I want to bring the final message on believing affliction from Isaiah 27. I last preached the third sermon on this series in January and I felt led of the Lord to bring the final part today from Isaiah 27. I'm going to read from verse 2 to the end of the chapter. In that day, sing to her a vineyard of red wine. I, the Lord, keep it. I water it every moment, lest any hurt it. I keep it night and day. Fury is not in me. Who would set briars and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them. I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me. Those who come he shall call to take root in Jacob. Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit. Has he struck Israel as he struck those who struck him? Or has he been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by him? In measure by sending it away you contended with it. He removes it by his rough wind in the day of the east wind. Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin. When he makes all the stones of the altar like chalk stones that are beaten to dust, wooden images and incense altars shall not stand. Yet the fortified city will be desolate, the habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness. The calf will feed and there it will lie down and consume its branches. When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women come and set them on fire, for it is a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have mercy on them, and he who favoured them will show them no favour. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will fresh from the channel of the river to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. So it shall be in that day the great trumpet will be blown, and they will come who are about to perish in the land of Assyria and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in the Holy Mount at Jerusalem. Well, by way of recap, this has been a prolonged little series over about 7-8 months Israel find themselves here in the brink of the fiery furnace. The nation is, as you know, if you were to read Isaiah and Jeremiah, the nation is in a really bad state. Idolatry has taken over the nation and the prophets came to warn them that if they didn't repent They would go into exile. They would go to judgment. They would be chastised by the Lord. They would be captured. And we know that northern Israel was taken into exile by Assyria, and southern Israel-Judah in 605 was taken into... 605 BC, that is, taken into Babylon, and the temple was destroyed subsequently. It was a very hard time and of course you may recall that though the nation as a whole was in a really bad state, there were of course righteous people in the nation and they themselves were not exempt from this affliction. Jeremiah was taken to Egypt. Many of them experienced great hardships. Many would have died in exile and all sorts of questions came for the Lord's people. And we saw, didn't we, a principle that just like for Israel then, we as God's people are not exempt from hard times. We're not exempt from afflictions. We're not exempt from the Lord's chastising hand, disciplining us and giving us over to hard experiences in order to deal with what in our lives perhaps needs changing and what needs becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw that it raises a number of questions, and we looked at these questions by way of points. Does God care about me, we asked, didn't we? Does God care about me? And we saw from verse two, oh, he does. It will be said in that day, a vineyard of red wine. This wasn't clear to you, Israel, at the time. I know you didn't see this at the time, but in that day, when that day comes, you will look back and you will see that you were my delight. You are a vineyard of red wine, a vineyard of delight, that I've been rejoicing over you all the time, and I've been working for your good. Secondly, it raises the question, is he out to destroy me? Is he out to destroy me? And we saw from verse three, no, I, the Lord, speaking of His vineyard, I keep it. I water it every moment, lest any hurt it. I keep it day and night. We saw that even in exile, God is blessing His people. God is sustaining His people. God is keeping His people. That great prayer of number six, priestly prayer, the Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you. And that's no less true in the darkness as it is in the light. God keeps his people, provides for his people. He will not allow the righteous to fall. I water my vineyard every moment. But thirdly, when we're going through the Lord's discipline and affliction, we can ask the question, is God angry with me? I mean, it can feel like that, can't it? It can feel like the Lord's hand goes upon me. I am in the fiery furnace. His face seems to be set against destroying me. And it can feel like that for some of you in various times in your life. You might not be in that particular time right now. But we saw, didn't we, in verse four, the Lord's disposition is not of wrath. Fury is not in me. There is no fury towards his people. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Those who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. And so we saw that whatever cards the Lord deals us in our lives, whatever card we receive, even if it's a bitter pill to swallow, it does not come from a heart of wrath. It does not come from a heart which is seeking our doom. Fury is not in me towards my vineyard, says the Lord. But is he working for good in this? I mean, am I really persuaded that God is accomplishing something good? in me. Well, again there was a translation issue, I covered it in the last sermon, it's not the focus of the message this morning, but in verse 4 God almost puts out a suggestion, well if anyone would come against my vineyard with dryers and thorns, they're coming against me. They're coming against me in battle. So if anyone seeks to harm my vineyard, I would go through them and I would burn them all together. And this is Psalm 23, isn't it? This is Psalm 23 language, that no evil God, we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death but no evil will harm us. No method or no scheme of Satan will succeed against the Lord's people. Any attempt of the evil one to destroy us will be obliterated by the Lord. The Lord won't allow evil to come into your life. Even Job, you may attack him but you may not take his life. God always sets the boundaries and the limits to Satan's endeavours. And that's good as well, because his limits and his work in our lives is according to his wisdom and knowledge of us. We saw that in midweek last week. And so, I can be sure that whatever tomorrow may bring, it will not be what will destroy me. I never have to worry about, will I have faith next week? I will, because God will keep me, and God will sustain me, and any attempt to destroy my faith will be snuffed out by the Lord Jesus Christ. But how are we to respond then, we saw? The other question was, how are we to respond to what goes on in our lives? Well, verse five, let him take hold of my strength. It's an invitation here. He's saying to those in exile, in light of all that's going on in your lives, in light of all the affliction you are about to endure, I invite you to take hold of my strength. Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. that God will provide grace sufficient for the day of trouble. The day of trouble will come, but God will be with you in the day of trouble. Paul the Apostle, Paul said in 2 Timothy, at the end of his life, all have forsook me, but the Lord stood by me. The Lord strengthened him, and the Lord helped him. But anyways, it's the last question we saw last time, particularly looking at verse seven, We look at our lives and we ask ourselves, in what way am I loved more than the unbeliever? I mean, I seem to go through the same things as my unbeliever. In fact, sometimes you look at a believer's life and they seem to have more problems than the unbelievers' lives. I used to think this. When I look back now about my parents, they seem to have more problems with their teenage kids than the unbelievers have with their teenage kids. Why is that? Well, what we can be sure of is that though the dealings, or again, the cards we're dealt, though the experience we have may be the same as what the unbelievers go through, it is not with the same purpose in mind from the Lord. And we saw the translation of chapter seven, has the Lord struck Israel as those who struck you. Has the Lord dealt with you, Israel, as he's going to deal with Assyria, as he's going to deal with Babylon? No. And we saw, didn't we, that though they both suffered, Israel was not destroyed. Though they were reduced, the scriptures say, to a stump, they were not erased. They were not wiped out. Whereas Babylon and Assyria, gone. And you can go to the British History Museum and see the evidence. of them, but they're no more. They are gone. And we saw, therefore, that it's dangerous, isn't it, to try and judge the Lord's affection for his people by their circumstances, yes? You remember that? It's very tempting, isn't it? Job's friends were like this. You're suffering, therefore you must be in sin. Maybe, maybe not. Ecclesiastes says, for I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. You don't know the relationship someone bears to God through their sufferings. And who's the supreme example of that? Jesus Christ. The world will say, God doesn't love you. Where is your father? He hates you. We know he didn't. This is my son in whom I love and with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. The Father loved him greatly and dearly and we should not have, it would have been wrong then to have measured the Father's love for Christ by what Christ was enduring. People could not discern what was going on at that particular point, not even his own people. And it's true in our lives. Things come in our lives and we should be aware of saying God is seeking to destroy me from the events of my life. Dear Lord then, and I'm just doing this by way of introduction because some of you are just turning up and you'll probably turn up cold and I have to take you with me before I can just start with where we're at. We learn then that the Lord afflicts the unrighteous as punishment for their sins. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, not some, all. You're on evangelism and you're on the streets, why do people suffer? Now you might want to find out what's behind that question. If they lost their mum or dad last week, the way you answer that question can be very different. But in a general sense, if they asked you, just as an objection, because the wages of sin is death. And from the flesh we reap corruption. Why do people suffer? Because of sin. And the fact that babies die in infancy, the fact that the world is groaning, is all evidence that God is angry with this universe. God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness. Whereas for the believer, he afflicts the righteous, not to destroy them for their sins, but to save them from their sins. When you became a Christian, you didn't just say, save me from hell, save me from the penalty of sin. You said, save me from sin, body and soul. You said, experimentally, I want to be set free from the power of sin in my life. I have come to see that sin is horrible, and sin did that to Jesus Christ, and I want to be righteous as he is righteous. Change my heart, oh Lord. Purify my heart. Cause me to walk in your ways. Guide me. Show me the way, Lord. And when you enlist in the Lord's army, you invite the Lord's sanctifying work. And sometimes the only way he can get rid of the dross is to put us into the fire of affliction. And some of the Lord's best work in his people occurs in the darkest times. And that's what we saw last time. So what I'm saying then is that the Lord's discipline of his people is different to the Lord's punishment of the unrighteous. Though experienced, they may seem to be the same. There is different cards being dealt to each one. One comes from fury and one comes from love. But I want to consider with you some more ways from these verses that the Lord's discipline is different. to the law's dealings with unbelievers. And the third thing I wish us to consider this morning is that the law's discipline is measured. The law's discipline is measured. Verse eight, and our translation's very unhelpful here. So verse seven, has the Lord struck Israel as he struck those who have struck you, Israel? Well, verse eight, in measure, By sending them, that is Israel, by sending Israel away, you have contended with them. You have removed them. I'm obviously interpreting for you the Hebrew here. You have removed them by your rough wind, by the Lord's rough wind in the day of the east wind. But therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered. See verse 9 is clearly talking about Israel. By this experience of removing them their iniquity will be uncovered. So the it in verse 8, by sending it away. Who's the it? No, the it's them. The it's Israel. He has sent them away. By his rough wind he's sent them away. Where to? Exile. Assyria. And Babylon. in measure, but he's done it in a measured way, that's what the text is saying. In measure, he has sent Israel away. He has contended with them. He has removed them from the land in the day of his east wind. But therefore by this, the iniquity of Jacob will be covered. The ESV is a bit more helpful. It says, measure by measure, by Exo, you have contended with them, Israel. It's translated it as them, which is right. and he removed them, Israel, with his fierce breath in the day of his east winds. Or a very recent translation, the CSB says, did the Lord strike Israel as he struck the one who struck Israel? In measure, you disputed with Israel by banishing and driving her away. He removed her with the severe storm on the day of the east wind. So, that's the exegetical. What we've been told is Israel was cast out, sent away by a fierce and rough east wind. And yet, though it was fierce, though it was rough, it was measured. In measure. you sent them away. And that's important. Because when the Lord chastises his people as he was doing here, it is painful. It is painful. It says here, it was a fierce, a rough wind. This wasn't easy. This was very, very painful. Fierce breath, he actually said. And it's true, the Lord was contending with them. You contended with them, verse eight. Now of course, that contention is contending over the things in their lives. Again, it's not love, you have to keep the context in mind. But he does have things in their lives he's contending with and saying they need to be removed from my people for you to be all that you need to be by my grace. But it is painful. And yes, the Lord's chastisements of us are very, very painful. It had to take the removal and the death of Lot's wife for Lot to learn the danger of taking your family to live in Sodom. I think he learnt the lesson after he buried his wife, or she turned to a pillar of salt, so that wasn't possible even, was it? I think Jonah had to learn a very hard lesson to learn that it's very silly to not do what God says. I don't know how many of you would fancy living in the belly of a great fish, and yet he did. Three days. Peter had to learn very painfully that it is not good to rely in your own strength and to be overconfident in your own strength. He denied his Saviour and Lord three times, and boy did he weep, and boy did he feel pain. And when the Lord said to him, do you love me, Peter? I can't imagine any words that would have pierced him more than those. And so tradition tells us, this is not in scripture, but there is early church tradition which says, every time he ever heard a cock crow, he broke down on the floor and wept. That was like a thorn in his flesh for the rest of his life. Whenever he heard the cock crow, he remembered the pain of denying his saviour. So it is a rough wind. Affliction is rough. Affliction is hard. I don't want to lessen that, but the Lord's discipline is measured. In measure, measure by measure, the Lord sent them away. Even in affliction, the Lord is not being reckless. When you have hard times in your life, there is no recklessness about it. God is not heavy-handed. You know this, parents. When you're disciplining your kids physically, you're not reckless. If you ever are, you repent, don't you? But you're measured. You're measured. This is my child. This is my child, and my physical discipline here at this particular point is going to be measured, controlled. Necessary, yes, to bring about the behaviour I want to see in my child, but no more. I am not going to exasperate my child. I'm not going to discourage my child. If I'm doing this right, my child will one day thank me for it. Measured. And the law of discipline of his people is measured. He takes into account what we can bear with. The Lord knew that if Israel went into exile he knew that there would be a threat to their existence. He knew the dangers of going to Babylon, of going to Assyria. But the Lord clearly knew the amount of time they had to be there for the lesson to be learnt and he knew, and even he was involved in the details of their exile so that the Lord's people would be restored. I mean you think of the details about Esther. you know, when the Persian Empire took over and where she was uniquely placed. The Lord even in exile positioned Daniel and his three friends in the court. I mean, even in exile, there is clearly the Lord paying great attention to his people and caring for his people. That's the point of Esther, isn't it? The name of God doesn't get mentioned once, as I understand it, as I think you might say when you read Esther. The actual name of God doesn't get mentioned. But God is all over the book. God is actively involved in their nation's life and he's preparing the way for their deliverance. Mordecai says to Esther, for such a time as this, you've been placed here. So when hardships are in your life, they're measured. And it will never be more than is needed. The Lord knows you inside out and the Lord knows what corrective measures are needed to bring us to greater fruitfulness. And that's the goal. That's verse six. That we would blossom and bud and that the Lord's people would fill the world. with righteousness. Listen to John Calvin here, sometimes it's helpful to quote an authority, isn't it? Although I am conscious that that was one of the things that stood Jesus apart, that he didn't quote people. So I try not to do it too much. But we read here, Calvin, the Lord pays such a regard to their weakness that he never permits them to be oppressed beyond measure, in measure. All interpreters agree that it denotes moderation, for otherwise we could not bear the hand of the Lord and would be overwhelmed by it. But he keeps it back and is faithful, as Paul says, not to suffer us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. And Jeremiah actually makes this request in Jeremiah chapter 10. In Jeremiah chapter 10, the context is the coming captivity of Israel. And God says, behold I will throw out at this time the inhabitants of the land. There's that language, removing them by his rough wind. I will throw them out. And Jeremiah says, woe is me for my hurt, my wound is severe. This is an infirmity, this is painful and I must bear it. But listen to the request of Jeremiah for his people and for himself. O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. You know what you're doing, Lord. You direct our steps. But O Lord, correct me, yes, correct me, but with justice. And the language there, justice, is this idea of taking into account everything. Correct me with righteousness. Don't destroy me because Christ, the Messiah, is going to take my sin away. That would be unrighteous. That would be unjust to punish me for sins when sins are going to be atoned for. And we can say that sins have been atoned for. Do so with justice, with moderation, with measure. Why? Nor in your anger lest you bring me to nothing. And we can pray that. Lord, when we're suffering, we can pray that. Lord, this is hard. Please, don't give me more than I can cope with. We pray and we ask God to help us and we're told in the Psalms to pray like this. Cast your burdens on the Lord and he shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be shaken. But you, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction. Unrighteous, bloodthirsty, and deceitful men shall not live out their days, but I will trust in you. And we know it was measured, as I said, Isaiah 11 verse 1 speaks of the house of Jesse being reduced to a stump. What that means is when they went into exile, when they came back from exile, was the Davidic monarchy ever re-established before Christ? No. The Davidic line wasn't wiped out, that's why it was reduced to a stump. If there's a stump there, it still exists, but it's not visible. It's not present, it's not powerful, it's a stump. But in Acts chapter 13, We are told that Christ's coming, and this is, you know, again, the problem with many interpretations of Isaiah is the apostles interpreted these things as fulfilled in Jesus Christ, not as some literal physical fulfilment, but a reality that in the coming of Christ, the stump of Jesse, the stumper of David, the wall has found its realisation. God did not consume his people. He has set his king on his holy hill. rule in the midst of your enemies. And Christ is doing that today. He is ruling in the midst of his enemies. He is building his kingdom in the midst of the kingdom of this world. He is looting Satan's possessions. And he is leading captivity captive. We can summarise it with Hebrews 12, couldn't we, verse 11. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present. You are very odd person if you enjoy chastening. It's not fun. It's painful. But painful, nevertheless, afterwards, It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. So firstly, the law of discipline is measured. But logically flowing out of this, and this is a more simple point, but it flows out, because it's measured, the law of discipline is temporary, yes? I mean, that's implied, but I wanted to keep it as a separate distinct thing. It's measured, it takes into account all that we are, but it's temporary. It's temporary. It will certainly have an end. verse 12 and 13, it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will fresh from the channel of the river to the brook of Egypt and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. Jeremiah said, After 70 years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good work towards you and cause you to return to this place, for I know the faults I think towards you, says the Lord, faults of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. And in that context, it's very interesting. Jeremiah 29, that wonderful verse we just read, that was in the context of false prophets prophesying peace where there's no peace. They're saying there won't be an exile, it won't come. It'll be fine. No, it will be hard. The rough wind is coming. Darkness is coming upon the city of Jerusalem. But be assured, says Jeremiah, be assured, says the Lord through Jeremiah, I will cause you to return. It's temporary, 70 years, no less, no more. And you may recall Daniel, when he realised by the number of days that the time for 70 years to come was upon them. And he prayed for the Lord's people to be able to return to the land as God had promised. And you come to Ezra chapter 1, and God stirred the spirit of Cyrus, stirred the spirit of God's people, and they came back to the land. And we know that the rallying cries went out and there were others that came as well from Egypt and other places. And this actually, see again, we attempted to picture this all as end time fulfilment. Danger. There is literal fulfilment here in the original return from Babylon to Israel. But of course, ultimately, we are all pilgrims and exiles in this world and the realistic fulfilment of this is when the Lord brings us safely into his presence. Temperate. 2 Corinthians 4. You know these verses, don't you? For our light and momentary afflictions are preparing a weight of glory for us. For we fix our eyes not on the seen, but on the unseen. Though our outward man is wasting away, our inward man is being renewed day by day. I think I've got the verses jumbled there, but that's the section. It was a collation of that section. Wonderful truths are light and momentary afflictions. How are they light? I've just been saying they're fearsome, they're fiery, they're rough winds. Well, yes, at the point of experience they are, but in comparison to the glory that's coming, they are light, my friends. The weight of glory that will be experienced by us when we see our Saviour face to face will be so heavy, it will be so awesome, it will be so majestic that our afflictions will seem so light. in comparison to the wonder of being with God face-to-face. Oh, hasten the day when we see our Saviour face-to-face. So they're temporary. Notice in Hebrews 12.11, no chastening seems joyful for the present, nevertheless, afterwards. Don't you love the word afterwards? There's an afterwards for every affliction. And even in this life, many of our afflictions do come to an end. And we have other ones, yes, but often they do come to an end, a particular season or a particular trial, a particular difficulty. And we've learnt the lesson, and the Lord says, right, you've learnt that particular lesson. And another one comes because you have to, but the ultimate afterwards, the ultimate end is obviously when we see our Saviour face to face. Romans 8 verse 18 captures this wonderfully. I love the way, don't you love the way Scripture interpret scripture, Romans 8 verse 18, for I consider that the sufferings of this, here's the temporal language again, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Matthew Henry says, God has mercy in store for all and will make it appear that though they are cast out, they are not cast off, they shall be brought back, you shall be gathered one by one. Not so for the unbeliever. The unbeliever goes from one trouble to another trouble to another trouble to another trouble to everlasting trouble. There is no end for those who are in Christ Jesus. In fact, for a believer, the best is yet to come. I love that phrase. The best is yet to come. There is always hope for the Christian. You can never be plunged into darkness where hope goes. Even martyrs that burnt at the stake had hope. But the unbeliever has no hope. Because this life is full of trouble and they go to the grave full of trouble and they wake up and stand before their God and God will render to them what they deserve for deeds done in their flesh. And what they experience on that day when they stand before God will be a trouble beyond any troubles they've known in this life. God will take away and withdraw and pull back every single thing that made this life reasonably enjoyable and pleasurable. There will be no common grace. There'll be no goodness. There'll be no sun to warm your face in the morning. There'll be no food to taste and enjoy on those wonderful taste buds. There'll be nothing to call you. You remember the vision of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus? and he was in hell and we're told that he was burning and he had nothing to call his tongue. There will be nothing in eternity to give you pleasure or enjoyment. It will be everlasting misery. There is no end for the unrighteous. This is the best it's gonna be, but the worst is yet to come. Why would you not be a Christian? That's my text tonight. God, our salvation, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. Christ gives hope. Christ gives a promise of better days yet to come. Now I'm not preaching prosperity gospel because through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of heaven. But I am saying that ultimately, yes, there's prosperity and glory. That's not prosperity preaching, that's preaching what the word says. Glories to come. Temporary. But thirdly and lastly, the Lord's discipline is Godward. The Lord's discipline is Godward. You see that in verses 12 and 13. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will fresh from the channel of the river to the brook of Egypt, and you shall be gathered one by one, O you children. And speaking of the same day, so it shall be in that day the great trumpet will be blown. and they will come who are about to perish in the land of Assyria and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. There's no mercy for the unbelievers, verse 11, but there is great mercy prepared in store for his people. The purpose of all the Lord's dealings with his people is ultimately to bring us to himself. In this life, to give you a greater experimental knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, to make you treasure spiritual blessings more than earthly blessings, but ultimately to bring us to Himself. That's what we sang, isn't it? You see, what I'm saying, you see, if you're not a true Christian or you're just a professor, you have a form of godliness, but you don't have its reality in your heart, what I'm saying to you won't excite you, because you only wanted Christ for a ticket out of hell, And then, just to get on with your life, and a bit of religion perhaps, you wanted temporal blessings. You wanted a good marriage, you wanted ease. And so when I'm saying, the Lord's chastisements are to bring you to the Lord, you're gonna be going, well, that doesn't really make me feel great. But for a true Christian, if a true Christian in this room, where the Spirit has been given to our hearts that we would cry, Abba, What's every child's desire? Is it not to play with their daddy? Is it not to spend time with their father? Speaking for myself, Ruben just wants me all the time. You know, come in to get a drink, can we play Pirates now? No, we can't play Pirates now, I've got to write a sermon for Sunday. I don't like it when you work. You know, he wants to play. He wants to play with his dad. I wanted to play with my dad and my dad wanted to play with his dad. Every Christian just wants to be wrapped in the arms of their Father. And if affliction, if hardship is a thing to drive me to Him, well, I say it fearfully, but bring it on, because I want to know Christ. That's what we sang. I mean, we sing these words, deep in my heart. There is a sigh, a longing, Lord, for Thee, to know the depths that in Thee lie the grace of Calvary. I know in my limited experience that sometimes it's when I'm laid low that I realise more the sin in my heart. Because when I don't have good health, I'm a lot more, I find it easier to vent my frustration and I see more what's in my heart coming out of my heart. And then I begin to appreciate more and more the grace of Calvary. The grace of Jesus Christ. Affliction is a place where we learn how much God has loved us, and it takes us to him. Furthermore, as we've been saying, affliction is a means through which we have our sin dealt with. At the cross, yes, it was paid for. You will never be punished for your sins again, but you will be purged of your sins in this life. And again, sin is what grieves the Holy Spirit, isn't it? And if you're a true Christian, you want to walk with the Holy Spirit. I don't care if this sounds charismatic. I want to be baptised with the Spirit every day. I want a baptism of fire. I want to be filled with His presence. I want the Holy Spirit to illuminate the world of God. I want to walk closely with Him. I want to know His guidance, His leading, His nearness, His promptings. I want to know His help. I want to know His strength. And if affliction is the means through which I see my sin and I'm sanctified and purged of it, which it is, it was for Israel in Babylon, they came out of Babylon free from idols. They weren't going back there again, not to worshipping gold and wood and carvings of men and women. If affliction's the place where I get to know God more and experience him more, then I am thankful. And that was what happened. It was fulfilled partially in the time of Ezra. A great trumpet was sounded, a great call to go back to the land. Many heeded the call, they went back to the land. We know that there were many who were in Egypt. Jeremiah was one of them, and some would have walked back from there. And they literally did get to go back to Jerusalem. They literally did rebuild the temple. But we know the Shekinah glory never came back to that temple until the Lord Jesus Christ walked into it. Then the glory of God came into his own temple. And he purged what was wicked in the temple, you may recall. And he created a new Israel, a spiritual Israel, who are the inheritors of the promise. All the promises are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. And the great trumpet will ultimately come on that great day when Jesus comes again. What a day it's gonna be when we will hear a trumpet sound, and you know he's coming for you. and it doesn't matter if you're in the outermost parts of the earth, Egypt, Assyria, you've got almost two extremes here. God will call his people to himself wherever they are and there'll be a great gathering up in the heavens, in the clouds. All the Lord's people, we will be with the Lord forever. We'll meet our loved ones who love the Lord and who are our friends and we'll maybe see souls saved we didn't expect to see there. Some of you who died before that day comes will come down and you'll maybe meet some of your loved ones in the air who you weren't converted when you went to be with the Lord. It'll be a wonderful, wonderful day. Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God, but enter we will. enter we will that day is coming so yes we get to know the lord more in this life through tribulation yes but ultimately the greatest end, the greatest fulfilment of it all will be when we are with Him forever. There'll be no tears, there'll be no mourning in that day. We will see our Saviour face to face and when we see Him, we will be like Him. You'll see me and I'll be sinless and I'll see you and you'll be sinless, won't that be great? And we'll never be second guessing one another because we'll all be taken up with the Saviour. It'll be a wonderful, wonderful day. So, these are things that should comfort us, friends. The hard times we go through are measured. They're temporary, and they're Godward. Everything the Lord brings into our lives is to bring us to himself. And though I don't rejoice, it's painful, it's not pleasant, as Hebrews 12, 11 says, I can be content with it. I can seek his strength in it. I can wait on the Lord and renew my strength, knowing that God is bringing me to himself through these tribulations and through these afflictions, and he will safely bring me to his heavenly city. Listen to this wonderful quote by Matthew Henry. I've been trying to, George Whitford read through Matthew Henry every day, and I've been trying to read my Bible plan with him, and it's been so helpful and enlightening. He says here, a godly man's way may be melancholy, some of you depressive types. Matthew Henry says, that's true. But his end shall be peace and everlasting light. It's wonderful to think that some of the most depressive characters among us may be some of the most joyful in heaven. That's strange, isn't it? You've changed. I don't say that negatively, I'm just, it's an exciting prospect, isn't it? because we're all melancholic to some extent. A wicked man's way may be pleasant, but his end will be darkness. I do ask you, if you're not a Christian, to think upon your latter end. Don't be so taken up with the temporary pleasures of this life because that's what they are, temporary. At the very best, 80, 100 years, maybe more. But the end, you can't avoid the inevitable. You don't have to go to eternal misery. No, you can this day have a certain hope and a certain future. Because Christ suffered to take all the misery out of death. Christ took the sting of death in himself. What is the sting of death? The law. The law, the law which says, do this and do this and do this and do this. How many of you have seen the new Pilgrim's Progress film? There's a new film that's come out. Wonderful way that pictures that. Pilgrim's up in this mountain, there's Mr Law at the top, and he's trying to go up and all of a sudden different great tombstones pop up saying, do this, do that, do this, and he's like, I can't, I can't, I can't, and he, in the end, you can't, and he throws a massive stone and it knocks him miles away. That's the sting of the law. The law is what will condemn you to hell because you can't do it. But Christ took it on himself. For every law broken, Christ became a curse for us. And you trust in him. Death is just like an elevator which takes you to heaven. Death is just a sleeping and a waking. I think we need to resurrect in our tombstones a sleep in Jesus, safe in him. Well may you all trust in Christ and have everlasting consolation and hope. Consolation in your present sufferings and hope in their ultimate end and a victory. that Christ will accomplish when he sounds the trumpet and makes all things new. Amen.