This Is The Lord, We Trusted In Him

THIS IS THE LORD; WE TRUSTED IN HIM

ISAIAH 25:6-9 -- October 24, 2004 -- PENTECOST 21

6On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

9In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

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Dearest Fellow Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:

Today the Lord’s table is prepared for each of us with a rich feast. We gather together to partake of this banquet freely provided by our Lord in his holy word. Over the years we have placed too much trust in ourselves – in other people – or even in the advice of the world. These misplaced trusts have left us unfulfilled and at the very edge of starvation. God has provided for us in the past, just as God provides for us in the present thus the Lord our God will abundantly provide for us in the future. This is the LORD, we trusted in him. The Lord has spoken almost these same sentiments in the Psalms: "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me" (PSALM 13:5,6). How absolutely true it is that as we examine our lives we always see that the Lord has been good to me. We are going to use the words of Isaiah in our text as our theme today:

THIS IS THE LORD, WE TRUSTED IN HIM I. Our Lord provides a rich banquet

II. We rejoice in the Lord’s salvation.

I. OUR LORD PROVIDES A RICH BANQUET

A. Isaiah was God’s chosen prophet to present God’s message of judgment and grace.

1. Isaiah proclaimed judgment because God’s people looked away instead of to God.

2. Isaiah also proclaimed God’s grace and forgiveness to the penitent sinners.

3. This is the message of grace we discover in today’s section of Isaiah as our text.

B. Our text begins with verse 6: 6On this mountain the LORD Almighty

1. This mountain contains two thoughts: the present thought is Mt. Zion – Jerusalem and the temple for worship.

2. The future thought is the New Jerusalem – Mt. Zion and heaven itself. Either thought is correct, but Isaiah refers to heaven here more than the present Zion.

3. Note also: the LORD Almighty. This term refers to the only true God, the Lord God Jehovah – Creator of the heavens and the earth and all things – Almighty!

C. Verse 6 describes in detail what the Lord Almighty is going to do for his people.

1. This is a significant statement during this time – it was with much effort that daily food, meals were provided – not to mention a banquet.

2. They were to be provided with the best of meats and the finest wines by the Lord.

D. This banquet was not just physical eating and drinking, but especially spiritual.

1. Verse 7 – the Lord was going to remove the shroud of sin that covered the world—eyes would be opened and people would see the glory of the Lord.

2. Verse 8a – The Lord’s power was to destroy even death itself.

E. Might not feel like the Israelites. We haven’t turned away from God like them. Where are our false gods? Genesis and creation reminds us Satan is alive and well and tempting. The devil asks, Did God really say…? The devil plants doubts, the world distracts and our own sinful nature can easily be blinded to the banquet our Lord provides. "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 CORINTHIANS 4:3,4).

F. How are we to defeat the devil and the world and our own sinful nature? It takes work and an effort on our part. The devil doesn’t want us to hear, read or study God’s word. The world constantly says that we do not have time for God’s word. Our sinful nature readily agrees. We need to bury the old, sinful nature and allow the new man to come forth and flourish. Then we are able to agree with Isaiah, This is the Lord, we trusted in him. "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good" (1 PETER 2:2,3). We have tasted that the Lord is good – this is our motivation to crave pure spiritual milk.