Isaiah chapter 12, it says, And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee. Though thou was angry with me, thy anger is turned away, and thou comforted me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He's also become my salvation. Therefore, with joy shall you draw water out of the well to salvation. And in that day, ye say, praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doing among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord, for he had done excellent things. This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout. Thou Inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. Let's pray. Oh, blessed Lord and Heavenly Father, and truly great is our Holy God in the midst of His Church. And we come again this morning looking to You, Lord, that You would bless us from Your Holy Word and that You would speak to our hearts this morning. Oh, Lord, we just thank You so much for the grace of salvation, Lord. We thank You for the sending of Your beloved Son. to die upon the cross for sinners. And Lord, we're so thankful that you have come freely, willingly going to that cross, undertaking all the punishment that we deserve so that we can say, God is my salvation. And so Lord, bless us this morning. Give us some honey out of the rock. May thy spirit accompany thy word. For we ask it in your blessed and holy name. Amen. Please be seated. You know, if you look at Isaiah 12, you know, if I was to entitle this message, it would be the day of the Lord, the day of distinction, or if you wish, even the day of salvation. If you were to look in chapter 11, because 12 is kind of a continuation of chapter 11. In chapter 11, the prophecy is made. in chapter eleven in verse one, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots. Verse two, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, and the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of fear. And in verse ten, and in that day there shall be a brood of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign for the people, so to it shall the Gentiles seek, and its breath shall be glorious. What precious words by the prophet Isaiah. And of course it speaks of the rod of the stem of Jesse, the branch, which is no doubt speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ. That Christ came again through the loins, through the lineage of David. And it pinpoints the day, the day of that rod of the stem of Jesse, the day of the branch, the day of the root, which stands, again, as an ensign or a sign for the people of the day of his first coming that speaks, of course, of his birth, his incarnation. And no doubt, it could also have reminiscence to the day of his death, burial, and resurrection. In verse 2 of Isaiah 11, it also establishes that blessed truth in pinpointing the particular time which Isaiah is speaking about, because it says that the Spirit was resting upon Christ. You know, we're told there in Matthew 3.16, "...and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him," excuse me, that's in Isaiah, "...and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding." It's fulfilled in Matthew 3, 16. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went straight up out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, enlightening upon him. And then even the Lord Jesus Christ there in Luke 4, 18 says, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He anointed me to preach the Gospel. So, no doubt, this is a clear fulfillment of the words of Isaiah, especially when he says, in that day. In that day. And that day, when he says, in that day, it speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I believe if we apply it also to us, it could speak of the day of our salvation. the day when God saved our souls, the day of our salvation, the initial day when God saved our soul. Again Isaiah 12 says, and in that day thou shalt say, Lord I will praise thee, though thou was angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comforted me." And of course we know it's talking about that doctrine of propitiation, where again, where the wrath of God was turned away by Christ upon the cross, as the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled everything, everything that the holy law demanded. And as though Isaiah is saying, I mean, what a day, what a day. Not only with Christ came, but what a day when God saved my soul. I was removed from under His wrath and I was placed under His holy love which came upon Him in such a manner. It almost reminds me of the words of Paul when he wrote there in Ephesians 2, when he speaks of the awful aspect of our depravity in our hearts. and about sin that comes in our hearts. But by the time he gets to verse 4 he says, In Romans 5.5 it speaks about the love of God that was shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. so that even John would write in first John 3 1 behold what manner of love the father bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God you see there's something special about that day in that day I ask you this morning do you know anything about that day Can you say I can go back? There is a day of salvation to me and I remember that day. I can assure you Isaiah never got over that day and I know that in my heart I've never gotten over that day when God saved my soul. And so I believe that when God saves a sinner he never gets over the fact that God brought a glorious change in the heart. And this is why again Isaiah says, And in the day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee, though you are angry with me. Thine anger is turned away, and thou hast comforted me. My, my, my. Talk about a day of distinction, a day of deliverance, if you wish. A particular day, something happened, something that is noteworthy. And we all know, we can go back, for example, the day Jennifer Kennedy was assassinated. I remember that day till now. I mean, that was a mere eight years old, nine years old. I remember that day when we were sent home from school. Now, what happened the day before and the day after, I don't remember. Don't want to give away your age, Barbara, but I'm sorry, but I'm sure you remember the day when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I mean, it's just one of those days that stand and tell me that, you know, can you remember what the 9-1-1? When the towers were hit, the Twin Towers, I don't remember what happened the day before that, but I remember that particular day. So there's instances in the lives that we remember days. But how much more I remember the day of my salvation, when God did something for my soul. What a blessed day. In that day. That's why Isaiah says, I will rejoice, I will praise the Lord. Knowing, yes, you were angry with me, God. Your judgment was over me, but you remove all that. Thine anger is turned away, and thou comforted me." What a blessing. Matter of fact, I remember even the day I laid eyes upon my wife. I know she doesn't. But I can tell you, yes, yes, there's something about those particular days. But again, how much more the day when God saved my soul. Now, in considering the aspect of that particular day, turn with me to Ezekiel 16, which I think is somewhat connected to our study here in Isaiah 12 and Ezekiel 16. I know some of you are familiar with this. particular section but I want to make application to it this morning. Ezekiel 16 in verse number one it says again the word of the Lord came unto me saying Ezekiel 16 verse one again the word of the Lord came unto me saying son of man calls Jerusalem to know her abomination and say, thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem, thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite, thy mother Hittite. As for thy nativity, in the day that thou was born, thy navel was not cut, neither was thou washed in water to supple thee. thou was not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitted thee to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee, but thou was cast out into the open field to the loathing of thy persons in the day that thou was born. And when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when thou was in thy blood, live, yea, I said unto thee, when thou was in thy blood, Live, I have caused thee to multiply the bud of the field, that thou increase and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornament. Thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou was naked and bare. Now, when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, Behold, thy time was the time of love, and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, said the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. Then watched I thee with water, yea, I thoroughly watched away thy blood from thee, and anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with the broiler work, and shot thee with badger skins, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. Wow. And of course, in the immediate context, Ezekiel is speaking about Jerusalem. They had backslidden to idolatry again. God reminds them what He has done for them and through them. But in grace, God calls them back unto Himself to bring them to repentance. And this analogy that God uses reminds them that they were nothing. God says, you were nothing. When I found you, you were He even uses the image of a baby that had been cast out by its parents. And God showed that they were unloved, uncared for, unwanted, and basically they were on the threshold of death, waiting to die. But He came to them one day and He took them and blessed them and made Jerusalem distinguished among all the cities of the world. The action of God is set forth in one word, grace. It sets forth the grace of God. On the other hand, there is a glorious typology set forth here. It sets forth the grace of God in the salvation of sinners. And here again we see the glory of God's grace. What a glorious picture of the work of God in the salvation of sinners. If I were to outline these 10 verses, I will look at ten specific things, and I know I'm not going to get through all this this morning and don't know when I'll get back to it again, but nonetheless, in verse 2, the Day of Acknowledgement. He says, Does it cause Jerusalem to know her abomination? The Day of Acceptance in verse 8, When I passed by thee, you became mine. the day of appearance when I looked upon thee. In verse 8, the day of affection. Behold, thy time was the time of love. In verse 8, again in verse 8, the day of agreement. I swore it unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee. Verse 9, the day of anointing. And I anointed thee with oil. And then lastly, the day of apparel. I clothed thee. What a blessing. But first of all, the important aspect of the day of acknowledgement. In verse 2 of Ezekiel 16, it says, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her iniquities, her abomination. That is, cause Jerusalem to acknowledge their sins. And therefore, the first thing for a sinner to get right with God, in order for God to save a sinner, is for that sinner to acknowledge their condition. their sin. In other words, no person shall enter heaven without going through the gate of an acknowledgment of their sins. You know, 1st Kings 8 38, it says that every man, shall every man know the plague in his own heart. That's the whole point. I don't need somebody else to tell me I'm a sinner. No. That every man will know the plague of his own heart. The problem is that everyone just basically thinks that they're good enough to get to heaven, to enter to heaven. But the Bible sets forth a totally different story. Because it shows the awful sinfulness that's in the hearts of men. None are exempt. The Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In Jeremiah 17, verse 9, I read it to you, it says, Jeremiah 17, verse 9, it says, the sin of Judah is written with a pin of iron and with the point of a diamond. And it says, and is graven upon the tablet of their heart. In other words, upon the heart it is written, sin is written with a pin of iron, with the point of a diamond. You can't erase it. You can't remove it. Only God has the power to deal with our sins. And then, of course, in verse 9, a verse we use for our doctrine of total depravity, where it says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And the word desperately wicked basically means incurable. The heart that's full of sin is incurable. You cannot cure it by religion, by good deeds, or anything. And he says, who can know it? There's so many verses that speak of the depravity of man's heart in the Bible, but we'll just look at one. And again it says, there in Mark 7 it says, and when Christ came, he speaks and he says, that which cometh out of man, that which defiled man, he says, for within, Out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within and defile the man. But the sad thing, most people won't acknowledge this. They won't believe this. Because they think they're simply good. And it's all hidden under the pride and self-righteousness. But the thing is, this is where God's Spirit works in our heart, where God's Spirit, He'll strip us of all this. In Job 19, verses 9 and 10, it says, He has stripped me of all my glory. He has taken the crown from my head. See, everybody thinks you have a crown on your head. That you're your own king, your own queen, your own ruler, and nobody's going to tell you anything. But God will take that crown from my head. He has destroyed me on every side. I am gone, and mine hope had He removed like a tree." Yeah, like that tree that is plucked from its root that Matthew 3 speaks about, that awful pride. And this is the place where God brings a sinner, where God strips a sinner of everything and anything he wants to hold on to. So the sinner will have nothing to lean upon. He'll be brought to his place of complete nakedness before God, that all he can do is but lean upon God Himself. Now think of the story of Jonah. An awful judgment was going to be brought to Nineveh. And Jonah preached through the city of Nineveh. Just simple eight words that in eight days the Lord was going to bring judgment. That's all He preached. And this is how the king of Nineveh responded. For the word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. In other words, this king, a true king, the king of Nineveh, he forsook his own throne. And he did it in a such humble repentance. But this is the problem. Most people, they think they're going to sit upon their throne of pride, their throne of self-righteousness, and nobody's going to tell them otherwise. You know, when you really look at the Scriptures, and I say this carefully, that there always seems to be two kinds of sinners, two types of sinners. And there's so many mixed between these two. First you have the self-conceited, arrogant, high-minded sinner that says, how can I lower my intelligence, my intellectual and rational standard to follow a man that was crucified upon the cross? How dare you tell me I'm a sinner, that I need a Savior? I'll get to Heaven my own way. And then on the other side of the coin, and in between there's a lot of mixed sinners, okay? Then on the other extreme, you have what I call the self-condemned sinner. He sees his sins, but he sees himself so condemned, too sinful. They see themselves in the gutter. And he thinks, I mean, you don't know what I've done. You don't know what I've done. God's not going to save me. I've done some real bad things, wicked things. How will God even save somebody like me? God won't save me. The self-righteous sinner, the self-condemned sinner, and in between you got all kinds of other ones. But guess what? The glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ provides salvation for both, for all kinds of sinners. I love those verses there in Romans 5. You know it speaks about the reign of sin. It says where sin abounds, the grace of God does much more super abound. That's our hope. Grace always triumphs over sin. First, again, the high-minded sinner. It says he's too wise to subject himself to God. And the Bible speaks of such people. Turn to Acts 17. It doesn't mention their names specifically, but... I'm sorry, I said Acts. I meant 1 Corinthians. I guess I could go to Marsh Hills while I'm at it. Good preaching during Acts 17 from Mark's hill. But 1 Corinthians 17. 1 Corinthians 17. I mean, 1 Corinthians 1. I'm trying to get out of verse 17. Or chapter 17. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. My goodness gracious. There we go. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17. Maybe the Lord wants me to preach from Acts 17. I don't know. I can't get it out. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17. It says, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. And that foolishness is the Greek word moria, moria, where we get our English word moron. Where they, a high-minded individual says, what the God, that's a moronic philosophy, that's foolishness. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto them which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Had not God made the fullest wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. Because, or for, verse 22, the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, there it is, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. And as I said many times from this verse, it's like the gospel knocks out two birds with one stone. the stone Jesus Christ, the gospel. Yes. You see, when he speaks about the Jews, a stumbling block, it speaks of religion. And the gospel will knock out any religion. And then when he speaks of the Greeks and foolishness, it really dealing with the ethic of philosophy, men just seeking after wisdom. Because the word philosophy in the Greek is lover of wisdom. Okay? Philo means love. Sophia, back there, yes, they made me correct, is wisdom. So philosophy is lover of wisdom. Okay? And so, onto the Greek, foolishness. Foolishness, what powerful word by the Apostle Paul. And as we see again in verses 18, 21, 23, that it is the same word foolishness. Where again we get the word moron. Speaking of those who are wise in their own eyes. Because they believe that the message of the cross is but moronic. In their own philosophical liberance and logical intellectualism. I mean the gospel is but foolishness. It's ridiculous in their eyes. It's absurd. And perhaps even some would say, excuse me for saying this, stupid. But Paul contends it is foolishness to them. But unto us which are saved. We know it's the power of God unto salvation. That's the difference. Because for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolish, but unto us which are saved it's the power of God. I'm so sad that again, as the scripture says, the natural man won't receive the things of God. My, my, my. And those who are lost this morning in the assembly You know, too many, again they believe, I'm not saying anybody here, but too many, they believe their law, they believe the Word of God is foolishness, moronic. Remember what Paul said in Romans 1.22? It says, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Professed to be wise, but Paul says they became fools. their own wisdom they thought was great, but they really are the ones that became fools. And as we said there in 1 Corinthians 1 verses 22 and 23, one requires a sign. The Greeks have the wisdom, but again the power of the gospel The gospel reprove, it tears down, it annihilates the notion, the idea of both the self-righteous religionists and the secular humanistic person. Foolishness. Because the gospel is foolishness to those, to everyone that perishes, the gospel to them is foolishness. But unto us that are saved, it is the power of God. And what it says toward the end of this chapter, chapter 1, it's quoted also part from Jeremiah 9, when Jeremiah 9, 23-24, it says, Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his mind. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, and exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness. in the earth. For these things I delight, saith the Lord." My, my, my. And then of course, again, Paul speaks to those that they think they're so sinful that perhaps they thought, I've sinned my life away. There's no hope for me. I'm in the gutter. God can't save me. But as we said earlier, again, Romans 5.20, that where the law entered, that the often might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Grace always abounds over sin. In other words, the grace of God conquers any and all sin. That's why, even in that hymn, it's called Amazing Grace, because of what it does. My, my, my. And so what hope for any sinner, regardless of their situation, from one extreme to the other, that is that God's grace will overcome and subdue the self-righteous sinner as well as the self-condemned sinner. Amen and amen again. Because the grace of God is always greater than any sin or sinner. But again, the problem lies with the sinner, not with God. Because God offers great forgiveness and salvation. God has made provision for sinners. I love what it says there again in Psalm 86, verse 5, it says, For thou, Lord, art good, ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy unto all that call upon him. Verse 15, But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, My, my, my. And of course, Nehemiah 9, 17. Thou art a God ready. ready to forgive. And what shall we say about John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And in John 5.24, he said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heard God's word, and believeth in him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. We're told in Revelation 1.5 that the Lord Jesus Christ loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Verse John 1 it says, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light and have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves. Verse nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In other words, again, the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will wash the sinner clean of all his sins. That's why it says in Isaiah 118, come now, let us reason together, sayeth the Lord. Though your sins be scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they were red like crimson, they shall be as wool. In other words, God, promises to forgive our sins, and then better yet, He also promises that He will forget our sins. It can't get better than that, that my sins have been forgotten, and my sins have been forgotten. What a blessing that He'll remove our transgressions as far as the east from the west. He will cast our sins, what, into the depths of the sea. What hope for any and all sinners. What forgiveness? What? Love. But the thing is, you must come. Don't be like those that Christ spoke to, those religionist, those Jews, when He said in John 5.40, and ye will not come, that you might have life. Or even to those that God spoke to in Jeremiah, that they chose death rather than life. Why would you choose death? And you say, why am I choosing death? Because you choose your sins over God. That's why. The wages of sin is death. You must look to God. Call upon Him. Be like David. Remember David there in Psalm 51? For I acknowledge my transgressions. I acknowledge my transgression and my sin that's ever before me. He says, Against thee and only thee have I done, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. My, my, my. This is the whole point of what Ezekiel is setting forth there in chapter 16. He speaks of the miserable condition of lost souls. Again, the analogy of a helpless infant. That's how you look before God. In your sins, it's a helpless infant, a helpless condition. Nobody can help you. We're told in Romans that when we were without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. We were without strength. We were helpless. And that's why we need God. My, my, my. And then it says about the child being thrown into the open field naked, exposed to everything. It's so awful. Nobody claimed them. Nobody wanted them. No pity. No compassion. He says, no one cast their eye upon thee. You're out in the field to open loathing of thyself. And thus, we were all lost orphans in this world without God. I mean, what an awful condition we were before God saved us. And if you're outside Christ, that's your condition this morning. Lost, naked, unclean, unwashed. Totally helpless outside God. Left to ourselves, ruined. What an awful picture. What an awful sight. You know, Jeremiah 8.22, remember how Jeremiah would just lament over the fact, I mean, is there no bombing Gilead? Is there no physician there? There's no blood to forgive you, to cleanse you of your sins. But again, those precious words in the Scriptures, but God. But God. This is the whole essence of salvation, that God would intervene. And I thank God for His intervention in my life. Thank God for His effectual grace. He came to us when we couldn't come, yea, when we wouldn't come to Him. Came to us as I, I know He came to me when I was out there lying in that open field of the perishing world. I think about that woman at the well. The Lord came right to him. Remember that gathering man in Acts, I mean in Mark chapter 5? The Lord went to the tombstones to save him. Remember blind Bartimaeus? He purposely passed by there. What shall we say about Lazarus and John 11? What about the Philippian jailer there in Acts 16? And we can go on to many, many examples in the Scriptures where Christ came to them while they were there in their lost estate. But again in Ezekiel 16 it says, and when I pass by thee, and saw you polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast washing thy blood, Live! I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, Live! I have caused thee to multiply in the blood of the field." Verse 8, Now when I passed by thee, I looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was a time of love. And he speaks about how he spread his skirt over thee. cover your nakedness, swear to enter into the covenant, say the Lord, and thou became as mine. And I washed thee with water, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, anointing thee with oil of the type of the Holy Spirit. And so these verses give the glorious picture of the great and infinite compassion of our great God. I mean, you think about the length, the breadth, the depth, the height of the great love of God. He says, I pass by thee and I just spread my skirt over thee and thou became as mine. I mean, this verse is so rich of what God performed, what God accomplishes when he saves a sinner. What a blessing that He would come and save us. And this is what He does for us when He saves us. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. And behold, all things are become new. For he had made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And that is the whole aspect. But again, you must acknowledge your sins. You must see your sins as what they are. And I pray that you will see them as they are, And Lord willing, this morning that you would come to Him, because the Scripture says, that if thou should confess thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God erased him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scriptures say it, whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all rich unto all that call upon him for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved and so we beseech you this morning call upon the name of the Lord that you might be saved because you do not want to die in your sins and don't be like those in Jeremiah chapter 8 when it says why do we sit still You know? Just sit here still, not even considering it. Maybe you're thinking about the football game or what you're going to eat for lunch. Oh, may God prick your heart this morning and deal with your soul that you would call upon Him. Let's pray. Glory to God and Heavenly Father, we thank you again this morning. We ask, oh Lord, that your spirit would condense in. Yes, here at 5426 Hillburn Drive, speak with those that are yet outside Christ. And you'd be pleased to draw one even unto thee this morning, that they would see the sins and call unto thee for salvation, for forgiveness of sins. And yea, according to your promises that you would save in our midst, Heavenly Father. And so Lord, we add to the teaching of thy word this morning, for the namesake we ask. Amen.