Often the church looks to us as the one place we'd probably most like to not be in. And I would like us to look instead at a portion of God's Word which speaks to us about what the church really is to Christ. So I want us to think of the beautiful church of Christ and I want to look at Just a few verses from Isaiah chapter 62, verses 1 through 3. For Zion's sake, I will not keep silent. For Jerusalem's sake, I will not remain quiet. Till her righteousness dawns out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. God bless this portion of your word and God bless your church. Make it to be in our eyes as precious and beautiful as she is to you. In Jesus' name, Amen. For men of sin and darkness, God promised a Savior who would deliver His people, delivering them out of captivity and spiritual blindness. A Savior who would bring good news to the afflicted, The Savior who would bind up the brokenhearted. The Savior who would set the captives free. The Savior who would proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That's just in the previous chapter, in chapter 61, verses 1-3. God promised that righteousness would shine out like the dawn And that salvation would come like a blazing torch. That's in the chapter I just read in verse 1 of chapter 62. This was to be the message of God to a people who groped in the darkness of sin and despair. That salvation would come like a blazing torch. And whose lives were getting more and more hopeless day by day. Such a salvation we saw this morning, we know is fulfilled perfectly, beautifully in Jesus. But even here in Isaiah, salvation is coming. Even while God's people are floundering in the darkness of their sin, God wants His people to see and to see with a total clarity that even after terrible judgments have come upon them for their sin, Even yet, there remains hope. That even after tragedy, there is hope. That He is making them into a thing of beauty. And that even after what seems to be all-encompassing devastation, even after we feel that we've gone through all that we can possibly endure, even if we believe that we've hit the bottom and have no endurance left, nor do we want to have any more endurance, Even when we feel that we can't carry on, even if we wanted to carry on, even then, you know what there is for God's people? There's hope. Why? Because God will sustain His church. He will keep His people through whatever they face, and He does not fail. Things may look bleak, things that can look hopeless or impossible to us, But God is always at work for His church and for His people. His purposes will stand. He will prevail. God promises that as great as the trouble has been, there will be an even greater deliverance. That's the promise of God. This greater deliverance is not a deliverance from our enemies, but a deliverance from a far greater enemy, sin and Satan. And that greater deliverance is a spiritual deliverance. It's a spiritual restoration. It happens when God delivers his people, when he brings us out of darkness into light, when he raises us from death to life, when he frees us from captivity to sin and brings us into the lives that we are to possess, lives of service and ministry. This deliverance is a deliverance that surpasses all other deliverances. Because He lets us know that our hearts are being touched. That our hearts are being changed. That our hearts are being restored. So that we become, as chapter 61, verse 6 says, priests of the Lord. As Moses had said, you are a kingdom of priests. Exodus 19, verse 6. And as Peter says, You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and called you into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, Peter goes on, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2 verses 9 and 10. See friends, if you have this salvation, that no matter how impossible your life may seem or feel, no matter how wretched the circumstances, no matter how the difficulties may come upon you like a tsunami, you can stand and you can stand with confidence, confidently, through whatever you face and whatever the people of God face together. You can stand through it because if you are in Christ, you've been raised. You've been raised from death to life, no matter what. No matter what. Listen to the extent of this restoration. Isaiah says in chapter 61, verse 7, instead of their shame, my people will receive a double portion. Instead of disgrace, they will rejoice in their inheritance, and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. We always use the term everlasting life, but I love this one because it's everlasting joy. Along with that life is joy. How, when, when we give ourselves over to God, It's then that we receive an eternal inheritance. What is this inheritance? In Romans 8, 17, we're told what it's really all about, because there we read that we are God's children and heirs of God, heirs of God. When we're giving ourselves over to God, we inherit God himself. He is our inheritance. We have God as our hope. for and promised inheritance. We're not given a piece of land. We're not given a chest of gold. Instead, we're given something beyond perishing, unperishable. We're given God Himself. This is more vast than any piece of land. It's more precious than even the finest jewels. As heirs of God, Peter says in 1 Peter 2.19, we are a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation. Or as John puts it in Revelation 1.5, we are a worldwide kingdom of priests. The future of the church is royalty, kingly, priestly, royalty. And this isn't only for the future. The church is royalty. The church is kingly. The church is priestly. Now, today, our inheritance isn't just some future event. Our inheritance is in effect now. And First Peter 2 5 explains what we're to do as part of the holy priesthood. We are to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. God is not done with His incredible promises. Isaiah 61 11 prophesies that the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. That is worldwide. You see, friends, the boundaries of the New Covenant that are brought in by our Savior are not the boundaries of Israel, but the boundaries of the entire world. But yet again, it goes even further. The physical boundaries of the covenant are worldwide in Isaiah, but the spiritual boundaries of the covenant are eternal in Jeremiah. As God speaks in Jeremiah 32 verses 38 and 40 in a way that builds on the words of Isaiah 61 where he says in Isaiah 32, I will make an everlasting covenant with them to not turn away from them and I will do them good. These are the words which are encouraging and encouragingly like the words of our Lord Jesus Christ 700 years later as He prepares His disciples for His leaving them. And He says to them in Matthew 28 20, I am with you always, even not to the end of my life. an experience with you here on this earth. I am with you always, even to the end of the world, to the end of the age. No matter what we face, friends, no matter if the earth is broken in pieces, if we're in Christ, then we are safe. And because He is with us, we have God Himself as our inheritance, an eternal inheritance. And we have Christ with us always. We are, as Isaiah 61.9 teaches, a people that the Lord has blessed. At times we feel that we may be just the opposite of that kind of people, but it's not. And we're not that. We are a people who are blessed. And I know it may seem like this is at times not accurate, but what I'm saying to you is it's the truth. And it's the reality. As members of God's kingdom, we are a people that the Lord has blessed. If we keep this in mind, if we remind ourselves of it, then our whole outlook changes and that starts to change everything. It changes the way we live our lives. It changes the way we face problems. All of these things will change. How blessed are we? The opening words of Chapter 62 tell us. They teach us that all that the Deliverer, our Lord Jesus Christ, does, He does for Zion's sake. That is, these words teach us and show us that He does what He does for the sake of the people of God. All that is done, is done for the sake of what? It's done for the sake of His bride, the church. And as He declares in Isaiah 62, 1, for Zion's sake, I will not be still. And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest. God will not stop. He will not stop until the fullness of salvation is accomplished. He's declared it. That's the way it is. And that's the way it's to be. And it will be done. It will go forth. And it will go forth as a burning lamp. And his salvation, which will go forth as a brightly burning lamp, will, as he says above in Isaiah 61 11, it will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth and to spring forth before all of the nations. Wow, we're a lamp that is lighted up so that we will spring forth with praise and glory from our lives and lips before all the nations. Nothing in this world can ever or will ever stop God's salvation because it's like an unquenchable fire. God has promised to his people a great salvation and he intends to see it through. He's going to see it through and he's going to use you folks and continue to use you folks. He's going to see it through. He saw it through exile. He saw it through war. He saw it through suffering. He saw it through hatred aimed at God's people in every single generation. He's seen it through. Here we are. We're living testimony of that through satanic assaults to try to stop it through it all. God will not be stopped. And his promises to his people, these promises will be fulfilled through his son, the Lord. and Savior, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, a way of salvation is made open and known to us and to all that come through us and that we bring to Him. And through the trust in Jesus that we display and utter and live by, we are saved and God's glory will blaze in our hearts. Verse two of Isaiah 62 tells us that this salvation will not be hidden. He declares your righteousness will be seen by the nations and even the kings of the earth will have to acknowledge it. Wow. Furthermore, those who trust in the deliverer will be given a new name that's given to us by God, and with it we're given a new character. In the Old Testament, you know, I've said it to you hundreds of times, names are intimately linked to the person's identity, to their character. So when God says that He gives us a new name, He's telling us our very identity is changed by Him. That our character is brand new because of it being the character that He's giving us in our newness with our new life and our new heart. That we are righteous. and glorious. And just listen to what our character is. The new you will be, as verse 3 says in Isaiah 62, a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. This is who you are in Christ. You have to get your identity clearly understood in your own life and heart. You are a crown of splendor. You are a royal diadem in God's hand when you're feeling then discouraged, when you're feeling perhaps overwhelmed. Think about this. Think about these things, the things you've learned and received and heard and seen in me. These things do is what Paul says in Philippians 4, 8 and 9. Dwell on it. Let your mind dwell on these realities of truth. And you know what you are when you do that? You are to be encouraged. It encourages your heart and encourages your life. Let me say it again. This is who God's people are, a crown of splendor, a royal diadem in God's hand. The church in the age of the new covenant will proceed from devastation to glory. from sin to salvation, from darkness to light. And as we study His Word and live for Christ, you know what happens? We'll grow. We'll grow in our vision. We'll grow in our vision of the greatness of the salvation that He has purchased for us. and ransoming us and setting us free, we'll see that it's a salvation that's worth everything and that our God is a God who is worth everything. And that's worth giving all of ourselves, holding nothing back for him. Verse four further shows us the radical change of our lives and in our lives with Christ at the center of our lives. Listen. No longer will they call you deserted, or your name and your land be called desolate. You will be called Hevzibah, my delight is in her, and your land Beulah, married. For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. There are four servant songs in the book of Isaiah. These songs speak of Christ. as the servant, the servant of the Lord. They're found in Isaiah, chapter 42, verses 1 through 4. Chapter 49, verses 1 through 6. Chapter 50, verses 4 through 9. And chapter 53, also just starting right above it, maybe verse 12 or so from chapter 52. And some suggest that a passage I just quoted from pretty liberally tonight, Isaiah 61, 1 through 3, is the fifth servant song. It's a little debatable because he is never called a servant in that one, but it seems to have that same kind of emphasis, even though the word servant isn't used. In the third servant song of Isaiah, Isaiah 50, verses 4 through 9, the servant bears witness that he takes upon himself God's will, that he will be obedient even though he will suffer. And in the fourth and last servant song, in Isaiah 61, verse 10, the servant of the Lord accepts with joy the work of salvation. For he will be clothed in the garments of salvation, and he will bring salvation to the people whom he loves. And his joy, His joy is matched with the joy in Isaiah chapter 62, verses four and five of a transformed Zion, a transformation in which nations will see our righteousness and all kings will see our glory. It is something to be the righteousness of God in Christ. Nations are to see that it's important to stand for his righteousness because we already are his righteousness in Christ. We will be called by a new name out of the mouth of the Lord, which he will bestow upon us. We will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, will be a royal diadem in the hand of our God. No longer will they call us deserted. No longer will our name be desolate, but will be called Hephzibah. My delight is in her and our land will be called Beulah. Married for the Lord will take the light in you and your law land will be married. So we have here a picture of great spiritual prosperity and joy for the Messiah is reigning over his people. But more than that, there is a relationship of marriage. The people of God are in intimate union with the Lord. This is how fast and how completely God will change His relationship to His people. They were in sin and darkness. And then, in what seems to be a heartbeat, the heartbeat that it takes to reach the very next verse, they are like the Savior, robed in the garments of salvation and righteousness, and living in what? Living in intimate union with Jesus. This is the picture. of the church that's given here. This is the picture of all those who are in Christ. And if you're in Christ, then your sin is paid for by Christ. And you are like Christ, robed in the garments of salvation. You are robed Not only in the garments of salvation, you're robed in his righteousness. You're living in intimate union with Jesus. And thus, you know what you are? You're blessed. You're blessed. You're blessed now and you are blessed forever. And that blessing, blessing like that is designed not just for the future. That blessing is meant to be your blessing now because such blessing is designed to impact your life. today. And let's see how this passage helps us take it in and accomplish such change and transformation in our lives today. First of all, the nature of such blessing as we've seen. We are the church. We're the bride of Christ. We are in full union with Jesus. And we are loved and we are accepted by Him. This is the blessing we should yearn for. And if you're in Christ, it's the blessing that you have full union with Jesus. And it's a blessing that can make all things, even the devastation of life, bearable. I know that may sound difficult, like, is that the best that we can do? But, you know, devastations are real. They're devastating. But imagine he's saying he's not playing a game with you, saying you're going to be devastated, but you can be really happy all the time. Happy, happy, happy. No, it's not about that. It's being able to stand through it. It's being able to love him through it, being able to love each other through the devastations of life, knowing. that we can do this because we are in him who faced devastation for us and before before us as well, knowing that he hasn't left us, knowing that we are and will ever be his beloved bride, that he'll protect us, that he'll see us through, that he'll see us through even through death itself and into that great consummation and marriage supper of Revelation 19. Secondly, the source of our blessing, Our blessing, the blessing that we read is on account of Zion, verse one, on account of Zion, on account of Jerusalem. It's given to us by God. The source of the blessing is God. And our true blessing is, as we see, our true blessing is God. It's God himself. All that God does for his namesake and for his glory is on account of Zion. Do you recognize that? Those words, on account of Zion. It's all on account of Zion. There's nothing in God that does anything on account of self-interest. I spent just a little time with this man of God who was a great man of God, and the Lord took him, and he was not that old, Dr. Kennedy, who was the developer of Evangelism Explosion. And I had the privilege of just spending several hours talking with him. And he said something once, and he said lots, and in three or four hours I just listened. That was easy, which would not normally be for me, but it was easy with him because he had so much to say. But one thing he said shook me up. He said, you know, I've never prayed anything for myself. I never go in prayer and pray for anything, and I never have. And I thought, I just thought, I found it almost impossible to fathom. But I think of it in terms of what we're looking at in Isaiah 62. Nothing of God is done for self-interest. His heart is in the hearts of others. He's thinking about them. He's doing it on account of Zion. Zion's his church. What he does, he does for his church, his bride. And to me, this is amazing. And God is You see, all that God is and all that he does is to bring glory to his name. Revealing a glory that winds itself around a single theme, the theme of this glory. You see, we talk about it's all for the glory of God on account of Zion. On account of Zion, you see, God himself, the God of all glory, is our blessing and he's the source of our blessing. He loves us. so much that he sent his beloved son to die for us and he will not let us go. What he's doing is an account of Zion. And third, the duration of the blessing. God's blessing is on his church until, as Isaiah 61 11 says, righteousness and praise spring forth before all the nations. God's blessing upon the church in this world is a blessing that's going to continue until the mission of the church is finished, until the nations have heard of the glory of Christ, until every one of God's elect is sealed and secure in that sealing, until that day, the blessing of being in Christ and of being his bride, it endures, friends, and it can't do anything but endure. And after that day, the blessing of being in His presence, of fully inheriting Him, continues forever. Fourth, the life in the face of our blessing. We are to be that faithful bride of Christ. We're called Beulah, which means married. Speaking of our marriage to the Lamb, We're the bride of Christ. We're to live as those who have given ourselves to the bridegroom of our soul, which we have if we're in Christ. And as such, we live upright and we live obedient lives out of heart of love for Him, persevering, standing steadfastly for Him and teaching all nations everything that He has commanded us. As it says in verse two, until the nations see our righteousness, and kings see our glory. We are glory beings, friends, and this is how we are to live, reflecting our ever increasing glory. We're not hiding, covering it up. We're reflecting it. And it's become us being just like the Lord. Number five, the charge that's connected with our blessing. If we are to be, as Ephesians 5.1 says, imitators of God, then we too must commit ourselves. We must commit ourselves to Christian ministry. We must commit ourselves to serving Him and to serving each other. We, like the Lord before us, will not be careless. We will not rest in doing a bit of this or a bit of that. until we die or until the church has been delivered out of the world. Instead, we will seek to redeem the time because the days really are evil. And we know that our foe, the devil, loves and delights to see Zion plundered and prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to plunder and destroy as much as he possibly can, tearing it to pieces. and with the coming of Christ and the wait that we have until Jesus returns. And the battle we wage faces many setbacks and losses. And it's all too easy to become disheartened in those losses, in those setbacks. And that's all they are. They're setbacks. And we become disheartened. We become discouraged. Whatever the battles may be, we become discouraged at the enormity as we look at the enormity of the task that's in front of us. He's calling us to shine as righteous light in the face of all the nations and is so doing. You see, it brings us. It brings us to what is central. It's to bring his gospel to the ends of the world. And in doing this, we stand firm and we fight evil and we fight lawlessness and poverty of body and soul that leaves people with a real basis for feeling hopeless and feeling mired in despair. If we're overwhelmed by such a reality, think of how it was with Isaiah. Isaiah is a man who spoke and spoke and spoke. Even to kings he spoke, and he had something to say to kings, yet no one really seemed to listen to him. He pleaded, he warned, yet he was largely ignored. Isaiah was ignored. And think about our Lord. He came to His own, and His own received Him? Not. What is God's charge to us as his people? Persist. Do not lose heart. Stand firm. Remind yourselves regularly that the church is beautiful to God and that Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. He did this in spite, in spite though, of all of the church's indifference, in spite of the church's immense at times ingratitude, ingratitude. It's seemingly continual problems and failures. Yet as Christ's bride, through it all, you know what we are? We're beautiful in His sight. Hard to comprehend. We feel so insignificant, so ugly, so tainted, so falling short, so ungracious to Him. But we're beautiful in His sight. And our brothers and sisters around the world in Christ are beautiful in His sight. So let us then, let us then treat each other as such, as beautiful. Let's treat each other. Let's treat each other with love, with respect, with understanding, with knowledge of each other. That's what I was talking about this morning, that we go, we get to know each other better. while we are serving, while we're giving ourselves to and for Christ and His Bride, the Church. Because as Isaiah 62 closes, we are God's holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And we will be called, sought out, a city not forsaken. May God bless us. as that little shtetl in the big city of God that we are. May He bless us, preserve us, use us, and love us as we, in response to His love, love Him and each other. Let's pray. Your Son not only redeemed us, He continues with us. He bears with us. He puts up with us. He helps us. He walks alongside of us. He counsels us. He strengthens us. He feeds us. He builds us up. He encourages us. And He does it all because He loves us. Such love as this is hard to comprehend on any level. I have to look at your Word to see it because I couldn't make it up. I couldn't create it. It's beyond my comprehension. All I can say is in His name, thank you. Amen.