Christ. If we come and acknowledge our sins to him. He will cleanse us.
[50:51] Now it's not about doing what verse 16 and 17 do entirely. That cleanse us. It is not about being morally good. And living good lives.
[51:02] To do all these good things. It doesn't really cleanse us. It doesn't cleanse us from our sin. The only thing that can cleanse us from our sin.
[51:14] Is Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God. The perfect Lamb. That was sacrificed for us. There had to be a sacrifice.
[51:26] That's the whole point of the Old Testament sacrifices. To clean sin. To say that they were guilty. To acknowledge that they had done wrong. To come with an animal. To wash. To pay for the sin.
[51:37] God would accept that as a pain. But then the next day they would sin again. The blood of Jesus is a perfect sacrifice. It does not need to be made continuous.
[51:51] Because it is perfect. It once and for all satisfies the pain and for sin. And if we come trusting in Jesus Christ. If we come to the cross.
[52:04] We have our best. It is the greatest sacrifices made for us. That can wash our sin away. That can cleanse us from all that scarlet and crimson sin in our lives.
[52:16] So that as Romans says. There is now therefore no condemnation. For those that are in Christ Jesus. He is the one. That has taken all our guilt on himself.
[52:29] Spurgeon illustrated this by saying. If you had come to Jesus with your sin.
[52:42] With a garment that is full of the scarlet and crimsonness of your sin. Saying it completely. Jesus has no sin. And you come to him.
[52:55] And you acknowledge your sin. And you ask him. You respond to his call. You ask him to wash it clean. Spurgeon said. It is as if Jesus takes that coat off you.
[53:08] These dirty, filthy, sinful garments that are stained. The stains that you see. The ones that are on your back that you do not see. The sins that you do not know.
[53:19] Christ comes and takes that entirely off you. And he takes off his own robe. His garments that are undefiled and clean.
[53:31] And he puts them on you. And he takes the sinful garments that are stained. And puts them on himself. And he says to you.
[53:43] My righteousness. My sinlessness. Will be as if it was yours. You have it. And all the sin that was yours. It will be mine.
[53:56] I will take it to myself. That's what happens on the cross. He takes all that sin upon himself. Everything that is scarlet. Everything that is crimson in our lives.
[54:08] All these divisions that we have made because of sin. Christ. And he says. And he says. Christ. If you come to him. He'll take that from you.
[54:20] If you ask him to. But he will clothe you. With this pure gown. That is. Entirely.
[54:31] Three of all sin. At the cross. At the cross. We see a serious sinner.
[54:43] And we acknowledge the seriousness of sin. But we ought to see how great his grace is. That he bears the punishment of our sin. That he takes it on himself.
[54:55] So that we can be fixed. So that we will not be guilty. So that we can be washed clean. And that in the sight of God.
[55:07] We were like scarlet. But now. We are pure. It is all indebted. That breaks down the great wall of division.
[55:22] Sin divides us. From God. And if we trust in him. And believe in him. That is God. And it says there.
[55:33] In verse 19. If you are willing and obedient. To hear this call. You shall eat the good of the land. If you listen to him today.
[55:45] If you come to him. You will be greatly blessed. Is what it says. It will be a great land. Like we were saying to the children. A heaven that.
[55:56] Is beyond our understanding. Greater than anything. Anyone can ever imagine. You shall receive it. It shall be you. If.
[56:08] You listen. If you hear. What he is saying to you today. If you acknowledge your sin. If you come to him. If you do.
[56:22] You will be like the one. That John saw. In Revelation. He looked into heaven. He saw people. That. Were there. Before the throne of God.
[56:34] And he asked. Who are these? And he said. That's the ones. Who are these? This and white. These are the ones. That have washed themselves.
[56:45] And the blood of the land. They are the ones. That know the greatness. And goodness. Of this greater land. And that can be ours. If.
[56:56] We come. If we come. The hand. The hand is reaching out to you. And calling you today. What will you do.
[57:09] In response. To restore our relationship. There's two sides to it. We can be hostile. We can be stubborn. But we must respond.
[57:20] And God is asking you to respond. To this call this morning. Come and reason with. Come and speak to me. If you will. With great blessings.
[57:31] But. You notice a but. Verse 20. But if you continue. To refuse and rebel. You will be eaten by the sword.
[57:43] The mouth of the Lord has spoken. If you refuse and rebel. If you don't listen to this. Loving. Gracious. Call. Made to each and every one of us today.
[57:55] You will not enjoy the good of the land. And really what it says is. You'll be eaten by the sword.
[58:07] You'll kill yourself. The offer is there. To break down the division. But if you maintain it. You're killing yourself. One of the comedic.
[58:19] Just says. The offer is here. To eat. To be eaten. To enjoy the goodness of what God provides for us. Or to be eaten by our own sin for us.
[58:33] And destroy ourselves. This is the truth of what the Lord says. It's often a difficult thing to think about. It's often a difficult thing to think about. It's often a difficult thing to think about. And we don't like to think about the seriousness of sin.
[58:45] But we must. We must think about the seriousness of sin. To realize the greatness of his grace and love towards us. The seriousness of sin is what put him to the cross.
[59:01] If we don't see the seriousness of sin. We undervalue the cross. He took our sin. And he cast it out.
[59:12] The scarletness is gone. If you believe in him. If you come to him. If you trust in him. Your robes will be washed clean. You'll be made white as snow.
[59:24] Clean as wool. And you shall eat the good of the life. If you are willing to come.
[59:37] The offer is here to me. Will you come? Will you come? Amen. I pray that he's also blessed to each and every one of us.
[59:50] We'll conclude by singing in Mission Praise. Mission Praise 671. There is a fountain filled with blood.
[60:02] Drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunge beneath that flood. Lose all their guilty stains. May I have there the story of the dying thief. He rejoiced to see the fountain in his day.
[60:15] And there may I, just as vile as he. Wash all my sins out. We will sing together. We will sing these words in conclusion.
[60:27] Thank you. The Lord is a fountain filled with blood From all the baguettes And sinners left beneath that blood Loose all their guilty sins Loose all their guilty sins Loose all their guilty sins And sinners left beneath that blood Loose all their guilty sins The dying faith rejoices thee That burnt in living's day
[61:30] And there may I as by a sea Wash all my sins away Wash all my sins away Wash all my sins away And there may I as by the sea Wash all my sins away Dear dying lamb, your precious blood Shall never lose its blood Till all the ransomed church of God Be safe to sin no more Be safe to sin no more Be safe to sin no more
[62:31] Till all the ransomed church of God Be safe to sin no more Dear, since my breath I saw the stream Pure flowing wounds of mine Redeeming love has been my feet And shall we till I die And shall we till I die And shall we till I die Redeeming love has been my feet And shall we till I die When this christened stumbling tongue I sighed and did the grave And in an older, sweeter song
[63:35] I'll sing your power to sin I'll sing your power to sin I'll sing your power to sin Then in an older, sweeter song I'll sing your power to sin Conclude with a word of prayer Our Heavenly Father, we pray that we would respond to your call That reaches down to redeem us and save us In the name of Jesus Christ Lord, we pray Let us come with our sin-stained garments And receive the righteousness of him Who died on the cross for us Be with us as we part Forgive us our sins In Jesus' name Amen