Can you put it in front of the players, like the microphone, so we can record it? Okay, just set it up here. Set it James. Technology's there. That's what the girl was saying. It's kind of ticked because the chap's not in. So we'll just leave that there if we could. Okay, go on. Is that going now? It's going now. Well, good morning everyone. Good to have you at worship with us again this morning. Nice sunny morning. Special welcome to our minister this morning. Graeme McFarlane is a minister in the Northern Ireland congregation. So, a warm welcome to yourself and thank you again for coming. Otherwise, a warm welcome to his wife, Clare, who's with us as well. And we've got Gwen back with us today. So, nice to have you with us as well. It's good to be able to be brought together together after a blessing. Just the announcements again, HEM, Thursday, 10th June, 7.30, so mark that in your diaries. And as you know, we'll be having a short meeting after that regarding the call for a minister. So just again, mark that in your diaries. So that's all I can say. Well, thank you very much indeed for the welcome. It's lovely to be here along with Clare, my wife. Our daughter married a guy from Edinburgh, so we have Scottish connections. And they have since moved from Edinburgh down to Doncaster in Yorkshire. For those who don't know us, Clare and I were involved in the mission work in France for 20 years. Those of you who were members of the church then, thank you for your prayers all those years. And we've been back in Ireland 15 years this summer. And I have been pastor of the Brady congregation, which is up near in the Northwest near Londonderry. And I'm now retired. Although I am the interim moderator there and looking after the congregation and their vacancy. but it's nice to get around different churches and to meet you folk. It's nice to be here in Erdre. I was here many, many years ago when Ray Morton was being installed as your minister. So that's a right while ago now. Let's come to worship God. I invite you to turn in your Psalters and we'll read together Psalm 122. Psalm 122. They said to me, it made me glad. Let's to the Lord's house go. Jerusalem, within your gates, our feet are standing so. Jerusalem as a city is compactly built as one, to which the tribes go up, the tribes that to the Lord belong. There to the Lord's name Thanks they give, as Israel had command, for thrones of David's house are set, there thrones of justice stand. O pray now that Jerusalem may have a settled peace, O may it be that those who love you prosper and increase. I therefore wish that peace may still within your walls remain, And ever may your palaces prosperity retain. For friends and for my brother's sake, I say, may you know peace. I'll seek your good to benefit the Lord our God's own house. This is one of the Psalms that the pilgrims sang as they went to Jerusalem for their festivals. And we sense the anticipation of the pilgrims marching along and singing as they go. And they can't wait until they can get into the city and be a part of the large gathering. And this is the city that God has chosen symbolically to be where he lives on earth and the temple in particular where the animal sacrifices were offered. which of course was a picture of what the Messiah would do, the Savior, when he came. And so it's the place where David reigned, where he set up the courts of justice. So all of this is part of the people's worship and the anticipation in coming together. And when they pray for the peace of Jerusalem, It's not so much the buildings and the streets, it's the people, the people of God. So Jerusalem is the church and we pray for the peace of God's people on earth, the church. And what a privilege it is for us to be a part of that worldwide body of believers. Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord, our God, we thank you that we can join with believers centuries ago, even the believers of the Old Testament, as they heard what you said, as they received your promises, as they believed them and acted upon them. And so we thank you. for those believers of the Old Testament who made that pilgrimage every year, perhaps several times a year to Jerusalem to be part of the worshipping crowd. We thank you, Lord, for their sense of excitement and anticipation. And we pray that that would be true of us today, that we are meeting with the living God, that we are a part of his people, a worldwide family, and we thank you for the church that has already met this Lord's Day in Asia and Australia, where people have been gathering to worship you through the Lord Jesus Christ. We're part of the family that has perhaps yet to waken up in America, and they in turn will go to the house of worship Lord, we rejoice in this privilege of being your children, of knowing your love in our lives. And so it is in the name of Jesus that we gather. We thank you for him, the savior who lived a perfect life without sin, who died on the cross as a sin bearer, a substitute, taking our place, bearing the punishment we deserve, the Saviour who rose again victorious over the grave, who ascended into heaven. And we rejoice, Lord, that he is reigning in glory, that he is returning again at the end of time to judge all people. And so, Father, we thank you for your love and your grace to us through Christ. And we ask that you'd meet with us today and bless us Thank you for giving us the desire to be here, to meet with you, to hear your word, and bless us through it, we pray. Forgive us for our many sins, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the prophet Isaiah. page 683 in the Pew Bible. And in this version of the Bible, there is a very helpful introduction to the various books of the Bible. The paragraph at the top, of course, is not part of the inspired Word of God. It is the product of the editors, but it is very helpful. Always, when we study a text of scripture, we need to study the context, what is happening around. And that is true not only for the grammatical context, but also for the historical context. So let me read this introduction here. Isaiah lived during the decline of Israel in the shadow of Assyria. He spoke the word of God to a people who were deaf and blind, who refused to listen to his warnings of looming disaster. He warned that the sin of the people of Judah would bring God's judgment. Yet he also declared that God is sovereign and would use Cyrus the Persian to return them from exile. The book speaks of a servant, a man of sorrows, who would be wounded for our transgressions, accomplishing God's purposes of salvation. The final chapters give a beautiful description of a new creation in which God will rule as king, judging the wicked and establishing eternal peace. Isaiah prophesied about 740-700 BC. So let us now hear the word of God. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib. Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot, even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds. They are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. Your country lies desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. In your very presence, foreigners devour your land. It is desolate as overthrown by foreigners. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. If the Lord of Hosts had not left us a few survivors, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah. What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations. I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of burying them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, Remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Seek justice, correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Amen. We end our reading at this 20th verse week. Give thanks to God for his inspired word. Well, let us again join in prayer. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you today in worship, praising you for the great God you are. We come confessing our sins, acknowledging, Lord, that we fall short every day We do not love you with our whole hearts as we should. We want our own way rather than yours. Forgive us, Lord, for our many sins. And we come before you, Lord, to give thanks for all your blessings to us, all that we enjoy in life by way of a home to live in, and food to eat, and all the good things that we enjoy, we acknowledge, Lord, that they come from your hand, and we return thanks for them. And we thank you especially for those spiritual blessings that are ours. We thank you, Lord, that you, the living God, have revealed yourself in scripture. You've made known who you are. Otherwise, we could never have figured it out, or discovered who you are. We thank you, Lord, that the word of God teaches that you are one God in three persons, that it is the Father who has planned salvation, who has chosen a people for himself and has given them to the Son, that the Son in turn has come to earth as their Redeemer, as their Savior. that he accomplished his mission, that he was able to say, it is finished. And we thank you, Lord, for the Holy Spirit, who is your agent, who applies that salvation in our lives. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who, as the agent of God, was involved in creation, bringing this world into being. We thank you for how the Holy Spirit moved men of old to speak in your name and to write the infallible Word of God. We thank you that that same Holy Spirit is dwelling within us and enables us to understand the Word of God. When we read it, he is there to teach us that he is our comforter who is acting on behalf of Jesus, that our Savior, who is in heaven, dwells within our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And so we praise you, Lord, for him. And we praise you for how he helps us in our daily walk with you, helps us to resist temptation, helps us to grow in sanctification, in our obedience, in our service, And so father, we pray that he would be at work this morning, speaking through your word, speaking through the preacher and teaching each one of us and leading us forward. And father, we pray for the proclamation of the gospel here in our own islands, that you would bless it. Lord, as people gather this Lord's Day, as the Word of God is read from pulpits, we pray, Lord, for every faithful preacher that you would use his words powerfully to bring conviction of sin to needy sinners, that they would see their need, that they'd be drawn to Christ, that you would enable them, Lord, to lay hold of Christ by faith and trust in him. We pray that the Holy Spirit would be building up believers through the teaching of the Word. And what we pray for our own land, we pray for those who've gone forth in our name. We think of Andrew and Heather Little and Naunt today. We think of the Baruch Hal family in Spain. Undertake for them, Lord, and use them, even this Lord's Day, as the Word of God is proclaimed. Strengthen them and their families, Help them day by day as they talk to their neighbours, as they meet people in different ways. But all of it, Lord, may it be an opening for the gospel, and may your kingdom advance in these places. We thank you for the privilege that is ours of being involved, and we commend these works in our prayers to your blessing. So, Father, continue with us now, we pray, and again, forgive us for all our sins. In Jesus' name, Amen. Now, I would invite you to turn again in Scripture to the book of Isaiah, on chapter 1. If you were talking to a friend and he or she asked you, what is a Christian? Or what is the main message of the Bible? What would you say? How would you answer those questions? Claire and I were out for a walk one Sabbath afternoon and we came across folk who lived two or three miles away, we'd gone in the car a little bit, and we were walking, we met them, and we got into conversation. These were practicing Catholics, and it came around, they knew what I did as a pastor, and so the question came around to spiritual matters. And I asked that question, what is the main message of the Bible? And we talked and they asked me that same question. And so my answer was that the main message of the Bible is all about a promise, a promise. A promise that was given by God in the Old Testament that he would send a savior. A promise that was fulfilled. And a promise that either has to be believed or not believed. And that is what saving faith is. Believing the promise that God gives and taking it to heart. And the promise is centered on a person. It's centered on the Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a list of rules and regulations. Christianity is not about how we can earn our salvation. Christianity is not a philosophy, a way of thinking. The other religions of the world, like Hinduism and Buddhism are philosophies. Islam is a religion whereby you earn your salvation. Christianity is centered on a person. One person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we come to the book of Isaiah, that's the theme. It's all about the promise. about a savior who will come and how that promise was fulfilled and what that savior does for us. So chapters one and two in the book of Isaiah are like a preface to a book. It's an introduction to what follows. And today I would like us to look at chapters one and two This evening, Lord willing, we'll come to chapter 2. So you have to come back for the second half of the story. But, Isaiah lays out, first of all, why the Messiah was necessary. Why it was necessary for him to come. And then secondly, what the Messiah accomplishes. Handel's Messiah begins with the words, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. Those words are drawn from Isaiah chapter 40. And that is the turning point in the book of Isaiah. The first half is all talking about why the Messiah is necessary. It's talking about the sin of the people, the rebellion. And then the second half is what the Messiah will accomplish, what he will do. And so Isaiah 40 is the point of transition. So we need to go back and think about the problem. Why did the Messiah need to come? And it's helpful to remember the historical context as we were reading there in the introduction that Isaiah began to prophesy about the year 740 BC. David reigned about the year 1000. And you know how David's kingdom expanded. God gave him victory over his enemies around about, and he built up the kingdom. And he was followed by Solomon who built the temple, the huge and glorious temple. And there was all the pageantry of the kingdom in the days of Solomon. But after that, there were days of decline, that the people turned away from God. In fact, God had warned the people through Moses way back. If you turn with me, for example, to Deuteronomy chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six. Page 182, verse 10. And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, et cetera, to give you this land, verse 12, take care lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. out of the house of slavery. Take care lest you forget that all that you have has come from God. Well, that's exactly what Israel did. And so there was apostasy, a turning away. The kingdom, as you know, divided. There was Israel to the north, the 10 tribes, and Judah to the south, with Jerusalem as the capital. And so the kings of the North were all wicked men who led the people away from God. And in fact, Assyria came and overran the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the year 722, carried them away, brought others to live in the land. And that was the last we heard of those 10 tribes. So here in Isaiah chapter one, God is speaking to Judah, the southern kingdom, with Jerusalem as the capital. And it's a courtroom scene, and God is the judge. And there are three accusations against the people in this first chapter. The three charges are that there is iniquity in the nation, verses 2 to 9. Iniquity in the nation. There is insincerity in the temple, verses 10 to 20. Insincerity in the temple. And the third charge, there is injustice in the city, 21 to 31. Now, this morning, we will Look at the first two of those charges. And Lord willing, we'll come back and continue this evening. So first of all, there is iniquity in the nation. Verses two to nine. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. Can you imagine a judge in the courtroom speaking against his own children in that way? The word rebellion turns up five times in this chapter. And this is what God is accusing his own people of doing. They have been unfaithful to God's covenant. The covenant, you remember, How God came to Abraham and he said, I will be your God, you will be my people. God brought them into the family and he gave them his love, he gave them his instructions, and they were to love him in return. And the way they would show their love was by following his commands. And God is always faithful to his covenant. But the people weren't, and the people turned away in rebellion. And so, what does God say? Verse three, the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know. My people do not understand. You are worse than a dumb animal, he says. You're not listening to me. You're not taking to heart what I have said. And they have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have deliberately turned their backs on God. They have snubbed him. They refuse to listen to what he says. They have rejected the prophets who came to speak in his name. They are living in rebellion. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity. And verse five, what is the result? Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? It's as if you and I were in a boxing ring with someone who was twice our size and was pumping us, and we had no hope of winning, but we're stubborn, and we keep going back for more, more punishment. That's what Israel was doing, the people of God. Instead of listening to God and turning away from their sin, turning to God for mercy, they kept insisting on their sin and receiving the consequences of it. And indeed, Isaiah will speak to them in his letter here. He will talk about Sennacherib, the leader of the Assyrians. Assyria was the world force at that time, the superpower of the day. It was Assyria who captured the northern tribes and Assyria would come to Judah and capture their towns and their villages and come right up to the gates of Jerusalem before God would send them back again. And so, what is Judah like? Verse 7, your country lies desolate, your cities are burned with fire. Verse 8, the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard. If you think of a garden plot You're growing your vegetables, and there's a little cabin, but the place has been abandoned, and the little cabin is falling apart. That's what Judah is like at this time. So it's all because of iniquity in the nation. The people are blind and deaf, and they refuse to listen. And today, we look at our nation. Is it any different? You listen to politics on television and the clever people in the country who all have their answers. But their answers aren't working. And the reason is they've left God out. It's man's wisdom, human wisdom. And they refuse to listen to the Bible. And they turn away from God's instructions. And so society rejects God, it rejects the Bible, it rejects the values of the Bible and the result is chaos. We only have to look at how the LGBT are pushing their agenda and the utter confusion there is. In scripture, God speaks. about how we are created in the image of God, that every individual has value, whether big or small, whether strong or weak, every individual has value. And yet what is happening in our society, the weakest and the smallest are killed, the baby in the womb, Just recently there was all the talk about male violence against females. Well there is a lot of male violence against females but that's not the real issue is it? We also know of female violence and it's more the violence of the big against the small. And what is smaller? are more vulnerable than the baby in the womb. We hear the politicians talking, where is the call to turn back to God? Where is the call to take the values of scripture seriously? We have abandoned righteousness and we've brought this judgment upon ourselves and no one sees it. And of course we need to think about our own sin, that I am a sinner, that I fail to love God with all my heart as I should. Our desires are out of line with his. We value what we shouldn't. Our words are often strained with anger. We are stabbing at others and our lives are centered on ourselves. So, here is God's first accusation against the people of Judah, that there is iniquity in the nation. And his second accusation is this, there is insincerity in the temple. Verses 10 to 20. You might think that these people have no time for God, but not so. You might think that they have abandoned church, they've abandoned worship. Not at all. Not only are they religious, but they add to what God has required. Verse 13, for example, bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations. I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. They like to have their conferences, and their church gatherings, and they do more than God has asked. But their hands are full of blood. They're not living consistently. They're hypocrites. The gatherings as laid down by God and the law, were not enough for them. They devised their own. Now, what was wrong with their gatherings? In itself, nothing. But God says he has no pleasure in it. Back to verse 11. What to me is this multitude of your sacrifices? I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams. This is a noisy rabble. And they come with their meaningless religious Ceremonies. God says he refuses to listen to their prayers. Verse 15, when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Now we mustn't misunderstand what Isaiah is saying here. He is not saying that God hates Old Testament worship. No, it was God himself who prescribed the Old Testament worship. But what he hates is their worship in particular, by these particular people. And the reason is spelled out in verse 17. Learn to do good. Well, cease to do evil, learn to do good. We'll start at verse 16. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil, of your deeds from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Seek justice, correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. These people were very religious, but they weren't. It wasn't an expression of their devotion to God. It was all self-centered. and their lives showed it. Their hands were full of blood. They were mistreating the poor and the needy. True faith will always express itself in the deeds of faith. That when we truly love God and serve Him, it will be seen in our lives. That we care for the people around us, in particular for the needy. and we'll be willing to put ourselves out to help them. This is not the social gospel. We're not talking about earning our salvation because we do this, this, and this. Our salvation comes through Christ and Him alone. But when we love Him, then we live that out in our lives. We begin with the gospel, and the gospel then leads to have a social impact If you look at history, for example, in the 18th century, there was revival under the preaching of George Whitefield and John Wesley. Thousands were converted. And what did that lead to? It led to a multitude of reforms. There was prison reform. The penal laws were more or less abrupt The slave trade was abolished eventually. The education of children was promoted. Dozens of different ways in which the gospel as it was preached and as lives were transformed, the gospel bore fruit in society. But God says to these people, your religion is just for outward show. It is formal. It is empty. And God is not deceived. and God is not pleased. We have to take heed here. There's always the danger that true religion will degenerate. That we come to faith in Christ, trusting in Christ alone, but then we can begin to act like Pharisees, thinking, well, all that I have is because I'm a good person. We might tend to think that heaven is for good people. You ask the person on the street, if they believe in heaven, who will be there? Well, good people. And it's only a question of, are they good enough to get in? And oh yes, probably they are in their own eyes. We are guilty before a holy God. We cannot do anything to make ourselves right with God. It is only through grace, it is only through Jesus and what he did for us that we can be forgiven. Grace is the opposite of merit. And the whole human philosophy is one of merit, that if I do enough good, well, God will take me to heaven. And the Bible says, not at all. It is all of grace. We can't do anything. It is only through trusting in Christ. So, what hope is there then with this insincerity in their worship? Well, God asks the people to sit down and talk about it. Verse 18, come now. Let us reason together, says the Lord. And he doesn't mean by that that he's going to negotiate, that I lower my standards a little bit if you make a greater effort. God is calling them to acknowledge that what he says is right. You've got to accept that you're guilty, that you're rebellious, and you've got to turn from your sin and turn to Christ. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. He's talking about the color of blood on a murderer's hands. You remember how Lady Macbeth, in Shakespeare's play, her conscience is troubled at the death of Duncan. And at night she is wringing her hands. Will all the perfumes of Arabia not cleanse this hand of mine? How could she find forgiveness? How could she remove her guilt? It's nothing that she could do. And it's the same for us. There's nothing we can do to cleanse ourselves of our sin. But it is only through Jesus. That's why he died on the cross. That's why the Messiah was necessary. That's why he had to come. And so he died in our place. He took the punishment we deserve. And we're forgiven in Christ. We're cleansed. We're accepted. We're brought into God's family. And this is what Jesus has accomplished. Isaiah 53, with his stripes we are healed. And so friends, if you have not already done so, you need to turn to Christ. This Jesus who came, the Messiah who was promised, the Messiah who came in the fullness of time, who accomplished everything that the Father planned for him, You need to turn to him, if you haven't already done so, and put your trust in him. You need to do what God calls the people here. Accept what God says, accept his judgment, that you are guilty, I am guilty, that we are sinners, we need forgiveness, and that we commit our way to Christ, to follow him, to love him, to serve him. So here is the invitation to receive God's mercy. And if you refuse, and if you turn your back on God, you need to be clear, there is no other way of salvation. There's no other way. You can expect no mercy if you remain impenitent. This is what Jesus himself says. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. So here is why the Messiah was necessary. This evening, Lord willing, we'll look at what the Messiah has accomplished. So turn to him. and receive life. Amen.