Oct. 29, 2024

Isaiah 40: Comfort Pt 2

Isaiah 40: Comfort Pt 2

We do some work on Isaiah 40 as part of our series on Isaiah 40-55

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We do some work on Isaiah 40 as part of our series on Isaiah 40-55

WEBVTT

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central the question of

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the day, When is comfort not comfort? When is comfort

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not comfort? Well, the answer is simple. Comfort is not

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comfort when you listen to sermons on Isaiah chapter forty.

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There's no comfort to be found in these sermons. There's

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only aggravation, frustration, and while a desire to just give

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up on life. Okay, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole,

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but let me tell you, comfort is not comfort when

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you listen to sermons on Isaiah chapter forty. Because we

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have I don't know, it's been one example after another

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of I just I don't know what the deal is.

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It's like everyone, we're going to preach on Isaiah chapter forty,

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and then it's just a total disaster. In many cases,

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they don't even like Isaiah forty is our text, and

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then they don't really do anything with Isaiah chapter forty.

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It's very weird. I don't know. I think I know why.

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We'll talk a little bit about why in just a second,

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but we're going to be going back to it. Well,

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a sermon on Isaiah chapter forty. I know it's not

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going to be comfortable. It's not going to bring any comfort.

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It's going to probably be just more frustration. But I

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feel like we have to continue. We can't leave it

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where it left yesterday. I mean, yesterday was such seventy

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minutes of just complete and total frustration. It was very irritating.

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So I feel like I've got to do something. So

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that's what we will do. Right after I say this,

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Welcome everyone. It is Tuesday, October twenty ninth, twenty twenty four.

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It is currently ten thirty eight am Central time, and

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I'm coming to you live from the Theology Central Studio

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located right here in Abilene, Texas. Thank you so very

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much for tuning in. I don't know, I'm thankful. You

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won't be thankful. By the time this is over. You'll

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probably be very frustrated, going why did I waste my time?

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And I can completely understand because I feel like I

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wasted everyone's time yesterday, including my own. I mean, by

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the time I got done yesterday, I was just like,

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I just don't get it. I just don't get it.

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It's like, what do I have to do? I look

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up sermons on Isaiah forty do I have to just

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you know, review them before I can actually review them,

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because I'm not having a lot of luck. So, as

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all of you should know by now, we're in a

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series where we're going to study Isaiah chapter forty all

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the way to Isaiah chapter fifty five. We're going to

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work through this almost in a verse by verse way.

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We're gonna take these chapters apart, these sections apart. We're

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going to look at it and look at it, look

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at it. And why are we going to do this?

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Why are we going to spend all of this time

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to work through Isaiah chapter forty through Isaiah chapter fifty five. Well,

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I would like to say it's because of some grand

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spiritual reason, and it sounds so positive and it sounds

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so uplifting, But my reason much is probably very much

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more negative and more cynical, and maybe just out of

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my pure frustration. But I just don't understand why. Over

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and over and over we see pastors taking sections or

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a verse and Isaiah somewhere between Isaiah chapter forty, verse

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one and Isaiah the end of Isaiah fifty five and

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just basically spiritualize it, allegorize it, and just make it

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say whatever they wanted to say and ignore the original context.

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So I think someone needs to provide an in depth

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study of Isaiah chapter forty to Isaiah fifty five where

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we actually care about the actual context and the actual

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meaning of words and the actual setting in which they occur.

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I think that that's I think that that's absolutely it'sari.

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Now again, I could say, well, you know, we just

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want to study God's word, and I there is a

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part of that that's true, but there's another part that

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I'm just I just I just don't get it. And

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we have seen this, Oh, we've seen what they what

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we started with sermons and Isaiah forty three was just

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turned into I don't know what that was going on there.

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Then we even saw how John Bunyan in Pilgrim's Progress,

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how he handled Isaiah forty three once again just spiritualizing

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allegorizing it. And then we turned to Isaiah forty and

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we've seen the same thing. The Isaiah chapter forty, the

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beginning of the section where we read these beautiful words,

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comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God? What

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what powerful words? What what amazing words? And immediately it

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just turns into whatever, So yesterday, what happened, well, not

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just yesterday, but well, yesterday as far as the broadcast concerned.

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But even before the broadcast, there's been at least one day,

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maybe even two days, where I kept looking up sermon

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after sermon on Isaiah chapter forty and over and over

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and over and over again. What I discovered is, wait

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a minute, all of these sermons on Isaiah forty seem

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to be a part of a teaching series on the

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Heidelberg Catechism, because the Heidelberg Catechism begins on Lord's Day

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one with basically what is your comfort? What is your

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only comfort? And obviously the text that's being utilized is

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Isaiah chapter forty verse one. But you already see a problem.

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You have a catechism written in fifteen sixty three that

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asked the people at that time and the people after

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that time, fifteen sixty three all the way up to

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you know, twenty twenty four, asking people what is your

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only comfort? And somehow Isaiah forty verse one is being

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utilized somehow or connect to this. Well, there's a problem

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because an Isaiah chapter forty verse one, comfort ye, comfort

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ye my people, saith your God. That is spoken to

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a specific group of people and a very specific historical

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setting these are words of comfort that are to be

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given to the people who are in exile and Babylon.

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This is for if you want to speak of it

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as a divided kingdom, for Judah, if you just want

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to speak it of it in a general sense. This

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is for Israel. This is for Israel. Now, are there

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any applications or any any correlation or connection to us.

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We could possibly find that. But you just can't run

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to Isaiah chapter forty, verse one and say, oh, it

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uses the word comfort, So now let me just use

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comfort anyway that I want. No, the comfort here is

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for a specific group of people and a specific setting.

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We can't just run in, shove them out of the

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way and say I'm sorry, I'm gonna take this comfort

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for me. Now, if you want to talk about comfort,

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you probably could see does the does the Bible speak

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of comfort anywhere else? Does it? I mean, I almost

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want to give you that as an assignment. Maybe we'll

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get to that at some point. So that's what we found, sir.

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You look up by sermons on Isaiah chapter forty, you

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almost find sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, which is a

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just Again, it's maddening because even The sermon that we

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were reviewing yesterday was entitled our Comfort for a Living?

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Are yours me? Our comfort? No, it's not about if

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you're using Isaiah chapter forty, it's about their comfort. It's

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about them being comforted, not about us. But somehow Isaiah

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forty becomes about our comfort in your comfort. And what

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was so maddening is yesterday's sermon that we were reviewing.

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They started the sermon looking, all, you know, very biblical.

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They read Isaiah chapter forty, verses one through seventeen, all right,

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or may no, I think they actually read Isaiah chapter forty,

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verses one through twenty four. I think they read a

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large section of Isaiah forty. And you're like, okay, this

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is going to be about the Bible. And then immediately

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it's like, Isaiah chapter forty, we're going to read all

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of these verses. Now let's talk about the Heidelberg Catechism.

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And you're like, what about what about Isaiah forty? So

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then the review was just Now. The history they gave

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was great. The introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism was great,

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lots of good information, a lot of things I would

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be in agreement with, but it had nothing to do

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with Isaiah chapter forty. But what even is more subversive

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is you read the text and then immediately talked about

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us basically and how the Heidelberg Catechism is for us.

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But what about Isaiah forty What about the the Heidelberg

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Catechism is not going to provide any comfort for the

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people in Babylonian exile. How do they get caught up

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with the Heidelberg Catechism? That's the crazy thing. But so

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then we asked this question, does the catechism? Does the

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Heidelberg Catechism apply Isaiah forty verse one to Christians and

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rip it out of its original context? That's the question

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I have. While I was listening to all of that,

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I'm like, Okay, somehow the Heidelberg Catechism is connected to

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Isaiah forty. What is happening here? And so I started

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looking up some things and we read these words. The

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Heidelberg Catechism does apply Isaiah forty verse one to Christians,

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particularly as a message of comfort regarding forgiveness of sins

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and assurance in Christ. While Isaiah forty verse one was

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originally directed to Israel and the context of the Babylonian exile,

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the Heidelberg Catechism extends the Versus message of comfort to

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Christians as a part of spiritual redemption. Well, you can

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say they extend it, and most of the sermons that

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we heard, it's not that they extend it. They just

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kick those people literally out of it and just insert

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us into it. It's one thing to extend it, it's

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another thing to just replace us, that's you know, or

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to replace them with us. How does the Heidelberg Catechism

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use Isaiah chapter forty verse one. Well, Question and Answer

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one of the Heidelberg Catechism, or sometimes refer to as

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Lord's Day One, famously begins with this question what is

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your only comfort in life and in death? This emphasis

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on comfort resonates with Isaiah forty verse one, where God

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offers comfort to his people. The Catechism's entire structure and

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pastoral tone reflects an interpretation of comfort similar to what

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Isaiah forty verse one conveys, though applied to spiritual rather

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than physical exile. So they take Isaiah forty one apply

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it to spiritual rather than to physical exile. Well, you

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can't just go make it spiritual when it's talking about

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something physical. For the most part, by linking comfort with forgiveness, grace,

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and assurance in Christ, the Catechism spiritualizes Isaiah chapter forty

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verse One's message of comfort and relief for his people.

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This is intended to show that just as God comforted

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Israel and exile, he also provides comfort to Christians through

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christ redemptive work. Does this take the verse out of

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its original context in a sense? Yes, Isaiah chapter forty

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verse one was originally a message of comfort to Israel

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regarding the end of their Babylonian exile and the promise

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of restoration. By applying this verse directly to Christians as

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a message about forgiveness and reassurance in Christ, the Catechism

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moves beyond the historical context of Israel's physical exile to

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a broader spiritual application. The spiritual application, though not part

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of the original historical setting, is intended to highlight a

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parallel on how God comforts all his people. Well, my

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thing is, if you're going to fight, are you just

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using Isaiah forty verse one just because it has the

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word comfort and it's repeated comfort?

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Ye?

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Comfort? Ye? Are you borrowing it because of the Hebrew

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word for comfort? There? Well, why are you taking it

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from Isaiah forty verse one. There's no other verses in

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the Bible to speak about comfort nowhere. I'm not that already.

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And again we saw the same thing in Pilgrim's Progress,

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where John Bunya just goes spiritualizes Isaiah forty three, verse two.

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Like the minute this starts happening, the original context just

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gets destroyed. So I we went seventy minutes yesterday on

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a sermon about Isaiah forty that turned into I mean,

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they never even got to Isaiah forty. So what I

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did is I kept listening. I kept listening, and finally

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I think I'm up to the point where they the

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focus is now going to change. Now. I did not

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listen long enough to know if they actually get to

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Isaiah chapter forty, verse one. But I feel like we

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have to at least try, right. We can't just leave

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yesterday with just like, hey, well here's another example. I've

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got to at least let the sermon have the opportunity

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to at least address the text. But I am going

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to do this, right. I didn't think about this, but

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I am going to do this. I am going to

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go I'm going to pull up the blue Letter Bible

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app I'm going to just type in the word comfort.

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I'm going to type in the word comfort, all right,

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comfort occurs. Well, that's I'm gonna hang on. I gotta do.

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I'm going to put the New Testament, all right, A

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comfort occurs twenty three and twenty three verses and the

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New Testament of the KJV. So if you're using the

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King James version, comfort occurs and forty m sorry, twenty

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three verses and the New Testament of the KJV version.

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All right, So if you're using the King James, the

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word comfort occurs twenty three times in the New Testament.

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It occurs in Matthew nine twenty two. All right. Jesus

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turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, daughter,

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be of good comfort, Mark ten forty nine. Jesus still

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stood still, commanded him to be called, and they called

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the blind man, saying him be of good comfort. Effort

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rise Luke eight forty eight. He said, unto her daughter,

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be of good comfort. Thy faith have made the whole

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go in peace. John eleven nineteen. Many of the Jews

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came to Martha and Mary to comfort them. Acts nine

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thirty one. Then had the church's rest through all Jadea

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and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified and walking in

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the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of

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the holy ghosts were multiplied Romans fifteen four. For whatsoever

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things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we,

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through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope

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One Corinthians fourteen three. But he that prophesieth speak unto

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men to edification and exhortation and comfort. Second Corinthians one

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to three. Blessed be the God, even the Father of

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our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the

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God of all comfort. That sounds like maybe Second Corinthians

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one three would be a good verse to use. Right

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instead of going to Isaiah forty, where you have to

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completely insert us into a text where we're not found,

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wouldn't you go to Second Corinthians one three, which would

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make perfect sense. Blessed be God, even the Father of

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our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the

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God of all comfort. Second Corinthians one four, Who comfort

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who comforteth us? So the God of all comfort? Second

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Corinthians one three, who comforteth us and all our tribulation,

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that we may be able to comfort them, which are

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in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are

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comforted of God. Now we have God is the god

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of all comfort, God comforting us, we comforting others with

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the comfort that we have received. Now you've got things

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that could really fit maybe the Heidelberg Catechism Second Corinthians

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two seven. So that contrawise ye ought rather to forgive

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him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should

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be swallowed up with over much sorrow that Second Corinthians

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two seven. What is that referencing? I think that's referencing

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the person in First Corinthians five who was engaged in well,

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you know, a sexual relationship with his you know, father's wife,

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and then he's basically to be excommunicated. Well, there seems

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now here there needs to be some forgiveness, There needs

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to be some comfort. Okay. I think that that's what

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that's referencing to. That would possibly fit with the Heidelberg Catechism.

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Second Corinthians seven four. Great is my boldness of speech

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towards you. Great is my glorying of you. I am

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filled with comfort. I'm exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

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Second Corinthia seven thirteen. Therefore, we were comforted in your

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comfort second Corinthians thirteen eleven. Finally, brethren, farewell, be perfect,

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be of good comfort Ephesian six twenty two. Whom I've

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sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might

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know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts

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Philippians two one. If there be, if there be therefore

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any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love Philippians

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two nineteen. But I trust in the Lord Jesus that

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also may be of good comfort, right Timothys. They're sending

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him that he may also be of good comfort Colossians

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four eight. Whom I have sent unto you for the

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same purpose, that he might know your estate and comfort

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your hearts Colossians four eleven. We have the same type

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of thing. One Thessalonius five eleven, comfort yourselves together, and

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then second Thessalonians two seventeen, comfort your hearts, establish you

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in every good work. So there's a lot of idea

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of people comforting people, certain people being named there. I'm

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not going to go through the names and all the situations,

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but you can go read all of the verses. So

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what I'm trying to demonstrate is that within the New

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Testament itself. There are plenty of verses that use the

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word comfort. So why in the world do you have

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to go to Isaiah chapter forty, verse one and connect

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comfort here with us when Isaiah forty vers one is

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comfort to the people there? Now, you could use it

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maybe as a cross reference, right, you could say, here's

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how God comforted Israel and their time. But do we

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want to how do we utilize that? Because this wouldn't

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be comfort during a time of trial or a time

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of tribulation. This would be comfort under punishment, under chastisement, right,

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because the comfort these people are in exile. Why are

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they're in exile because of their sins? So would we

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not have to then draw the correlation of comfort being

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given to people as they're being chastised or being punished

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for their sin. How do like, if we're going to

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apply this, we have to apply it at least to

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some context that would be similar. Correct. So we've been

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talking about this. I told you to do a little

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word study on the word comfort. I did a little

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bit of that for you yesterday. I told you to

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be reading Isaiah forty through fifty five. This is all

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kind of we're just kind of doing a lot of

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preliminary work here, So we're just going to go back

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to the sermon from yesterday and just see what we

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can do. I know we've spent now nineteen minutes just

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kind of just talking about all of this. But let's

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see if we look. I don't know if we're going

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to get very far, but let's just see. He's now

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done with all of his introductory comments about the Heidelberg Catechism.

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Now he's going to go to Lord's Day one, which

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is going to be the question about what is your

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only comfort in life and in death? Now? Is he

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going to then go to Isaiah chapter forty? Now, maybe

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the way he puts these together, it's going to be perfect,

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it's going to be amazing, it's going to be great,

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or maybe it's not. I just know this clearly he's

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using it to make it about us, and that is

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my concern. Is he going to refer to the original

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people and their original situation? We're going to hope. So

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here we go.

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The first Lord's Day of the Heidelberg Catechism opens up

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with the question that forms the theme of the Heidelberg Catechism,

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what is thy only comfort? The Heilberg Catechism, as I said,

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was largely written by Erzinis. It wasn't his first catechism.

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He has two other catechisms of note, a Large Catechism

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which is for more mature Christians, and a small catechism

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that is for children. Comparing the first question and answer

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in those catechisms to the Heidelberg Catechism brings out some

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important things. That large catechism written by r. Zignis was

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written from the viewpoint of the Covenant. That's very significant.

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That did not become the theme of the Heidelberg Catechism,

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but that was the theme of his large catechism, and

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I'll be referring to it in coming Lord's Days. In

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the Large Catechism, Resignis's first question is what firm comfort

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do you have in life and death? And his answer

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is that I was created by God in His image

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for eternal light, and after I willfully lost this in Adam, God,

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out of infinite and free mercy, took me into his

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covenant of grace that he might give me by faith,

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righteousness and eternal life because of the obedience and death

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of His son who was sent in the flesh, and

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that he sealed his covenant in my heart by his spirit,

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who renews me in the image of God and cries

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out in me Ah a father, by his word and

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the visible signs of the Covenant.

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What is just utterly insane to me is this sermon

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began with the reading of Isaiah forty. As I've already

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stated in my opening comments, here we are. We're probably

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more than halfway done with this sermon, maybe even more

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than halfway. And every do you just notice it's about you,

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it's about me, it's about us, it's about me, it's

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about you, it's about it's about It's like this has

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like it's almost like the original recipients of Isaiah forty

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are just completely ignored forgotten. Now I'm still holding out hope.

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Look look at it. I'm not going there's only so

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far I'm gonna go, and then I'm just gonna say, okay,

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look we're done. Obviously this is not going to ever

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deal with Isaiah forty. I'm hoping at some point, well

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I was hoping he was going to immediately go into

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why he read Isaiah chapter forty. I'm assuming at some

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point he is. But obviously you can tell that even

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if he does, there's going to be very little time

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given to the actual text, to the actual anything. It's

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just like Isaiah forty. This is what's so funny. Many

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times those within the reformed world are very condemning of

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those who use topical preaching. How dare they write? Well,

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what is this? Now? I love catechisms, and I think

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Catechism should be taught. I thought, I think Catechism should

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be preached, I think Catechism should be read, Catechism should

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be used. But the thing is, when you're using the

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catechisms and you're going to make a reference to these verses, well,

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then the verses have to be then explained and taught

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in their full context. And many cases you'll say, why

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did they use that verse? And you know what, See,

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that's the thing. If you're committed to the team, if

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you're committed to a specific, specific perspective, you're not going

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to offer criticism. But see, since I'm not committed to

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any specific team, I don't care who I offend. I'm sorry.

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I don't know why in the world Isaiah forty has

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anything to do with this other than the fact that

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they both use the word comfort. We need to find

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out what is the comfort for these people? We need, Like,

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there's so much here to figure out, right, Like, let's

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just an example, just looking at it just from a

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structural standpoint. We could just look at it from a

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structural standpoint. Do we just make Isaiah forty verse one

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and two its own section, and then three starting in

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three a separate section? I will argue, yeah, we should

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separate them, right, we've already looked at Well, if you're

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going to talk about comfort in light of the Heidelber Catechism,

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why wouldn't you use New Testament passages? And I gave

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you once some of them that I thought would possibly

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be very helpful. That's a good question, right, Are you

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using Isaiah forty maybe because of the Hebrew word? Well,

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we talked a little bit about the Hebrew word and

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there's a lot going on there. I don't know if

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that would really help with the Heidelberg Catechism. Are you

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using the heidelberd or are you using Isaiah forty? Like?

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Are you using Isaiah Isaiah forty because of the Hebrew word?

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And does that somehow help with the Heidelberg Catechism don't

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I don't necessarily see that it's the Heidelberg Catechism using

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Isaiah forty as a way just saying, hey, this is

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how God provides us comfort and this is how he

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provided them comfort. But in it two completely different comforts.

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Unless you're going to I guess you could try to

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find some spiritual parallels. Maybe he's going to do that.

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It just seems like you're talking in completely different situations

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to some level, right, Like to me, the parallel would be,

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this is God bringing comfort to people who are suffering

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for their sin, all right, So how to then take

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the lesson from that and we bring comfort to people

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who are suffering in their sin? Now, typically we would

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apply that, well, we bring the gospel to lost people,

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but what about Christians who are in sin? Don't they

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get some kind of comfort because this is God's people

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who are suffering. This is not the pagans. This is

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God's people. This is his n issue as he refers

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to them my people. So what in the correct application

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would be, how can we learn how God brought comfort

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to those suffering in their sins? And how can we

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learn to bring comfort to those who are suffering in

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their sins who are Christians. Maybe there's the lesson right now.

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I mean, if we're going to try to draw some parallel,

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so I don't Maybe at some point he's going to

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get there. I don't know. I'm hoping. I'm starting to

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lose all hope at this point.

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But let's see no less than three references to the

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Covenant in that first question and answer. Much briefer is

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the first question and answer of the Small Catechism. What

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comfort sustains your heart in death as well as in life?

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That God has truly forgiven all my sins because of Christ,

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and has given me eternal life in which I may

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glorify Him forever. I call your attention this morning to

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comfort for living, next week, comfort for dying, comfort for living.

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Why that comfort is needed, what that comfort is, and

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the blessedness of that comfort. We need comfort, All of

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us need comfort.

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Please know how this sermon is being. We need comfort,

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need comfort. It's you, It's me, we we us. It's

458
00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:08.279
like it's not them or they, it's us, we me.

459
00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:12.079
It's all about us. And that's why I have put

460
00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.440
forth that term, and not a lot of people may

461
00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:20.519
necessarily have appreciated it, but Christians at large were just narcissistic,

462
00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:24.160
textual hijackers. We make it about us, We go to

463
00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:27.599
the text we hijacket like we're running into the cockpit

464
00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:30.839
of an airplane removing the pilot, like I'm driving this

465
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:33.279
baby and I'm going to drive it wherever I want

466
00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:36.759
it to go. How in the world are you and

467
00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:39.119
Isaiah forty? And then you're gonna be me? Me? We

468
00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:43.079
us me, we us need comfort. No, they needed comfort.

469
00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:48.119
They needed comfort. They needed comfort because they were in

470
00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:50.920
Babylonian exile. They them.

471
00:28:56.279 --> 00:29:02.480
We need comfort as to the circumstances of our lives,

472
00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:10.079
the physical circumstances as well as the spiritual circumstances. The

473
00:29:10.119 --> 00:29:15.279
hylerbrig Catechism presumes this. The first question and answer of

474
00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:20.400
the Hydelberg Catechism is not do you need comfort? But

475
00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:25.480
the question is what is your only comfort? For life

476
00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:31.319
and for death? Comfort is something that we all need.

477
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:37.160
Comfort is not only for the sick person languishing in

478
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:42.400
a hospital bed. Comfort is not for the invalid in

479
00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:47.599
the rest home. Comfort is not for the old man

480
00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:52.680
or old woman bent over with our right edds, pushing

481
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:57.880
a walker or being pushed in a wheelchair. Comfort is

482
00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:02.359
not something that only the widow and widower needs. Comfort

483
00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:08.519
is not only for the man dying of an incurable cancer,

484
00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:13.559
or for the wife dying of cancer about to leave

485
00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:20.519
behind a family of children. Comfort is not only for

486
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:30.559
those who have lost loved ones, children, brothers and sisters, spouse, parents,

487
00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:35.640
But comfort is something that we all stand in need of.

488
00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:40.119
And comfort is something that we all stand in need

489
00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:48.880
of all of the time our entire life in this world,

490
00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:54.359
no matter how long we may live. It is comfort

491
00:30:55.160 --> 00:31:00.240
that is need in need, from our earliest years to

492
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:06.039
old age, when finally we close our eyes in death.

493
00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.400
God did not say to the prophet Isaiah, comfort ye,

494
00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:16.000
comfort ye my old people. Comfort ye, comfort ye my

495
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:22.920
sick and my dying people. But he said comfort ye,

496
00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:30.240
comfort ye my people, all of my people.

497
00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:38.839
Oh, my goodness, gracious. So he just went to Isaiah

498
00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:41.640
forty comfort ye, comfort ye my people. And now he's

499
00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:46.759
interpreting my people completely separate from his actual context. He's

500
00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:50.720
he's removing this from Israel, he's removing this from just

501
00:31:50.839 --> 00:32:00.400
as everyone everyone. Yeah, okay, I'm just gonna give him

502
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:09.440
the opportunity. I'm going to give him the opportunity. I'm

503
00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:13.559
just gonna be patient here. I'm going to assume that

504
00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:16.839
I am jumping the gun a little bit here, that

505
00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:20.240
I'm not giving him the opportunity to fully explain this right,

506
00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:24.000
because there's no way he's interpreting Isaiah forty one, comfort ye,

507
00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:26.640
comfort ye, my people, and he's inserting us into the

508
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:29.160
my people phrase. There is no way he would do

509
00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:33.480
that because it has a literal context. Here. This is

510
00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:39.519
to the people. Isaiah thirty nine talks about the Babylonian captivity.

511
00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:42.920
Right it starts, and I think if you look at

512
00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:47.599
Isaiah thirty nine, verse five, then said Isaiah to Hezekiah,

513
00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:49.960
hear the words of the Lord of Hosts, Behold the

514
00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:54.240
days come that all that is in thine house, and

515
00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:56.920
that which thy fathers have laid up in store until

516
00:32:56.920 --> 00:33:01.920
this day, shall be carried onto Babylon. Nothing should be left,

517
00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:06.440
saith the Lord. See there is the context, and now

518
00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:10.279
the comfort comes to the people within the Babylonian exile.

519
00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:16.519
The my people are the people in Babylonian exile. This

520
00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:19.640
is not even an issue about theology. This is not

521
00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.400
even an issue about hermeneutics. This is just a basic

522
00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:25.599
issue of reading comprehension. Anyone who reads this, you can't

523
00:33:25.640 --> 00:33:27.960
just go and say, well, now I'm part of this group,

524
00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:31.680
am I Have I been in Babylonian exile. Oh well,

525
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.759
I'm going to spiritualize it. You can't say. If you're

526
00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:37.599
going to spiritualize it, then the Bible loses all meaning.

527
00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:41.079
You can just make it whatever you want.

528
00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:56.200
This comfort is needed both for living and for dying.

529
00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:00.400
Comfort is not merely something that we need at the

530
00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:06.039
end of our life as a kind of sedative to

531
00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:10.880
see us through death. Comfort is not a kind of

532
00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:15.960
life insurance policy that, well, if you need to cash

533
00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.039
it in, that's great, and if you don't, all the better.

534
00:34:21.559 --> 00:34:26.400
Comfort is not something that we need only here and

535
00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:34.119
now at certain critical times in our lives. But comfort

536
00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:38.000
is something that we need all our life.

537
00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:45.400
Law it would be it would be crazy if someone

538
00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:48.400
really wanted to do this. The sermon begins with the

539
00:34:48.440 --> 00:34:51.840
reading of Isaiah forty. After well over half the sermon,

540
00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:54.760
he returns back to Isaiah forty. But just go through

541
00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:58.280
the sermon and listen how many times he uses me, you,

542
00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:02.519
we us, how many times he uses phrases that refers

543
00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:05.199
to us, and how many times he uses phrases that

544
00:35:05.239 --> 00:35:08.039
refers to the actual people that the comfort was actually

545
00:35:08.039 --> 00:35:11.440
supposed to go to. He's yet to refer to the

546
00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:14.360
people it was actually supposed to go to. He's completely

547
00:35:14.679 --> 00:35:17.280
like they don't even exist so far in this sermon. Now,

548
00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:19.400
I'm not saying they're not going to be mentioned, but

549
00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:20.920
at some point or I mean, we're going to run

550
00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:22.639
out a sermon. At some point, we're going to run

551
00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:25.320
out a sermon. So even if they're mentioned, they're only

552
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:27.639
going to be mentioned in maybe a five minute section

553
00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:31.119
maybe if that, maybe maybe ten minutes if they're lucky,

554
00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:36.440
maybe they will get ten minutes if they're lucky.

555
00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:43.159
That's the viewpoint of the first question and answer of

556
00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:53.840
the Heidelberg Catechism. What is the evil, the sorrow, the

557
00:35:53.960 --> 00:36:01.639
misery on account of which we need comfort? Included in

558
00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:08.840
those sorrows are the sufferings that we endure in our

559
00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:15.679
earthly lives. Just because we're Christians, that doesn't mean that

560
00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:22.800
we're exempt from those sufferings, that we don't have to endure,

561
00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:29.039
the heart attack, the cancer, the loss of a loved one,

562
00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:31.800
that we're exempt from those things.

563
00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:41.760
This has nothing, says nothing to do with Isaiah forty. Now,

564
00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:43.119
I know what some of you are going to say.

565
00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:45.239
You're saying you're not being fair because it's a message

566
00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:49.159
about the Heidelberg Catechism. Okay, you may have a point,

567
00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:53.199
but here's the problem. He started with reading Isaiah chapter forty.

568
00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:56.320
He did even go back and just reference it. But

569
00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:01.920
even so it starts with Isaiah forty. It's referenced a

570
00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:06.280
little bit halfway through, so clearly Isaiah forty is the text.

571
00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:11.000
So Isaiah forty is the text, but it's been completely hijacked.

572
00:37:11.480 --> 00:37:13.320
And now he's like, what is the misery? What is

573
00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:15.719
the suffering? The misery and the suffering is that the

574
00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:18.320
people are suffering because of their sin and they're in

575
00:37:18.360 --> 00:37:21.639
Babylonian exile. This is not about well, they're having you know,

576
00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:25.079
medical problems, they're having a hard time. This has nothing

577
00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:28.000
to do with that. Even if you want to break

578
00:37:28.440 --> 00:37:32.159
broaden it, well, then broaden it within its original context.

579
00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:35.719
The original context is when there are people suffering as

580
00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:39.679
a result of their sin, when do we bring comfort

581
00:37:39.719 --> 00:37:43.199
to them? What is that comfort? Now? It can? Is

582
00:37:43.239 --> 00:37:46.199
it easily transferable? I don't know, because there's a specific

583
00:37:46.239 --> 00:37:49.639
comfort being offered here. Like the issue is if we're

584
00:37:49.639 --> 00:37:53.400
go if we're going to go on Isaiah forty and

585
00:37:53.480 --> 00:37:55.760
you're going to draw any application, the application has to

586
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:57.519
be somewhat consistent with the text.

587
00:37:57.639 --> 00:38:09.119
Right, No, the sickness, the pain, the sorrow and sufferings,

588
00:38:10.679 --> 00:38:19.440
the heart attack, the cancer, the deadly automobile accident, poverty, famine,

589
00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:26.679
all of these are the experience of the people of God.

590
00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:32.519
Included in these sufferings an account of which we need comfort,

591
00:38:33.840 --> 00:38:38.840
are all of the sufferings that we endure because we're Christians,

592
00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:46.880
and because we live as Christians, because of our confession

593
00:38:47.079 --> 00:38:54.599
and walk, we invite the persecution of the ungodly world.

594
00:38:56.239 --> 00:39:01.280
That's always been the caves. That's always reason on account

595
00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:05.639
of which the sufferings of God's people are greater than

596
00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:10.079
the sufferings of the children of this world. Because added

597
00:39:10.119 --> 00:39:13.599
to our other sufferings are the sufferings we endure.

598
00:39:14.519 --> 00:39:20.199
Because so are the people in Isaiah forty suffering because

599
00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:24.519
of their faithfulness to God and they're being persecuted? Or

600
00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:27.519
are they suffering because of their sin? I mean, I

601
00:39:27.519 --> 00:39:29.599
don't know, I mean who cares? I mean, I mean

602
00:39:29.639 --> 00:39:32.800
Isaiah forty really is just irrelevant to this entire discussion, right,

603
00:39:32.840 --> 00:39:35.280
I mean, so, why did you start with reading Isaiah forty?

604
00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:37.719
Why did you go back and make a quick reference

605
00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:40.519
to Isaiah forty. A minute ago, you used Isaiah forty

606
00:39:40.639 --> 00:39:42.800
when you saw the phrase my people, and then you

607
00:39:42.920 --> 00:39:45.519
just wanted to apply it to all of us without

608
00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:51.639
any explanation, without any textual justification, just using Isaiah forty

609
00:39:51.719 --> 00:39:54.079
when necessary when you want, and then just leaving it

610
00:39:54.119 --> 00:39:57.599
when you don't. Again, it would have been much better

611
00:39:57.679 --> 00:40:01.320
to go to I was Second Corinthians. I think second

612
00:40:01.599 --> 00:40:06.079
second Corinthians. I think it is the God of all comfort. See,

613
00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:08.400
that would have made much more sense, right because they

614
00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:10.840
would have had a New Testament context written to a

615
00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:14.440
New Testament church. It would have had and the God

616
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:18.599
of all comfort. Then that just means God in himself,

617
00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:21.119
He is the God of all comfort. So then you

618
00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:23.280
could correlate it and it would make a lot more

619
00:40:23.360 --> 00:40:28.239
sense to this. Using Isaiah forty raises fifty million hermeneutical.

620
00:40:27.719 --> 00:40:35.360
Problems because we are Christians. At the time that the

621
00:40:35.400 --> 00:40:43.719
Heidelberg Catechism was written, this was certainly the Caves. Reformed

622
00:40:43.800 --> 00:40:51.599
believers throughout Europe were being persecuted. Many of them sacrifice

623
00:40:51.639 --> 00:41:05.599
their lives for the cause of the Gospel, imprisonment, beatings, hangings, beheadings, drownings,

624
00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:10.519
being burnt at the stake, all of these were the

625
00:41:10.679 --> 00:41:18.079
order of the day for those who confessed the Reformed Faith,

626
00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:29.440
the truths summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism. And even though

627
00:41:30.280 --> 00:41:33.360
this is not at present, our experience is going to

628
00:41:33.400 --> 00:41:42.000
be one day in the future for our children and grandchildren.

629
00:41:42.199 --> 00:41:48.960
Very likely this is the experience of many today.

630
00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:53.559
I just want to throw out there, while many of

631
00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:56.840
the Reformers and those of the Reform Faith were persecuted

632
00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:02.280
and faced, you know, some forms of suffering, just note

633
00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:05.360
that some Christians of the Reform Faith were involved in

634
00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:09.719
instances of persecution and religious conflict. Like many religious groups

635
00:42:09.760 --> 00:42:12.719
and the Reformation and post Reformation era, some Reform Christians

636
00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:16.239
participated in actions that today would be considered persecution, often

637
00:42:16.280 --> 00:42:20.400
on part of a broader social, political, and theological conflicts.

638
00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:25.880
We have John Calvin, and John Calvin is also associated

639
00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:30.320
with the execution of Michael Savadas and a theologian who

640
00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:34.199
denied the Trinity and opposed aspects of Orthodox Christian doctrine,

641
00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:37.760
who was condemned as a heretake in fifteen fifty three

642
00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:40.280
and was burned at the stake in Geneva, where Calvin's

643
00:42:40.280 --> 00:42:43.480
influence was strong. While Calvin did not act alone. The

644
00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:48.599
city council approved the execution. He supported his punishment as

645
00:42:48.599 --> 00:42:50.920
a way to preserve doctrinal purity in a period when

646
00:42:50.960 --> 00:42:56.239
heresy was often considered a threat to public order. You

647
00:42:56.320 --> 00:43:00.079
have others, French Reformed Protestants, who experienced significant persecution and

648
00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:03.800
from the Catholic monarchy and often defended themselves in violent conflicts.

649
00:43:04.079 --> 00:43:09.039
So the Dutch Reform Church became the established Church and

650
00:43:09.119 --> 00:43:12.599
the late in the Dutch Republic in the late sixteenth

651
00:43:12.599 --> 00:43:16.880
century and regions where they held political power. Reformed authorities

652
00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:21.199
occasional occasionally restricted religious freedoms of Catholics and a Baptists

653
00:43:21.199 --> 00:43:23.639
and others. Though they were generally more tolerant and in

654
00:43:23.679 --> 00:43:26.239
Netherlands than in other parts of Europe, certain laws and

655
00:43:26.280 --> 00:43:29.880
restrictions limited the religious practices and rights of minority groups.

656
00:43:30.239 --> 00:43:33.119
And Scotland, the Reformed Church, led by John Knox and others,

657
00:43:33.199 --> 00:43:37.800
sometimes used force to dismantle Catholic practices and enforced Protestant reforms.

658
00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:41.840
The Scottish Reformation involved in actions against Catholics, including the

659
00:43:41.880 --> 00:43:46.960
destruction of monasteries and churches to measure and suppress Catholic worship.

660
00:43:47.199 --> 00:43:49.400
So in the context of the era just so you know,

661
00:43:49.440 --> 00:43:54.679
there was prosecution, persecution of people from all different theological backgrounds.

662
00:43:54.840 --> 00:43:57.880
He just mentioned how the reform people suffered, well, non

663
00:43:57.920 --> 00:44:01.800
reform people suffered, the Anabaptists offered, All kinds of different

664
00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:07.280
groups suffered, Catholics suffered, Catholics made other people suffer because

665
00:44:07.280 --> 00:44:10.880
what was happening there was a constant attempt to merge

666
00:44:11.000 --> 00:44:14.079
church and state. Right, so when you merge church and state,

667
00:44:14.119 --> 00:44:16.760
the church can say that's a heresy, that's a heresy,

668
00:44:16.840 --> 00:44:19.800
and then the state can punish that heresy by civil law,

669
00:44:19.960 --> 00:44:23.800
civil imprisonment, destruction of property, taking away property, stopping you

670
00:44:23.840 --> 00:44:26.440
from being able to do certain things, imprisonment, or death.

671
00:44:27.440 --> 00:44:29.559
So it happened on both sides. I think if we're

672
00:44:30.119 --> 00:44:32.679
gonna talk about it, let's just be honest about it. Okay,

673
00:44:32.800 --> 00:44:37.360
it happened on both sides, all right. So and again

674
00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:43.119
when we talk about John Calvin in Geneva, just know that,

675
00:44:43.159 --> 00:44:46.239
well Calvin did not act alone. A lot of people said, well,

676
00:44:46.280 --> 00:44:49.599
you know he had the man killed. Well, Calvin was

677
00:44:49.639 --> 00:44:52.920
not acting alone. Calvin may be determining that the doctrine

678
00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:57.400
is wrong. The doctrine has heretical demands, a heretic, but

679
00:44:57.519 --> 00:44:59.920
it required the civil government to also be a part

680
00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:01.800
of it. And that's what was the merging of church

681
00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:05.280
and state, all right. So just that happened a lot

682
00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:08.760
of times, all right. During the Reformation and Counter Reformation,

683
00:45:08.840 --> 00:45:12.280
religious and political lines were often blurred, and heretical views

684
00:45:12.320 --> 00:45:15.280
were frequently seen as threats to social stability. This led

685
00:45:15.280 --> 00:45:18.559
to a context in which many Christian groups, including Reform Christians,

686
00:45:18.599 --> 00:45:23.880
saw persecution as a means to maintain orthodoxy and public order.

687
00:45:24.199 --> 00:45:27.159
It is important to recognize that Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and

688
00:45:27.239 --> 00:45:30.599
other groups also participated in religious persecution at this time.

689
00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:33.400
The Reform tradition was not unique in this regard, though

690
00:45:33.400 --> 00:45:37.920
they did hold a notable commitment to theological purity. The

691
00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:40.960
actions of some early Reformed Christians standing contrast to core

692
00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:44.800
Christian teachings on mercy, love of neighbor, and modern Reformed

693
00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:49.800
churches generally regret and repudiate these actions or they just

694
00:45:49.800 --> 00:45:54.000
don't mention them. So I'm just saying, if you're going

695
00:45:54.039 --> 00:45:56.159
to go, if we're gonna talk about, well, the Reform

696
00:45:56.239 --> 00:46:00.159
people were persecuted, and they were persecuting others, right, so

697
00:46:00.199 --> 00:46:02.920
let's just make it clear. So what's the lesson? Never

698
00:46:03.199 --> 00:46:06.079
blur the line between church and state, because when church

699
00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:10.079
and state merge, people die. That's what I've been saying

700
00:46:10.360 --> 00:46:15.400
my whole Christian life, right, So there you go. I

701
00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:17.719
read a lot of that really quick, and I probably

702
00:46:17.719 --> 00:46:20.880
didn't get some of the names pronounced correctly, but you

703
00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:24.079
get the basic idea. Now again, you see, though, what's happening?

704
00:46:25.840 --> 00:46:30.599
What is happening? Are we in Isaiah forty? Ladies and gentlemen,

705
00:46:30.679 --> 00:46:35.400
are we anywhere near Isaiah forty? This is.

706
00:46:37.880 --> 00:46:41.800
Who live in lands that are torn by civil war,

707
00:46:43.280 --> 00:46:48.119
as in Me and Mark, lands that are ruled by

708
00:46:48.119 --> 00:46:54.840
those who are committed to false religions, the lands that

709
00:46:56.159 --> 00:47:03.559
are ruled by Roman Catholicism. The reform faith, as it's

710
00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:10.280
expressed in the Heidelberg Cateachism is a reform faith, an

711
00:47:10.280 --> 00:47:16.960
account of which those who confess these truths will suffer

712
00:47:19.000 --> 00:47:22.320
besides the physical sufferings and the sufferings.

713
00:47:22.320 --> 00:47:26.480
For just to make sure I get his name correctly,

714
00:47:27.719 --> 00:47:30.800
the person I should know it could have taught it

715
00:47:30.880 --> 00:47:34.159
a million times. But John Calvin is often associated with

716
00:47:34.199 --> 00:47:38.119
the execution of Michael Servetus or I always say Servetus

717
00:47:38.159 --> 00:47:40.920
but I think it's Servetus is the way it's actually pronounced.

718
00:47:41.199 --> 00:47:43.599
But John Calvin is often associated with the execution of

719
00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:46.280
Michael Cervitus as a theologian who denied the Trinity and

720
00:47:46.320 --> 00:47:51.079
exposed aspects of Orthodox Christian doctrine. Servetus was condemned as

721
00:47:51.079 --> 00:47:53.920
a heretic in fifteen fifty three was burned at the state.

722
00:47:54.360 --> 00:47:57.840
While Calvin did not act alone, the city council approved

723
00:47:57.840 --> 00:48:03.000
the execution. So just that, just so that you know

724
00:48:03.000 --> 00:48:04.480
that I want to make sure I get that correct

725
00:48:04.719 --> 00:48:06.760
and make sure I correct make sure that I'm as

726
00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:09.800
accurate as possible. But yes, that story is talked about

727
00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:11.559
all the time. I just want you to know that

728
00:48:11.880 --> 00:48:15.039
it doesn't matter both sides. You go through church history. No,

729
00:48:15.480 --> 00:48:19.039
everyone's hands are covered in blood. Everyone's hands. Let's just

730
00:48:19.039 --> 00:48:21.840
just just okay, it doesn't matter. You know why, because

731
00:48:21.840 --> 00:48:24.760
it supports another theological thing that we keep talking about

732
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:27.119
is I don't care what year, I don't care who

733
00:48:27.159 --> 00:48:30.280
the person is. If they are Christians, they sinned. If

734
00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:33.679
they're Christians, they sinned, They sinned, They sin because that

735
00:48:33.880 --> 00:48:37.800
is the life of Christianity is sin. That's what we do.

736
00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:40.159
We continue to sin we can try to pretend that

737
00:48:40.159 --> 00:48:42.800
we're so much better than everyone else, but our history

738
00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:45.199
is full of sin, just like everyone else's history, because

739
00:48:45.239 --> 00:48:48.239
we still sin, We will constantly sin, We always sin.

740
00:48:48.559 --> 00:48:51.320
That's a reality, all right. So I'm just saying, if

741
00:48:51.320 --> 00:48:54.719
you're gonna you're gonna start talking about the reformers being persecuted, well,

742
00:48:54.760 --> 00:48:59.639
then talk about their reformers doing the persecution, all right,

743
00:49:00.039 --> 00:49:02.679
because it happened on both sides. Was one side worse

744
00:49:02.719 --> 00:49:05.920
than another, well you can draw that conclusion. The bottom

745
00:49:06.000 --> 00:49:08.119
line is what's the lesson from it all. It's not

746
00:49:08.159 --> 00:49:10.440
trying to determine who did more and who did less.

747
00:49:10.760 --> 00:49:14.239
The issue is all of it emerges from this idea

748
00:49:14.360 --> 00:49:17.400
of merging church and state. When your church is in

749
00:49:17.519 --> 00:49:21.199
charge of the state, it's great for you. You're persecuting them,

750
00:49:21.400 --> 00:49:25.360
you're punishing them, you're going after them, you're going after them. Great,

751
00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:28.360
you're in power. But the minute you lose power and

752
00:49:28.440 --> 00:49:31.840
another group comes to power, now they merge with the state,

753
00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:34.960
and then they come after you. So if Christians are

754
00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:36.719
in charge and you want to go after Muslims and

755
00:49:36.719 --> 00:49:38.960
not allow them to build mosque, and you want to

756
00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:41.559
do this, and you want to do that great, until

757
00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:44.239
they come in power, then they come after you. That's

758
00:49:44.280 --> 00:49:46.719
why I don't I think the separation of church and

759
00:49:46.760 --> 00:49:50.960
state is absolutely essential, or all you're going to do

760
00:49:51.079 --> 00:49:52.960
is people going to die. And you may say, no,

761
00:49:53.239 --> 00:49:57.800
it's claiming it for Christ who like you're claiming it

762
00:49:57.800 --> 00:50:01.960
for which Christ, the Christ oft or the Christ of Protestantism,

763
00:50:01.960 --> 00:50:05.039
and even if it's the Christ of Protestantism, which Protestant group,

764
00:50:05.199 --> 00:50:07.960
because it's all wonderful and great to just say it generically,

765
00:50:08.079 --> 00:50:11.000
But if Catholics are in charge, then you're going to suffer.

766
00:50:11.039 --> 00:50:13.159
And if you're in charge, other people are going to charge.

767
00:50:13.199 --> 00:50:15.400
And when another group comes in power, then you're going

768
00:50:15.440 --> 00:50:18.679
to suffer. That's the way it works. That's why we

769
00:50:18.719 --> 00:50:21.559
don't want the merging of Now, I know that's not

770
00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:24.480
the issue here. The issue is supposedly Isaiah chapter forty.

771
00:50:24.639 --> 00:50:26.199
But I just wanted to make sure I got the

772
00:50:26.280 --> 00:50:29.239
name correct and stated it correctly. All right, now, let's

773
00:50:29.239 --> 00:50:30.840
go back and say if we can get to Isaiah forty,

774
00:50:30.960 --> 00:50:33.400
because once again we're fast approaching the hour mark. And

775
00:50:33.440 --> 00:50:37.079
guess what, We've not accomplished anything on Isaiah forty.

776
00:50:38.079 --> 00:50:43.440
Christ's sake there are also the sufferings of soul that

777
00:50:43.599 --> 00:50:54.800
believers experience. Disappointments in their earthly lives, in their families,

778
00:50:56.559 --> 00:51:08.000
struggles in the church business, ruin fired from our job.

779
00:51:11.159 --> 00:51:17.119
We can't put food on the table or pay all

780
00:51:18.079 --> 00:51:25.920
the bills. There's the setbacks in our business, the pain

781
00:51:26.000 --> 00:51:32.199
of harsh and unfounded criticism, the pain of our diligent

782
00:51:32.480 --> 00:51:37.960
work in the churches and schools that are referred to

783
00:51:38.719 --> 00:51:44.840
in that heading of the Catechism, where teachers give themselves

784
00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:49.079
to their calling to instruct our children in the fear

785
00:51:49.159 --> 00:51:54.679
of God on the basis of the Reformed Confessions, and

786
00:51:54.800 --> 00:52:03.760
instead of appreciation or criticized by are not supported or

787
00:52:03.960 --> 00:52:08.119
encouraged in their work. And the same is the case

788
00:52:08.239 --> 00:52:14.280
for the labors of office bearers often in the church mothers.

789
00:52:15.400 --> 00:52:21.199
In the home. There is the pain of strife and

790
00:52:21.280 --> 00:52:30.320
disunity in our marriages, or in our families or extended families.

791
00:52:32.360 --> 00:52:35.480
And some of the worst pain of all is the

792
00:52:35.559 --> 00:52:44.400
disunity and strife that takes place in the church. But

793
00:52:44.440 --> 00:52:47.920
the great misery of the Child of God is none

794
00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:52.440
of these. The great misery of the Child of God

795
00:52:53.519 --> 00:52:56.119
an account of which he stands in need of comfort

796
00:52:57.760 --> 00:53:06.960
is his sin, guilt of his sin before God. Our

797
00:53:07.079 --> 00:53:14.280
misery is our sin? Why is there misery and suffering

798
00:53:14.360 --> 00:53:20.599
in the world because of man's sin. We deserve all

799
00:53:20.679 --> 00:53:27.159
of these miseries and sufferings. We have sin in Father Adam.

800
00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:32.760
We have been born with a sinful and depraved nature.

801
00:53:34.800 --> 00:53:36.960
Now, if you'll just think about this from a purely

802
00:53:37.079 --> 00:53:41.199
like logical perspective, I understand why we say it this way.

803
00:53:41.320 --> 00:53:43.960
What we deserve to suffer? Why do we suffer because

804
00:53:43.960 --> 00:53:46.440
of sin? And we are all guilty and Adam therefore

805
00:53:46.480 --> 00:53:48.800
we all deserve to suffer. But I just want you

806
00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:51.679
to think about this from a logical perspective. The all

807
00:53:51.760 --> 00:53:56.000
knowing God, who is all powerful, created Adam and Eve

808
00:53:56.159 --> 00:53:59.719
knowing they were going to sin. In fact, forget that

809
00:54:00.079 --> 00:54:03.239
he created Satan knowing Satan was going to rebel, And

810
00:54:03.320 --> 00:54:05.679
instead of destroying Satan after he rebelled, which he could

811
00:54:05.679 --> 00:54:08.719
have or just not creating him, he creates him, lets

812
00:54:08.800 --> 00:54:12.440
him come to earth and goes into tempt Eve, knowing

813
00:54:12.519 --> 00:54:15.199
exactly what's going to happen. Once Adam and Eve's sin.

814
00:54:15.559 --> 00:54:18.000
He could then have destroyed them. He could have kept

815
00:54:18.039 --> 00:54:20.800
them isolated within the garden. He could have kept them

816
00:54:20.800 --> 00:54:23.119
for procreating, He could have stopped it all, but no,

817
00:54:23.320 --> 00:54:25.480
he allowed them to have children and have him have children.

818
00:54:25.639 --> 00:54:27.719
So what he's saying is that God, who knew it

819
00:54:27.840 --> 00:54:29.760
was all going to happen, could have done a million

820
00:54:29.800 --> 00:54:32.079
things to stop it from happening, allowed it to happen.

821
00:54:32.239 --> 00:54:35.440
But guess what. You deserve to suffer because you fell

822
00:54:35.440 --> 00:54:39.400
in at him. You deserve to suffer. You deserve disease,

823
00:54:39.679 --> 00:54:44.199
you deserve pain, you deserve to be robbed and molested.

824
00:54:44.360 --> 00:54:48.119
And this because you sinned an Adam, you deserve it

825
00:54:49.079 --> 00:54:58.559
because we're sinners. Wow, that's I'm a sinner And how

826
00:54:58.559 --> 00:55:00.360
did I become a sinner? Let me see? Let me

827
00:55:00.360 --> 00:55:03.719
see here, Let me think about I was born that way.

828
00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:07.039
But because I was born that way, I deserve to suffer.

829
00:55:09.360 --> 00:55:12.280
My parents were born that way and they deserve to suffer.

830
00:55:12.920 --> 00:55:15.239
And their parents were born that way and they deserve

831
00:55:15.320 --> 00:55:18.159
to suffer. And so you're born a certain way and

832
00:55:18.239 --> 00:55:23.280
you deserve to suffer. You're born guilty. You didn't do anything.

833
00:55:23.440 --> 00:55:26.480
You're born guilty. You're born a sinner, but you deserve

834
00:55:26.519 --> 00:55:30.199
to suffer because you're a sinner. I didn't choose to

835
00:55:30.280 --> 00:55:41.239
fall in at him. I mean, just think about it

836
00:55:41.280 --> 00:55:44.280
from like a purely logical standpoint. I mean, do we

837
00:55:44.320 --> 00:55:47.079
hear what we're saying. It sounds so good, it sounds

838
00:55:47.079 --> 00:55:51.039
so theological, and it sounds so yeah. Yeah, we deserve it.

839
00:55:52.239 --> 00:55:57.079
But just think about it. God, the God who created

840
00:55:57.159 --> 00:55:59.960
all of it, could have stopped it at any point.

841
00:56:00.519 --> 00:56:02.079
There's a million things he could have. He could have

842
00:56:02.079 --> 00:56:12.920
stopped us from being born a sinner, right, correct, He

843
00:56:12.960 --> 00:56:21.719
could have stopped more sinners from being born. Correct. So

844
00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:24.199
I know it's common for us to say we deserve it,

845
00:56:24.239 --> 00:56:26.480
we deserve it, We deserve it, we deserve it.

846
00:56:33.679 --> 00:56:40.639
And our lives are characterized by many sins, omitting to

847
00:56:40.679 --> 00:56:45.320
do that which God requires us to do and doing

848
00:56:45.360 --> 00:56:54.320
the very opposite of what he commands. The evil, the greed,

849
00:56:55.119 --> 00:56:59.800
the sorrow of the child of God is his sin,

850
00:57:01.559 --> 00:57:05.360
just exactly because the believer's greatest misery is his sin.

851
00:57:06.280 --> 00:57:11.119
He can never be satisfied with the superficial comforts of

852
00:57:11.239 --> 00:57:17.199
this world. The believer recognizes his need of comfort, So

853
00:57:17.559 --> 00:57:22.280
does the unbeliever in his own way. How does he

854
00:57:22.400 --> 00:57:28.519
deal with the sufferings and sorrows of earthly life. Well,

855
00:57:28.559 --> 00:57:33.320
he finds his comfort in a bottle that may even

856
00:57:33.400 --> 00:57:39.000
have the name Southern comfort. Or he finds his comfort

857
00:57:39.000 --> 00:57:44.039
in material things, the comforts of life and of this world,

858
00:57:44.519 --> 00:57:51.360
in pleasure, in career, in business. But the Child of

859
00:57:51.400 --> 00:57:54.800
God can never be satisfied with these would be comforts

860
00:57:54.880 --> 00:58:02.079
because none of them address our main MISSI, which is

861
00:58:02.280 --> 00:58:09.679
our sin. Because of his sin, the child of God

862
00:58:09.760 --> 00:58:14.480
needs comfort. That's the first two verses of Isaiah forty

863
00:58:15.119 --> 00:58:18.199
comfort ee, comfort ye my people, seth you or God

864
00:58:18.239 --> 00:58:24.320
speaking comfortably to Jerusalem, cry unto her that her warfare

865
00:58:24.519 --> 00:58:31.719
is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath

866
00:58:31.840 --> 00:58:38.440
received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

867
00:58:39.800 --> 00:58:43.119
That's the misery of the child of God.

868
00:58:45.280 --> 00:58:47.559
See what he just said, Seeing how he goes back

869
00:58:47.559 --> 00:58:50.559
to Isaiah forty here is it. That's the misery of

870
00:58:50.599 --> 00:58:55.159
the child of God. I guess he just forgets the

871
00:58:55.239 --> 00:59:00.760
people this was written to. I guess they just don't count.

872
00:59:05.440 --> 00:59:11.079
I just don't understand. I just don't understand. I just

873
00:59:11.119 --> 00:59:14.039
don't understand. I need A bottle of Southern comfort is

874
00:59:14.079 --> 00:59:15.360
what I need. I'm going to see if I can

875
00:59:15.400 --> 00:59:17.719
door dash one is what I'm gonna do. Okay, all right,

876
00:59:17.840 --> 00:59:20.039
let's let's see if you mentioned I mean, I think

877
00:59:20.079 --> 00:59:23.000
we're about done. I mean, it's like five minutes left.

878
00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:24.920
I think in the sermon, I mean he went back

879
00:59:24.920 --> 00:59:26.559
to Isaiah forty. See, but he just goes back to

880
00:59:26.599 --> 00:59:31.679
Isaiah forty just just to insert us whenever wherever he wants,

881
00:59:31.840 --> 00:59:34.079
Just go to Isaiah. Just insert us, Just insert us

882
00:59:34.119 --> 00:59:36.760
whenever you want, just whenever you want to put someone there,

883
00:59:36.840 --> 00:59:39.199
just put someone there that The text doesn't matter, The

884
00:59:39.639 --> 00:59:43.079
historical context doesn't matter, send text doesn't none of it matters,

885
00:59:43.239 --> 00:59:46.800
because we're just utilizing this for our own topical method,

886
00:59:46.880 --> 00:59:48.599
our own topical message.

887
00:59:50.920 --> 00:59:57.400
That's the reason we need comfort. What is that comfort?

888
00:59:58.280 --> 01:00:04.000
What is the only comfort for living and for dying

889
01:00:05.440 --> 01:00:10.119
or comfort, according to the Catechism, is our faithful savior,

890
01:00:11.079 --> 01:00:18.239
Jesus Christ. Jesus is my comfort. Jesus is my comfort

891
01:00:20.199 --> 01:00:24.440
because my comfort is not in some thing, but in

892
01:00:24.519 --> 01:00:30.239
someone and in what that someone has done.

893
01:00:32.880 --> 01:00:42.079
Okay, okay, we're at sixty minutes. I don't get it.

894
01:00:43.239 --> 01:00:45.920
So you could argue, well this again. You could tell me, well,

895
01:00:45.960 --> 01:00:48.840
this is about the how to Idelberg Catechism. What do

896
01:00:48.880 --> 01:00:52.719
you expect. Well, he keeps referencing Isaiah forty. I mean

897
01:00:52.840 --> 01:00:56.760
he read twenty something versus to start, he referenced it

898
01:00:56.760 --> 01:00:59.239
about the halfway point, and now he's referenced it at

899
01:00:59.280 --> 01:01:03.119
the end. Has three references to Isaiah forty, with no

900
01:01:03.639 --> 01:01:08.239
not even attempting to handle the text correctly, not even

901
01:01:08.239 --> 01:01:13.199
coming close, not even not even remotely even trying. I'll

902
01:01:13.199 --> 01:01:15.599
play like another minute, just to see if possible there's

903
01:01:15.599 --> 01:01:17.000
another reference to Isaiah forty.

904
01:01:19.360 --> 01:01:29.920
For me, Jesus is not one comforter among several other comforters,

905
01:01:30.760 --> 01:01:35.800
but he is, as the Catechism says, our only comfort

906
01:01:39.239 --> 01:01:47.320
Jesus is that comfort Simeon, the aged Simeon in the

907
01:01:47.400 --> 01:01:50.800
temple who held up the baby.

908
01:01:51.639 --> 01:01:56.599
All right, so now we're now I don't know, ladies

909
01:01:56.599 --> 01:02:01.199
and gentlemen, here's what I would tell you. First, identify

910
01:02:02.480 --> 01:02:05.760
why these people need to be comforted. If you need help,

911
01:02:05.920 --> 01:02:09.119
go to Isaiah thirty nine, starting in verse five, and

912
01:02:09.159 --> 01:02:11.320
you'll see that the reason these people need comfort is

913
01:02:11.360 --> 01:02:15.760
because of the Babylonian exile and the Babylonian captivity. Why

914
01:02:15.800 --> 01:02:18.800
do they go into Babylonian exile in Babylonian captivity? I

915
01:02:18.800 --> 01:02:21.000
think you'll be able to determine that they go in

916
01:02:21.239 --> 01:02:24.800
because of their sin and their rebellion and their idolatry.

917
01:02:24.920 --> 01:02:28.280
And they're not heeding the warnings that God sent to them. Right,

918
01:02:28.599 --> 01:02:31.679
So now they're suffering for their sin, which includes the

919
01:02:31.719 --> 01:02:34.239
destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and be

920
01:02:34.400 --> 01:02:38.800
carried away death and in slavery. Okay, they've been enslaved,

921
01:02:38.960 --> 01:02:42.119
they're in bondage. There we go. They are suffering. They

922
01:02:42.320 --> 01:02:46.199
need comfort. So God then says prophetically, way before they

923
01:02:46.239 --> 01:02:49.559
even get there, comfort ye, comfort ye my people. The

924
01:02:49.639 --> 01:02:53.559
my people are the people in Babylonian exile, Babylonian captivity,

925
01:02:53.800 --> 01:02:55.679
or the nation of Israel, if you want to expand

926
01:02:55.679 --> 01:02:58.920
it at all. That's who it's referring to. And God

927
01:02:59.039 --> 01:03:01.800
says this, God says, my people. And why does he

928
01:03:02.480 --> 01:03:06.039
my people need comfort? Because God had entered into a

929
01:03:06.119 --> 01:03:10.760
covenant with Israel, a specific covenant with them, and there

930
01:03:10.800 --> 01:03:15.559
are specific promises given to them. So what is the comfort? Well,

931
01:03:15.599 --> 01:03:21.880
speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Okay, I think, now that's

932
01:03:21.880 --> 01:03:24.599
not the church, that's not you, that's not me, And

933
01:03:24.719 --> 01:03:28.280
cry under her. And then three things are said. Number

934
01:03:28.360 --> 01:03:32.639
one that her warfare is accomplished. Number two, that her

935
01:03:32.800 --> 01:03:36.679
iniquity is pardoned, and number three, she hath received of

936
01:03:36.679 --> 01:03:41.239
the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Three things

937
01:03:41.400 --> 01:03:46.239
are stated. Understand those three things. That's if you want

938
01:03:46.239 --> 01:03:49.079
to understand this comfort. This comfort is to a specific people.

939
01:03:49.079 --> 01:03:52.159
Who are the people, the people who are in Babylonian exile?

940
01:03:52.360 --> 01:03:55.280
Why do they need comfort? They're in Babylonian exile? What

941
01:03:55.800 --> 01:03:58.280
I guess you could argue, we could break it down.

942
01:03:58.360 --> 01:04:00.360
What are the words of this of this comfort? Well,

943
01:04:00.360 --> 01:04:03.159
he says, speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry under her?

944
01:04:03.360 --> 01:04:05.599
And what is he to cry under her? Three things?

945
01:04:05.719 --> 01:04:09.920
Your warfare is accomplished, your iniquity is pardoned, and you

946
01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:13.440
have received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

947
01:04:13.840 --> 01:04:16.440
Three things have been said. What are those three things?

948
01:04:16.599 --> 01:04:18.679
How does that bring comfort to them? How does that

949
01:04:18.719 --> 01:04:21.800
provide any comfort to them? How do we understand those things?

950
01:04:22.000 --> 01:04:24.480
That's what matters. If you want to talk about comfort,

951
01:04:24.559 --> 01:04:26.599
then talk about the comfort that was given to these

952
01:04:26.639 --> 01:04:29.880
people that somehow everyone goes to Isaiah forty and says,

953
01:04:29.960 --> 01:04:31.840
who cares about you? We're going to somehow make this

954
01:04:31.920 --> 01:04:40.639
about us again? Is there any application what the application

955
01:04:40.719 --> 01:04:44.320
would be When you see a Christian who's suffering as

956
01:04:44.320 --> 01:04:48.159
a result of their specific sin, something that they have done,

957
01:04:48.440 --> 01:04:51.519
and it's horrible and it's ugly, Well, then how do

958
01:04:51.599 --> 01:04:58.000
we bring comfort to them? Is it even transferable? Is

959
01:04:58.400 --> 01:05:01.880
the concept is transferable because here's God? But God is

960
01:05:01.920 --> 01:05:04.119
doing this because of a covenant. Well, if someone's a

961
01:05:04.199 --> 01:05:08.719
child of God, we have been ingrafted in, right, We've

962
01:05:08.719 --> 01:05:11.800
been ingrafted in so that and God is the God

963
01:05:11.840 --> 01:05:15.039
of all comfort. So what comfort can be offered to

964
01:05:15.079 --> 01:05:24.280
a Christian who is suffering currently the consequences of their sin? Now?

965
01:05:24.960 --> 01:05:28.559
Is there a parallel? Now, if you want to be

966
01:05:28.559 --> 01:05:31.079
able to draw a parallel, then okay, but you've got

967
01:05:31.119 --> 01:05:34.519
to remain faithful to the original context. This is not

968
01:05:34.760 --> 01:05:38.159
about comfort. Because your car won't start, you lost your job,

969
01:05:38.559 --> 01:05:43.440
you got sickness, you broke your leg, you're having problems here,

970
01:05:43.480 --> 01:05:46.199
you're having problems with your kids. This is not about

971
01:05:46.400 --> 01:05:50.280
This is about comfort and context of people suffering for

972
01:05:50.519 --> 01:06:02.159
their very specific sin. All right, we're sixty six minutes.

973
01:06:03.559 --> 01:06:05.920
It's I don't even know how much time is left there.

974
01:06:05.960 --> 01:06:08.719
If he goes back to Isaiah forty obviously, I mean

975
01:06:08.719 --> 01:06:11.119
obviously we could. I think we can all agree we've

976
01:06:11.159 --> 01:06:18.679
done what we can with this, and this is not

977
01:06:18.760 --> 01:06:21.000
the only only one that does this. This is sermon

978
01:06:21.039 --> 01:06:24.000
after sermon after sermon on Isaiah forty. It's almost like

979
01:06:24.039 --> 01:06:27.280
a and it's an epidemic. It's a pandemic. It's a

980
01:06:27.519 --> 01:06:32.639
it's a it's a it's a problem. Isaiah forty just

981
01:06:32.639 --> 01:06:35.440
seems to be utilized for whatever purpose someone wants to

982
01:06:35.480 --> 01:06:47.599
utilize it for. All Right, I could break down Isaiah forty.

983
01:06:48.000 --> 01:06:50.599
Why we separate it from verse three? I could probably

984
01:06:50.679 --> 01:06:53.199
break it down there. We could do more. We talked

985
01:06:53.199 --> 01:06:57.440
a little bit yesterday about the the linguistic use of

986
01:06:57.480 --> 01:06:59.679
the Hebrew word there, which is kind of interesting because

987
01:06:59.719 --> 01:07:03.079
there's this idea of being sorry and repenting. Okay, we

988
01:07:03.119 --> 01:07:05.920
talked a little bit about that. There are some interesting

989
01:07:05.960 --> 01:07:09.119
phrases there. Warfare is accomplished. Okay, what does that mean?

990
01:07:09.440 --> 01:07:11.559
Why do they receive the double for all their sins?

991
01:07:11.599 --> 01:07:13.920
All the possible We've already discussed this a little bit.

992
01:07:21.920 --> 01:07:24.920
I give up, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes another very

993
01:07:25.480 --> 01:07:30.320
frustrating attempt. But hey, don't tell me that I wasn't

994
01:07:30.320 --> 01:07:32.719
being fair there, because we let the whole thing play.

995
01:07:32.960 --> 01:07:35.480
It started with a lengthy quote from Isaiah forty, and

996
01:07:35.519 --> 01:07:38.920
then Isaiah forty was referenced there multiple at least two times,

997
01:07:38.920 --> 01:07:40.360
maybe two more times, so I think a total of

998
01:07:40.400 --> 01:07:44.000
three times. So clearly Isaiah forty was like the lynchpin here,

999
01:07:44.159 --> 01:07:53.679
but it just was used for I mean, are there

1000
01:07:53.719 --> 01:07:58.519
any rules? Are really? Are there any rules? Are there

1001
01:07:58.559 --> 01:08:01.599
really any? I mean, I could open up my Bible

1002
01:08:01.679 --> 01:08:03.480
right now and say something, and then I'll get fifty

1003
01:08:03.480 --> 01:08:05.440
emails going, that's wrong, that's wrong, that's wrong, that's wrong

1004
01:08:05.480 --> 01:08:10.239
according to whom you what makes it wrong? Well, this

1005
01:08:10.320 --> 01:08:12.440
makes it wrong? Are you sure? Because let me go,

1006
01:08:12.639 --> 01:08:15.639
let's take all of yours, because I mean, that's the thing.

1007
01:08:15.840 --> 01:08:18.199
Everyone thinks that their interpretation of the text is right.

1008
01:08:18.239 --> 01:08:21.560
I think my interpretation of Isaiah forty and it's historical

1009
01:08:21.880 --> 01:08:27.039
linguistic context makes sense. But obviously not everyone agrees with me.

1010
01:08:27.159 --> 01:08:30.439
So who says I'm right? Who says they're right? Who's right?

1011
01:08:31.079 --> 01:08:36.319
Who knows? You? Just do whatever you want with the text,

1012
01:08:36.319 --> 01:08:38.239
make it say whatever you want, say you're right, and

1013
01:08:38.960 --> 01:08:41.319
just find a group of other people who say you're right,

1014
01:08:41.319 --> 01:08:42.920
and then you're good to go you called a church.

1015
01:08:47.479 --> 01:08:49.920
Everyone else criticizes your church. Who cares? As long as

1016
01:08:49.920 --> 01:08:52.000
you get enough people to support your church, Who really

1017
01:08:52.000 --> 01:08:54.439
cares what anybody else thinks? Because they think they're right.

1018
01:08:54.520 --> 01:08:56.760
You think you're right. Everybody thinks they're right. Everybody thinks

1019
01:08:56.800 --> 01:08:59.279
they're right. Everybody thinks they're right. That's the way it

1020
01:08:59.279 --> 01:09:12.239
all works, man, that is so frustrating. Look, I know

1021
01:09:12.279 --> 01:09:14.720
there's passages in the Bible that are hard to understand.

1022
01:09:14.960 --> 01:09:17.640
I know there's passages in the Bible that seem confusing

1023
01:09:17.680 --> 01:09:23.039
and confounding and discombobulated and who knows what. But when

1024
01:09:23.079 --> 01:09:26.760
you read Isaiah thirty nine, you have a clear explanation

1025
01:09:26.840 --> 01:09:30.159
of the Babylonian captivity and then you have comfort, ye comfort.

1026
01:09:30.239 --> 01:09:34.520
You have a major shift and tone from judgment to

1027
01:09:34.920 --> 01:09:41.239
and warning to now comfort. But it's to a specific

1028
01:09:41.319 --> 01:09:44.199
people like I don't understand how it's complicated. Like there's

1029
01:09:44.199 --> 01:09:46.920
some things I understand why it's complicated. I just don't

1030
01:09:47.000 --> 01:09:51.279
understand what's happening here. And this is not the first sermon.

1031
01:09:51.399 --> 01:09:54.399
I mean, I think some of you probably can can testify,

1032
01:09:54.520 --> 01:09:57.079
can acknowledge that you've been listening to a lot of

1033
01:09:57.119 --> 01:09:59.319
sermons on Isaiah forty and you found the same thing.

1034
01:09:59.439 --> 01:10:06.199
Sometimes you're just like, why did they even mention Isaiah forty.

1035
01:10:07.199 --> 01:10:08.840
But here's the thing. If you if you're looking for

1036
01:10:08.880 --> 01:10:11.720
sermons on Isaiah forty and the title has anything to

1037
01:10:11.760 --> 01:10:15.680
do with you, me, us, or we, you already know

1038
01:10:15.720 --> 01:10:19.319
you're off to a very questionable start. So I should

1039
01:10:19.319 --> 01:10:22.239
have known a title a sermon entitled Our Comfort for

1040
01:10:22.319 --> 01:10:26.319
Living was problematic considering the text was Isaiah forty and

1041
01:10:26.640 --> 01:10:32.800
R is not there? They them, That's who's there. All right,

1042
01:10:33.000 --> 01:10:35.560
I'll stop, Thanks for listening. Everyone, have a great day.

1043
01:10:36.159 --> 01:10:43.920
I give up, I retire, goodbye.