We welcome you again today around the Word of God as we come to consider it in the prophecy of Isaiah and the chapter 51 I was reading. from this chapter in my own devotions this morning and as I was seeking the Lord with regard to a message for the Lord's Day evening service, as you now are watching, it was led to this particular passage. And we want to read from the opening verse of Isaiah chapter 51. And here the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, says, Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord, look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you, for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the Lord shall comfort Sion. He will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Hearken unto me, my people, and give ear unto me, O my nation, for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near, my salvation has gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people. The eyes shall wait upon me, and on mine arms shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath, for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be forever. my righteousness shall not be abolished. And we'll end our reading there just at that sixth verse of Isaiah chapter 51. It is particularly the first three verses that we're focusing in upon in this chapter now and so let us take a moment to seek the Lord in prayer and ask once again the Lord will bless the going forth of his word. Heavenly Father we Thank thee today for all of thy blessings to us. We realise that we can count our blessings and we can name them one by one. And it does surprise us what thou hast done. We thank thee for every temporal blessing. We thank thee for every spiritual blessing that flows to us from thy salvation. We thank thee today we have thy word in our own language. We thank thee that we can Although we're not able just at this time to be in the house of God, we can still hear thy word. And we thank thee even for news of the time coming so much closer when we will be able to gather again in the house of God. But Lord, we pray the devil minister to our hearts this day. As your word goes forth over the internet from so many different places, We pray that that will cause thy work to have free course and be glorified. We remember again today those left aside, whether in hospital or at home. that they will know a touch from thee. Remember those even, Lord, with whatever spiritual need in the soul, whether it's a need for salvation, for restoration, for growth and grace, come and minister to hearts today through thy word. Continue with us now, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Hearken to me. These are the words that are found at the opening part of this 51st chapter of Isaiah. God is speaking. He is speaking through the prophet Isaiah, and he's saying to the people, hearken to me. You see, God would have us to listen and to heed when he speaks. This call to hearken to God is repeated in verse four, hearken unto me. and in verse seven again, hearken unto me. As you take the time to read through the four gospels and read something of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find many times as he taught and as he preached, he gave a similar exhortation to hear. There was an occasion when he said, take heed what ye hear. You see, there are things we do not need to hear in life, He also said, take heed how you hear. Everything the Lord would say to us needs to be heard and needs to be heeded. Needs to be heard in a diligent manner with that desire to obey. There are very solemn words in Hebrews 4 verse 2 where it says, for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them. not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. If there is no faith locked in the heart in response to the hearing of the gospel, well then there is no profit for the soul, there is no salvation, there is no forgiveness, there is no fellowship with God, and that will lead to eternal separation from God in hell. Remember the rich man that we read about in Luke 16, who died and ended up in hell because he had never trusted Christ as saviour. He desired that Lazarus might be sent back from the dead to testify to his five brothers, lest they would end up in that same place of torment. And he was told they have Moses and the prophets. That's the Old Testament. Let them hear them. In other words, let them hear what God says through his word. The rich man insisted that if someone was sent back from the dead, they would repent. And Abraham told him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, that is, if they don't hear God's word, the way God speaks to us, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. How important then, how vital it is to hear and to heed the word of God. First of all, as all converted sinners, to heed the call of the gospel, to turn from our sin, to trust in Christ and what he has done for salvation, by his life, his death, his resurrection, and then as believers to continue to heed the word. James, in his letter, instructs us to be swift to hear, not to be hearers only, but to be also doers. And he points out to us that those who hear and forget are like someone looking in a mirror and going away and forgetting what manner of person they were. There is a blessing for those who hear and obey. When the Lord Jesus was upon the mount where he was transfigured before Peter, James and John, we read of how the voice of God the Father was heard from heaven saying, this is my beloved son. In whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. And that is the message God still has for us today, that we would hear, hear what he has to say through his word. When we come here today to Isaiah 51 and these opening few verses and consider what it is that God wants us to hearken to, what is the message he wanted people in Isaiah's day to hearken to? What is the message he wants us to hearken to? I want us to consider these opening verses, these opening three verses of Isaiah 51 and note first of all the people addressed because here in Isaiah 51 verse 1 we read, hearken to me Ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord. Now it is the case, of course, that all mankind ought to hear and heed the word of God. But here, in a very specific way, God addresses those that follow after righteousness, those that seek the Lord. Now, of course, as sinners, we are called to seek the Lord for salvation. A few chapters later in Isaiah, chapter 55, the verses 6 and 7, we read, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him. while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." We ought to seek the Lord as sinner, seek him in repentance of our sins, seek him in faith and calling him for salvation. Now, of course, by nature, left to ourselves, we would never do that. Romans 3 verse 11 reveals, there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Left to ourselves, we do not seek after God for his salvation. And yet when God in mercy works upon our hearts to save our souls, he brings us to that point where we seek him for salvation. And once we've experienced salvation by trusting in Christ alone, in his sinless life, in his sacrificial death, and the fact that he arose again from the dead, he has finished the work, he has done what is needed for our salvation, he has lived a perfect life to provide for us a perfect standing before God, he has died the death of the cross to take the punishment for our sins, he has arose again from the dead, he is at the right hand of God, whoever lives to intercede for us, And when we turn from sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation, well then we are to continue to seek after the Lord, to seek to know him in a closer way, to seek after him as we read his word, to seek after him even in prayer, that we might grow in grace and become more like him. We also, to use the words of Isaiah 51, are to follow after righteousness. We are to follow after righteousness. We are to pursue righteousness. Firstly, desiring our justification to be pardoned and justified before God, and then following after righteousness in the sense of desiring sanctification, to live more and more unto Christ in righteousness, and die more and more unto sin. And of course, that will end in our glorification. The Lord Jesus in Matthew 5, in verse 6, beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, he said, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled, for they shall be satisfied. It is a blessing when God gives us that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Proverbs 15 verse 9 states that the Lord loveth him that followeth after righteousness, in contrast to the way of the wicked being an abomination unto the Lord. You know, Psalm 119 refers to those who follow after mischief. That's what we all do by nature. But when God works in our hearts, he brings us to follow after righteousness. The challenge, therefore, comes to your heart today, as you consider the people addressed, Are you one of those that can be described in the same way as those whom the Lord addressed here in Isaiah 51? Have you sought the Lord for salvation? Are you following after righteousness? Are you still unsaved and out of Christ? If so, seek the Lord today while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. But not only do we see here in Isaiah 51 in this message where God says, hearken to me, the people addressed, we see in the second place the action required. Again, to read this opening verse, it says, hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord. And here we have the action required. Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are dug. Verse two, look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you. For I called him alone and blessed him, and increased him. There is an action required of those addressed by the Lord here. They are to look back and consider where they came from, to whom they were related. The rock, whence they were hewn, the hole of the pit, whence they were dug, Abraham their father, and Sarah that bare them. You see, there was a day when God called Abraham alone. And God called him to leave his country, to go to a place that God would show him. And God blessed him through time. God increased him. The people of Israel to whom Isaiah was ministering were being encouraged to consider that God had called Abraham to himself all those years before, as we read in Genesis 12, and promised to make of him a great nation. promised to bless him and promised to bless all the families of the earth in him. Many years passed before the promise began to be fulfilled in the birth of Isaac and of course from that line would come a great nation from which would come the Saviour. Matthew 1 opens with the words the book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham. The people God was addressing through Isaiah were part of this nation. Now, the New Testament teaches us that all who believe in Jesus Christ for salvation are the spiritual seed of Abraham, because he believed in God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. In Romans chapter four, Romans chapter four, the verse 17, Paul, was writing with regard to the faith of Abraham. And this is what he wrote in Romans 4 and 17. As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were. And then it says of Abraham who against hope believed in hope. that he might become the father of many nations. According to that which was spoken, so shall I see thee. And as we look to Abraham, he's the one whom God gave great faith. Verse 19, in being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead. When he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Abraham was justified by faith. And Paul tells us now, it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. As you move on in the New Testament to Galatians chapter three, and the verse six, Galatians chapter three, and the verse six again, we read of Abraham. Paul is writing again. Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. If you have your faith in Christ alone for salvation, spiritually you are one of the children of Abraham. Verse 8 of Galatians 3 in the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, indeed, shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Verse 13 says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. I wonder then, can you look back to the fact that once you were unsafe, but now you're safe. Once you were faithless, but now you're Saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, are you still unseen? Can you look back to what we read about Abraham and say, yes, just as Abraham believed in God, it was accounted to him for righteousness. There's a time when I heard the call of God and I have trusted in Christ and I am justified before God and pardoned and being sanctified. Someday I'm going to be glorified. Oh, if you have not this assurance of this experience, common trust in the Lord this very day. You know, in Isaiah 51, where we're considering these verses, we are told in Isaiah 51, verse six, at the end of that verse, God says, but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. This is the salvation and the righteousness you need. In verse 8, at the end of that verse, the Lord says, but my righteousness shall be forever and my salvation from generation to generation. And so here in Isaiah 51, we've considered the people addressed. We've considered the action required, looking onto Abraham, considering what God did through him and his faith and how we can have our faith in the Savior. and receive the seal, righteousness. I want you then, as we finish, to consider the blessing to be experienced. Because in the verse 3 it says, Isaiah 51 verse 3, for the Lord shall comfort Zion. The second section of the prophecy of Isaiah, which begins in chapter 40, begins with the words, comfort ye Comfort ye my people, saith your God. You see, there is comfort in the gospel for sinners who will turn from sin and trust in Christ for salvation. There is consolation in Christ. There is comfort in his love. We read here in Isaiah 51, verse three, he will comfort all her waste places and he will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. When we think of the waste places, the wilderness, the desert, we think of what we are by nature. As unsaved sinners, there is no fruit in our lives pleasing to God. There is no spiritual fruit, because we're spiritually dead. And yet, when God in mercy brings us to seek him and to call on him for salvation, and when we're born again of the Holy Spirit, well, there's life. There's spiritual life. And there's spiritual fruit. And we can read about that in many places. There's a spiritual fruitfulness. And that, in turn, brings joy and gladness, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. When Paul was writing to the church at Philippi, he was writing from prison, but he had much to say about these things that are mentioned in Isaiah 51 and three, the fruitfulness, the joy, the gladness, the thanksgiving. In Philippians 1 verse three, as he wrote to these believers, he wrote, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. In verse 11, he's praying that they would be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. And in chapter 3, he exhorts them to rejoice in the Lord, just as he is rejoicing. And when we get to chapter 4 in verse 17, As he thanks them for what they have sent to him, he says, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. When he was writing to the believers in Ephesus, when we think of the melody that is mentioned in Ephesians 5 and the verse 19, he said, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart. to the Lord. And so when we come back here to Isaiah 51, in that verse 3, we're thinking of the comfort of the gospel, the comfort that salvation brings. We're thinking of the joy and gladness, the spiritual fruitfulness that is brought, the thanksgiving in our hearts, the voice of melody. And it's only when you experience the comfort of the gospel in life, turned from sin and trust in Christ, that there's that joy, there's that gladness, there's that fruitfulness. It's only then that you can hope to experience the fullness of joy and comfort of being with Christ in glory. You must hear and heed the Word of God today to have the assurance of someday being in heaven. Because the Bible warns of hell, which is the opposite. It's a place of torment rather than a place of comfort. It's a place of sorrow and misery. rather than of joy? O, can you say you have heeded the call of the gospel, that you are one who has sought the Lord and are still seeking after him, are still following after righteousness? Have you considered the great truths of God's word? Have you experienced the comfort of the gospel, a trust of you have on it today? You will come and put your trust in Christ for salvation. for those of us who are saved, that we will continue to enjoy the comfort of the gospel, despite the trials of life, despite the many difficulties that will come, to make that inner joy and gladness that will continually draw us closer to the Lord. Thank you for listening today, and may God bless His word to your heart.