Isaiah 63:2

0:00 Good evening. So tonight, I'd like to begin our thinking together with this question. Is there anything wrong with our world? God has given us a beautiful, amazing, wonderful world. But I think everyone in this room, when I ask that question, and things came immediately to your mind.

0:33 There's also much in this world that's ugly and wrong, evil. We don't have to look very far to see it. We see it in ourselves. Tonight's passage is about God's final judgment. And it's a hard passage. We have an extremely powerful God. And he is going to make utter destruction of all of that evil that is opposed to them and is a result of our rebellion.

1:13 Not only ours, but spiritual beings' rebellion that we fell into with our first parents. He's going to bring it to an end. And as we read this passage, let's keep in mind, that's what's going on. There's no other way for him to bring heaven on earth but what we're about to read about. So our assigned verse is Isaiah 63.2.

1:44 It's on page 622 of your Pew Bible. And it reads, Why is your apparel red? and your garments like his who treads in the winepress. So to understand this passage, which we also read this morning, we need to answer the question, to whom is this question being asked? And the answer is, it's Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

2:17 We also need to answer the question, why is his apparel red? And to do that, we need to focus out a little bit to Isaiah 63, 2a, down to verse 6, which I'd like to just read that portion. It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? The answer is, I trod them in my anger.

2:52 and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood spattered on my garments and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold. So my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me.

3:29 I trampled down the peoples in my anger. I made them drink in my wrath, or drunk in my wrath. And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth. So the main idea of this passage in the context of the book of Isaiah and the context really of the rest of the Bible is this. The coming of the judgment and wrath of God is real.

4:03 It is certain. And it will be more terrible that anything any human has ever experienced on this earth except for one and his name is Jesus Christ Jesus Christ alone suffered the full wrath of God for everyone who will come to him.

4:45 So come to Jesus. Cling to Jesus. Prayerfully point others to Jesus. He is our only hope, but he is a sure hope. Thank you. So why must God judge the earth? If Jesus did not come to judge evil, there would be no end of evil.

5:22 In fact, it would be more evil than it is right now because God is restraining evil. He's restraining evil out of his mercy. He's restraining evil out of his presence on this earth, in his spirit. And he's restraining evil because he bought, for the price of his son, the ability to be patient, giving people opportunity to repent.

6:00 But for his son, there would be no opportunity to repent. All the evil in this earth, directly through us, through humans, or indirectly through the result of the fall, is the result of rebellion against God, who is the source of all goodness, joy, truth, and life. The bloodstains we read about on our Savior's garments in our passage tonight are pictures of God's justice and God's utter destruction of the enemies of God and of his church.

6:44 And that's the context in which it arises in Isaiah. He's describing the victory over the enemies of God. God is achieving this victory so that there will be heaven on earth. That's what we pray for in the Lord's Prayer. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And that is what the return of Jesus Christ is going to bring about.

7:22 But we can immediately see a great problem for us and for every human being because we do not love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul. When we get up in the morning, we love ourselves. We think often of ourselves. We rarely, if ever, think of God. in short we do not do God's will on earth as it is in heaven that's why this isn't heaven and there can be no heaven while there is rebellion against the creator of the universe so what must we do we've got to come to Christ

8:26 all sin has to be punished there's two options for that there's door number one we can just keep doing what we're doing we can be the people that we are we're not as bad as we could possibly be there is some what's called common grace there's some understanding grace our parents teach us the right thing to do we have some restraint that's part of God's restraint of evil but when we're not wholly obeying him we're not loving him we're not loving our neighbors as ourselves then of course we're not being obedient to him the price of that is eternal separation from God and punishment for all

9:26 the wickedness that our evil brings about it's hell and because he's an eternal God it's eternity in hell that's option number one that is not the option our God wants when he was when the Pharisees rejected Jesus the scriptures say they were rejecting God's purpose for themselves God's purpose for you is not to spend eternity in hell 2 Peter 3 9 plainly says the Lord is not slow as his promise and the promise they're talking about is him coming back he's not slow to his fulfill his promise of coming back he's patient towards you not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance

10:33 1 Timothy 2, 3, and 4 God our Savior desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth if that runs counter to your theology let me just ask what does your Bible say? what God wants you to do is to turn from a belling against him to turn from pretending that you're God and turn to Jesus Christ and put your trust in him.

11:06 That's what he wants. That's what he commands. That's what he's offering you. Let me say it. We've got some young people in the tonight. Maybe some folks who came with someone else. Let me tell you what. if this is strange to you or not of interest to you we have all been in your shoes nobody here was born wanting to follow Jesus Christ if you have questions ask them we're happy to answer if you find the Bible is boring it's difficult to understand there's other things that really capture your mind not hard to follow a cartoon

12:09 not hard to watch one of those for a long time I'm not picking on you that we're that way too we're that way about sports events if you find you just don't have any interest ask God to give you his Holy Spirit to send your Holy Spirit to make you interested, to show why the most exciting thing in the universe is not exciting to you and ask Him to make it exciting. God promises He will answer that prayer if you'll just ask Him.

12:50 Here's why it's especially a concern. Jesus actually says some people it will be worse for than others. He says some people will be judged worse than others. And it's not the people we would think. It's not the meanest, what we think of as the most wicked people. It's the people who had the most opportunity, who heard the most about Jesus and did not come.

13:26 Don't be one of those people. Ask God for your help. Ask your parents for help. Ask your friends that have already come to Christ. Jesus has promised that if you are willing to do what God wants, you can't. We won't do it. your parents don't do it we don't do it nobody in this room perfectly follows what God wants but he said if you're willing and you read my word you will be able to tell if this is true or not so if you have doubts about whether this is true just ask yourself am I willing to do what God wants if the answer is no that's why you don't think it's true we don't believe what we don't want to believe I was that way myself but if you get to the point where you are just willing

14:32 if I could I would want to do what God wants that he promises he will reveal to you if you'll just read his word this is John 7 17 that you'll see it is true maybe you already know it's true I spent a little bit of time like this most of a year. I knew it was true, but I didn't want anything to do with it because I knew what it would cause me to have to do. Well, let me tell you what. There's nothing worth it out there. Jesus is the best thing there is.

15:04 You just don't know it until you get him. Do something if you're in doubt. Don't just say, well, I don't know if it's true or not. Take action. Because it's the most important thing in this world. For those of us who are already Christians, that's most of this room, I'm sure. All we have to do is just keep clinging to Christ.

15:37 As Pastor Greg was just saying, we have nothing to fear about Jesus coming back if we know him. And, you know, if you've never had the fear after reading what that's going to be like, I wonder if you're really reading it. It's fearsome. A verse that's helped me a lot is Hebrews 10, 14. For by a single offering of himself, referring to Jesus on the cross, he has made perfect for all time, or another translation is perfect forever.

16:17 those who are being sanctified. So if you feel, you know, man, this is a struggle. Everywhere I look in myself, I see sin. The Lord, I'm winning sometimes, but it never seems to leave me alone. Guess what? You're being sanctified. In the eyes of your Heavenly Father, you're already perfect for all time. not because you're being sanctified that's the result of what's going on with you it's because of that single offering your future was guaranteed in about 33 a.d you're perfect forever now if you feel kind of mixed feelings about the return of christ Because of the lost people you know.

17:20 Guess what? You're in very good company. Luke 13, 34. This is also, I think, in Mark. Jesus is recorded as saying hours before the people in Jerusalem were going to crucify him. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who were sent to it.

17:56 How often would I have gathered your children together as hens gathers her brood under her wings and you weren't willing. Jesus is mourning over Jerusalem right before they're going to nail him to a cross. the pity you feel is not more than the pity of your Savior who's going to have to apply the vengeance of God his own vengeance for all the evil of those who don't repent so what should you do wonderful mighty saints of Third Avenue Baptist Church you have so many people to pray for and are so effective in here. You are altering the course of eternity every Sunday night.

19:00 I'd like to just close with reading 2 Corinthians 5, some verses. You'll recognize them out of that chapter. Therefore, knowing the fear of God we persuade others for the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this that one has died for all therefore all died and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised therefore we are ambassadors for Christ God making his appeal through us we beg you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God for our sake he the father

20:02 made him Jesus to be sin who knew no sin so that in him in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God let's pray Lord Jesus thank you for paying such a death for receiving such wrath that you cried out that you were forsaken by your father none of us have ever experienced anything like that thank you that we will never have to by clinging to you

21:02 Lord for those whose eyes are closed whose ears cannot hear we ask you to open them we we grab hold of your word we know that is what you want make yourself happy make the heavens rejoice who you have said rejoice every time a sinner repents for those here those in our church that do not know you for those in our families for those who we have prayed for tonight in jesus name and for your glory we ask amen