Whose Wisdom are we Trusting in?

Great. Well, it's a privilege to be here this evening and I'd just like to extend again a warm welcome to you all.

Let me just pray for us as we begin.

God and Father, we thank you that we can meet freely in this country in public and can read your word and can study it.

And we just ask your blessing on it and pray that you'll speak to each one of us.

We pray all this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

So thank you to Andrew Neller for reading for us.

So we are in Isaiah chapters 28 and 29.

Isaiah 28 · chapter mention

It would be great if you could have it open as we'll be referring to it throughout.

So just as a way of a catch up or an introduction, I'm not sure if you've been following along,

whether you've been in the other series in this, but we're in Isaiah.

So we are about 700 BC. That is the timeline we're at.

The nation of Israel is split into the two kingdoms.

We have the north or Israel.

And in here it is referred to as Ephraim.

Well, it is the capital Samaria that is the focus.

And in the south, we have Judah and we have the capital Jerusalem,

which is called Ariel in this passage.

And Isaiah, you know, he is speaking in this book to the covenant people of God.

He is speaking to the line of Abraham, to God's people.

And, you know, tonight we're going to see a snapshot into what this nation is all about.

You know, it was my cousin's wedding the other week and I was asked to,

she got married 18 months ago, but this was the ceremony.

And I was asked to do a slideshow of our wedding photos for the event.

And, you know, we weren't there, but we got this real insight into what the day was like.

We could see the joy in their faces.

We could see what went on.

And that is what we will have tonight.

We will see this snapshot into the state of the nation.

We see God's people, they are just going through the motions.

They are doing technically what they should be doing.

In many ways, they have their religion.

And yet, God sees the heart.

God sees the motives behind it all.

And there's a lot of things that they're doing that is just plain wrong.

And, you know, it is the state of the leaders of the people that has got them to this point.

And today, we will have a big challenge to the leaders of Christians.

The leaders and the people, well, they were trusting in themselves.

They were trusting in their own wisdom.

They were not relying on God.

And that brings us to the question of what are we trusting in?

Are we trusting in the wisdom of the world?

Are we trusting in our bank accounts?

Are we trusting in our job being secure?

Or are we trusting in other people in relationships?

Or are we trusting in the wisdom of God?

Are we seeking first his kingdom?

So tonight, we have a big passage.

I don't know what you guys are like, but when you read something like this,

and especially Isaiah, for some reason, I just read it and go,

whoa, judgment, judgment.

That's all I can see.

But, you know, we're going to dive in.

And there's many challenges in here, but there's also encouragement.

So we're going to look.

And I want you to keep the lens on the whole time of are we trusting in our own wisdom or in God's.

And we're going to look in four twos.

Hope you're good at math.

Four twos.

So we're going to look at two wreaths.

We're going to look at two promises.

We're going to look at two judgments.

And we're going to look at two worships.

So let's start with the very first verse.

So first of all, two wreaths.

Now, our first wreath is in the very first verse.

Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty.

This first wreath is talking about Samaria, the capital of this northern kingdom.

Now, Samaria, it was physically on a hill.

It was physically at this head of this valley, this fertile valley, and actually resembled a crown.

But, you know, it was also regarded as such to the people.

The equivalent today would be, oh, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh's the place to be.

Love Edinburgh.

Edinburgh's great.

That was what was happening here.

But we see in this that there is drunkenness.

There is pride of this as well.

The people here, they had embraced the world.

They had embraced the things of this world.

We see in here the dangers of excess.

The dangers of excess.

You know, this disobedience here has turned this glorious beauty, as said in verse 1 and verse 4,

into a fading flower.

You know, we have these horrible images of tables covered with vomit.

There is not a spot without filth.

I hope you've never seen something like that before.

And you know, Judah is just as bad.

So we have Judah in verse 7, and these also stagger from wine and real from beer.

Judah is just as bad.

And you know, how have they got here?

Well, there has been terrible leadership.

The leaders of the people.

Verse 7 again.

Priests and prophets stagger from beer.

They're befuddled with wine.

They reel from beer.

They stagger when seeing visions.

They stumble when rendering decisions.

That's the leaders of this people.

No wonder the people are in this state.

You know, this chapter 28 here, this really starts a new section of Isaiah where the leadership is challenged.

It's going to be a real challenge for us as people who are leaders of Christians here today.

It's going to be a real challenge these next few chapters.

And you know, Jesus saw this in the Pharisees.

He saw that they were leading their people in a way that wasn't good.

We have in verse 9, there's quotation marks here.

So this is the people speaking.

The leaders speaking.

They say, who is it he is trying to teach?

We're talking about Isaiah.

We're talking about Isaiah's teachings.

Who is it he is trying to teach?

To whom is he explaining his message?

To children wean from milk?

To those just taken from the breast?

For it is do this, do that.

A rule for this, a rule for that.

A little here, a little there.

They are mocking God's teachings.

And you know, they aren't listening.

Verse 12.

To whom he said, this is the resting place.

Let the weary rest.

And this is the place of repose.

But they would not listen.

You know, leadership encouraged particular responsibility.

Don't get me wrong.

The people have followed along.

They're in the wrong here as well.

But the leaders have led them down this path.

And you know, earthly wisdom, it tells us to follow the crowd.

To do what the popular leaders, the strong and mighty,

to follow them.

To do what they would say.

Go with the flow.

That is the first wreath that we see here.

You know, our second wreath couldn't be more different.

We see in verse 5.

In that day, the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown.

A beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.

What a contrast.

What a difference.

The Lord Almighty.

And what leadership do we see there?

Well, we see in verse 6.

He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment.

A source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

Justice and strength.

And you know, this crown, this wreath, the Lord Jesus, this does not fade.

The Lord does not fade.

The Lord Almighty.

I was reminded of the hymn lyrics,

I will not boast in anything.

No gifts, no power, no wisdom.

But I will boast in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection.

Godly wisdom tells us to follow the Lord.

To trust in him and to do as he would have us to do.

What are we trusting in?

What are we boasting in?

So that is our first two.

We've had our two wreaths.

So in our second two, we've got our two promises.

The first promise is found in verse 15.

You boast.

Once again, they are boasting.

You boast.

We have entered into a covenant with death.

With the realm of the dead, we have made an agreement.

When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us.

For we have made a lie our refuge.

And falsehood our resting place.

Our hiding place.

So the historical context here, this covenant of death.

So what this was, was that the people of the southern kingdom, they had made this arrangement with Egypt,

which was a major power of the day, a battling nation.

But the main threat of the day was from the east.

It was Assyria.

Assyria.

And the agreement that the people of Jerusalem had made, the leaders had made,

was that if Assyria was to attack and to defeat the northern kingdom,

then the southern kingdom would be safe because they'd made this pact, this covenant with Egypt.

And you know, they were boasting in it.

But we see in 18 and 19, that although this was a great idea, according to man,

you know, this was a great idea, it seemed the best thing to do.

Why wouldn't you do this?

And yet we see in 18, your covenant with death will be annulled.

Your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.

When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you'll be beaten down by it.

As often as it comes, it will carry you away.

Morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through.

This earthly covenant was going to fail.

And you know, verse 20, it mocks man-made covenants.

Verse 20, we read,

the bed is too short to stretch out on the blanket,

too narrow to wrap around you.

What's this saying?

Well, it's saying that there's not adequate comfort or protection

in this earthly promise.

It fails to protect.

You know, this was a terrifying message for the people,

the leaders of Jerusalem.

Terrifying.

19b says that at the end of 19,

the understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.

They were trusting in earthly things that were going to fail.

But you know, this is so familiar.

We are also in this precarious position.

If we are trusting in things of this earth,

if we are not trusting in God,

then we have this false security.

We are trusting in things that will fail.

Once again, earthly wisdom, it tells us to trust in human packs,

trust in others, trust in the strong and mighty.

And are we liable to do that,

to put our trust in these things?

And once again, this is contrasted with the promise of Jesus.

So this is our second promise,

the promise of Jesus.

In verse 16,

So this is what the sovereign Lord says,

See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation.

The one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

The cornerstone.

We know that to be Jesus.

We know that.

We can read in 1 Peter 2 verse 6,

1 Peter 2:6

if you want to look that up later on,

about the cornerstone.

The promise of Jesus here.

And what is the promise?

Justice.

Righteousness.

You know, this promise of Jesus is sure.

It's not a promise with Egypt.

It is a promise that is guaranteed.

You know, that means that we can truly rest in Christ

if we have put our trust in him.

Not panic like the leaders of Jerusalem.

You can imagine when the northern kingdom falls,

and the leaders of Jerusalem turn and go,

Egypt, now's the time.

And they're not there.

You can imagine the panic.

But we read a sure foundation.

The one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

What relief,

what joy,

we can have by trusting

in the one who is the cornerstone.

We have that firm security

in him.

You know, God in his wisdom,

he sent Jesus.

God,

Jesus didn't come into this world triumphantly.

He didn't come in

as a king.

He came in weakness

into a manger.

Vulnerable.

Jesus lived a life of humility

and meekness.

And yet through that,

he conquered.

He conquered the grave.

Jesus was risen again from the dead

to show that victory.

Have we put our trust in him?

So we've had our two wreaths.

That's been our two promises.

And now we're going to see two judgments.

Two judgments.

So first of all,

we have a judgment

against God's own people.

So first of all,

the thing to know about judgment

against God's own people

is that it is alien to God.

God doesn't want to have to judge

his own people.

Verse 21,

God doesn't want to have to.

This is an alien thing to God

and yet he has to

because as we saw in verse 12,

they would not listen.

They would not listen.

But you know,

we see God's wisdom

in judgment.

We have this

farming imagery

going on in 23,

so this is still in chapter 28,

but verse 23

down to 29.

And you know,

what we see in here

is that

when it comes to discipline,

God gives us what we need.

but is the gentlest

possible touch.

We see in 24,

when a farmer

plows for planting,

does he plow continually?

Does he keep on

breaking up

and working the soil?

The answer is no.

You know,

the soil is broken up.

It's to give fertility.

It's to allow things to grow.

That is why it happens.

And you know,

sometimes we need

to be made smaller

so that we are

submissive to God

and so that we can be fruitful.

And you know,

during this,

we can take comfort

that God will not push us

beyond where we can go,

beyond what we can take.

If we are facing trials,

it will not be too much for us.

It's not to say

that it's easy,

but God will not push us

beyond what we can take.

In 27 and 28,

it says,

Carraway is not threshed

with a sledge,

nor is the wheel of a cart

rolled over cumin.

Carraway is beaten out

with a rod

and cumin with a stick.

Grain must be ground

to make bread.

So one does not go on

threshing it forever.

However,

the wheels of a threshing cart

may be rolled over it,

but one does not use horses

to grind grain.

Now, I'm no farmer

and I take it

you're not either.

So this might be

foreign to us

and it probably is not

even what happens

nowadays.

But what this is

basically saying

is that it's the gentlest

possible way

of getting out

the various grains

or to getting to the point

that it needs to be

in order to be useful,

in order to be

eaten or used.

And that's the comfort

that we can take,

that God uses

the gentlest touch

possible.

And you know,

another encouragement

is that God

places his people

orderly

and he places them

carefully.

If God is using us,

then we see in 25

when he has leveled

the surface,

does he not

sow carraway

and scatter cumin,

does he not

plant wheat

in its place,

barley in its plot

and spelt

in its field?

Now, have you ever

walked past a farmer's

field and just seen

a mishmash of crops,

loads of wavy lines

because the farmer

has not bothered

where he's put them?

No, we don't.

You know, it's quite

a beautiful thing

to see a field

and you see these

straight lines

of all the different crops

and you can walk

through them

because they're planted

so carefully.

You know,

God taught people

to do that

and that's because

God does the same

thing with us.

He has a plan

for each one of us.

He uses us

in different ways.

It'll be different

for each and every

one of us.

So we've seen

God's judgment here,

this first judgment

and we've seen

that his wisdom

and judgment

is perfect.

That leaves us

with the question,

do we trust

in God's plan

even during

a season of trials,

even when it's difficult?

And our second judgment,

so our second judgment

is judgment

against the nations.

So at the start

of chapter 29,

we see the judgment

against Ariel

or Jerusalem

and we have

that I will besiege,

so this is verse 2,

yeah, I will besiege Ariel.

She will mourn

and lament.

She will be to me

like an altar hearth,

so like a,

like a sacrifice.

I will encamp

against you

on all sides.

I will encircle you

with towers

and set up my siege works

against you.

Brought low,

you will speak

from the ground.

Your speech will mumble

out of the dust.

Your voice will come

ghost-like

from the earth.

Out of the dust

your speech

will whisper.

When all seems lost,

the enemy is at the gate.

They've just about

broken in.

They are surrounded.

Jerusalem is surrounded.

The battle is nearly over

and yet what do we see?

Verse 5,

But your many enemies

will become like fine dust,

the ruthless hordes

like blown chaff.

Suddenly in an instant

the Lord Almighty

will come with thunder

and earthquake

and great noise,

with windstorm

and tempest

and flames

of a devouring fire.

God destroys

the enemies

of his people.

God steps in

and saves

his own.

You know,

this was,

comes down

to the near

and far prophecy

that we often see

in prophecy

in the Old Testament.

What that means

is that there's often,

so this was speaking

to the people of Israel

and you know,

so then there was

a near prophecy

which we would

have in our past

but then there was

also a far prophecy

which is still

to come for us.

And you know,

this here was partly

fulfilled

with the attacks

of Assyria and Babylon.

Assyria attacked,

they surrounded

but then they were defeated

but they were not

absolutely destroyed

as we saw in verse 5,

will become like

fine dust.

And so this part

is still to be

completely fulfilled

in the future.

If you're interested,

you can read about that

in Zechariah 14 and 2

and in Revelation chapter 16.

Revelation 16 · chapter mention

Bit of homework for you

if you fancy it.

And you know,

the dreamers here,

so the dreamers here

are the enemy

of God's people.

We have that these people

are dreaming

and they're,

it's a hungry person

and they're dreaming

of eating

but they wake up

and they are hungry still.

And what this is saying

is that the enemies of God,

they attacked

and yet they were sent back

and it was as if

they hadn't attacked at all.

They achieved nothing.

That is God's judgment

against the nations.

You know,

the world will tell us

that we can do

what we want,

that there's no consequences.

But you know,

God is judge.

God is judge.

Are you ready for that?

God is judge.

So finally,

we've had our,

we've had three twos.

So for those that are good at maths,

this is the last one.

Our fourth two.

We have two worships.

So we've had our two wreaths,

our two promises,

our two judgments,

and now we're going to see

our two worships.

First of all,

the first worship

is empty religion.

We see in 29 verse 1,

add year to year

and let your cycle

of festivals go on.

Add year to year,

let your cycle

of festivals go on.

This is just repetitive religion.

You know,

this is getting to the certain

point of the year

and going,

well,

this is what we do every year

so we will do it again.

You know,

we have that to some degree.

We have Christmas,

we have many services,

we celebrate with family,

same with Easter.

But you know,

the Jewish calendar was full.

You could hardly get by a week

without doing a festival.

They were celebrating things

that had gone on

in Israel's past,

things that God had done

for them.

You know,

these things weren't wrong,

but it was

the thought behind them.

We see that,

you know,

these people were doing

these things,

but this is just before

we see the judgment

that came upon them.

So,

you know,

these repetitive festivals,

they did not stop

God's judgment.

And we see in verse 13

of the complete

and utter

empty worship

of the people.

The Lord says,

these people come near to me

with their mouth

and honor me

with their lips,

but their hearts

are far from me.

Their worship of me

is based on merely

human rules

they have been taught.

These people were doing

the right things.

They were attending

the festivals.

They were

doing the things

they should have done,

but it was just

human tradition.

There was no heart

behind what they were doing.

You know,

this was the epitome

of the Pharisee.

Jesus called out

the Pharisees

in the New Testament

for what they were.

They were just

doing intellectual exercises.

They were doing things

to be seen.

There was nothing

behind what they were doing.

Matthew 15,

if you want to

look at that.

There was no heart

in what the people

were doing.

And you know,

this earthly wisdom

is shown to be

completely useless

before God

in verse 14.

Therefore,

once more,

I will astound

these people

with wonder

upon wonder.

the wisdom

of the wise

will perish.

The intelligence

of the intelligent

will vanish.

Men prefer

their own wisdom.

They prefer

their own way

of doing things.

But before God,

these things

are shown

to be complete

and utter foolishness.

Are we just

making sure

that we're being seen

to be doing

the right things?

Is our Christian life

just a tick-the-box

exercise?

Are we just

talking the right

talk?

But our second

worship,

we see true faith.

Our second

worship is true

faith.

We see

and we can be

so encouraged

that the weak

in earthly terms,

those that are

deaf, blind,

poor, and meek,

they will see

and rejoice.

verse 18,

in that day

the deaf

will hear

the words

of the scroll

and out of

gloom and darkness

the eyes

of the blind

will see.

Once more

the humble

will rejoice

in the Lord,

the needy

will rejoice

in the Holy One

of Israel.

You know,

God uses

those who are

weak in earthly

terms.

the poor

are often

afflicted by

men

and yet

they are

blessed by

God.

We see this

here,

but we see

this throughout

the New Testament

as well.

Those that others

would have

watched straight

by,

God uses

for His

work.

And you know,

true faith,

true worship

of God.

It starts

with a fear

and reverence

of God.

Verse 23,

when they see

among them

their children

the work

of my hands,

they will

keep my name

holy.

They will

acknowledge

the holiness

of the Holy

One of Jacob

and will

stand in awe

of the God

of Israel.

True worship

begins with

the reverence

of God.

Let's have

that appropriate

reverence

for God

which brings

out true

and loving

awe and

worship of

Him

and all

that He

has done

for us.

True faith

rather than

empty religion.

So we've

seen this

snapshot of

the nation.

We've seen

where their

heart is.

We've seen

behind it all.

The people

here,

they had

embraced the

world and

all it had

to offer.

They had

taken things

to the

excess.

They had

made promises

and they had

trusted in

these promises,

these earthly

things that

were going

to fail.

This brought

panic,

this brought

distress

when judgment

came.

This judgment

was necessary

because they

just wouldn't

listen.

And you

know this

was all

brought about

through empty

worship.

worship.

They were

technically

doing the

right things

but there

was no

heart behind

what they

were doing.

You know

we've seen

God's wisdom

in these

things.

Isaiah here,

he's writing

because he

wants to

build the

faith of

the people

and he

does that

by showing

them that

they need

to run

to God.

They need

to trust

in God,

not in

themselves

or not

in others.

we can

take

comfort

that if

we are

in a

season of

trials then

God will

not go

beyond what

we can

take.

And God

is looking

for true

faith,

not this

empty

religion,

but true

faith.

That's what

he wants

in his

worshipers.

I'm going

to leave

us by

reading a

New Testament

passage.

It's

actually so

it quotes

verse 14

of chapter

29 in it.

So it's

1 Corinthians

1 if you

want to

look it up.

1 Corinthians

1.

I'm going

to read

verses 18

to 31.

You know

Archie

actually

had a bit

of an

embassy

leaders get

together the

other week

and he

read this

passage to

us as an

encouragement

and as a

challenge.

And I

trust that

it will be

the same

for you

tonight.

So 1

Corinthians

1 in

verse 18.

For the

message of

the cross

is foolishness

to those

who are

perishing

but to

us who

are being

saved it

is the

power of

God.

For it

is written

I will

destroy the

wisdom of

the wise

the intelligence

of the

intelligent I

will frustrate.

Where is the

wise person?

Where is the

teacher of

the law?

Where is the

philosopher of

this age?

Has not God

made foolish

the wisdom

of the world?

For since

in the wisdom

of God the

world through

its wisdom

did not know

him.

God was

pleased to

the foolishness

of what was

preached to

save those

who believe.

Jews demand

signs,

Greeks look

for wisdom

but we

preach Christ

crucified,

a stumbling

block to

Jews and

foolishness to

Gentiles.

But to

those whom

God has

called both

Jews and

Greeks,

Christ the

power of

God and

the wisdom

of God.

For the

foolishness of

God is

wiser than

human wisdom

and the

weakness of

God is

stronger than

human strength.

Brothers and

sisters,

think of what

you were when

you were called.

Not many of

you were wise

by human

standards.

Not many

were influential.

Not many

were of

noble birth.

But God

chose the

foolish things

of the world

to shame

the wise.

God chose

the weak

things of

the world

to shame

the strong.

God chose

the lowly

things of

the world

and the

despised

things and

the things

that are

not to

nullify the

things that

are so

that no

one may

boast before

him.

It is

because of

him that

you are in

Christ Jesus

who has

become for

us wisdom

from God.

That is

our righteousness,

holiness and

redemption.

Therefore as

it is written,

let the one

who boasts

boast in

the Lord.

I just

ask that

God will

bless the

reading of

his word.