Isaiah 40: Comfort Pt 2

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central the question of the day, When is comfort not comfort? When is comfort not comfort? Well, the answer is simple. Comfort is not comfort when you listen to sermons on Isaiah chapter forty. There's no comfort to be found in these sermons. There's only aggravation, frustration, and while a desire to just give up on life. Okay, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole, but let me tell you, comfort is not comfort when you listen to sermons on Isaiah chapter forty. Because we have I don't know, it's been one example after another of I just I don't know what the deal is.

0:57 It's like everyone, we're going to preach on Isaiah chapter forty, and then it's just a total disaster. In many cases, they don't even like Isaiah forty is our text, and then they don't really do anything with Isaiah chapter forty. It's very weird. I don't know. I think I know why. We'll talk a little bit about why in just a second, but we're going to be going back to it. Well, a sermon on Isaiah chapter forty. I know it's not going to be comfortable. It's not going to bring any comfort. It's going to probably be just more frustration. But I feel like we have to continue. We can't leave it where it left yesterday. I mean, yesterday was such seventy minutes of just complete and total frustration. It was very irritating.

1:39 So I feel like I've got to do something. So that's what we will do. Right after I say this, Welcome everyone. It is Tuesday, October twenty ninth, twenty twenty four. It is currently ten thirty eight am Central time, and I'm coming to you live from the Theology Central Studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Thank you so very much for tuning in. I don't know, I'm thankful. You won't be thankful. By the time this is over. You'll probably be very frustrated, going why did I waste my time? And I can completely understand because I feel like I wasted everyone's time yesterday, including my own. I mean, by the time I got done yesterday, I was just like, I just don't get it. I just don't get it.

2:27 It's like, what do I have to do? I look up sermons on Isaiah forty do I have to just you know, review them before I can actually review them, because I'm not having a lot of luck. So, as all of you should know by now, we're in a series where we're going to study Isaiah chapter forty all the way to Isaiah chapter fifty five. We're going to work through this almost in a verse by verse way. We're gonna take these chapters apart, these sections apart. We're going to look at it and look at it, look at it. And why are we going to do this? Why are we going to spend all of this time to work through Isaiah chapter forty through Isaiah chapter fifty five. Well, I would like to say it's because of some grand spiritual reason, and it sounds so positive and it sounds so uplifting, But my reason much is probably very much more negative and more cynical, and maybe just out of my pure frustration. But I just don't understand why. Over and over and over we see pastors taking sections or a verse and Isaiah somewhere between Isaiah chapter forty, verse one and Isaiah the end of Isaiah fifty five and just basically spiritualize it, allegorize it, and just make it say whatever they wanted to say and ignore the original context.

3:44 So I think someone needs to provide an in depth study of Isaiah chapter forty to Isaiah fifty five where we actually care about the actual context and the actual meaning of words and the actual setting in which they occur. I think that that's I think that that's absolutely it'sari. Now again, I could say, well, you know, we just want to study God's word, and I there is a part of that that's true, but there's another part that I'm just I just I just don't get it. And we have seen this, Oh, we've seen what they what we started with sermons and Isaiah forty three was just turned into I don't know what that was going on there. Then we even saw how John Bunyan in Pilgrim's Progress, how he handled Isaiah forty three once again just spiritualizing allegorizing it. And then we turned to Isaiah forty and we've seen the same thing. The Isaiah chapter forty, the beginning of the section where we read these beautiful words, comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God? What what powerful words? What what amazing words? And immediately it just turns into whatever, So yesterday, what happened, well, not just yesterday, but well, yesterday as far as the broadcast concerned.

5:00 But even before the broadcast, there's been at least one day, maybe even two days, where I kept looking up sermon after sermon on Isaiah chapter forty and over and over and over and over again. What I discovered is, wait a minute, all of these sermons on Isaiah forty seem to be a part of a teaching series on the Heidelberg Catechism, because the Heidelberg Catechism begins on Lord's Day one with basically what is your comfort? What is your only comfort? And obviously the text that's being utilized is Isaiah chapter forty verse one. But you already see a problem.

5:41 You have a catechism written in fifteen sixty three that asked the people at that time and the people after that time, fifteen sixty three all the way up to you know, twenty twenty four, asking people what is your only comfort? And somehow Isaiah forty verse one is being utilized somehow or connect to this. Well, there's a problem because an Isaiah chapter forty verse one, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. That is spoken to a specific group of people and a very specific historical setting these are words of comfort that are to be given to the people who are in exile and Babylon. This is for if you want to speak of it as a divided kingdom, for Judah, if you just want to speak it of it in a general sense. This is for Israel. This is for Israel. Now, are there any applications or any any correlation or connection to us.

6:36 We could possibly find that. But you just can't run to Isaiah chapter forty, verse one and say, oh, it uses the word comfort, So now let me just use comfort anyway that I want. No, the comfort here is for a specific group of people and a specific setting. We can't just run in, shove them out of the way and say I'm sorry, I'm gonna take this comfort for me. Now, if you want to talk about comfort, you probably could see does the does the Bible speak of comfort anywhere else? Does it? I mean, I almost want to give you that as an assignment. Maybe we'll get to that at some point. So that's what we found, sir. You look up by sermons on Isaiah chapter forty, you almost find sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, which is a just Again, it's maddening because even The sermon that we were reviewing yesterday was entitled our Comfort for a Living?

7:24 Are yours me? Our comfort? No, it's not about if you're using Isaiah chapter forty, it's about their comfort. It's about them being comforted, not about us. But somehow Isaiah forty becomes about our comfort in your comfort. And what was so maddening is yesterday's sermon that we were reviewing. They started the sermon looking, all, you know, very biblical. They read Isaiah chapter forty, verses one through seventeen, all right, or may no, I think they actually read Isaiah chapter forty, verses one through twenty four. I think they read a large section of Isaiah forty. And you're like, okay, this is going to be about the Bible. And then immediately it's like, Isaiah chapter forty, we're going to read all of these verses. Now let's talk about the Heidelberg Catechism.

8:05 And you're like, what about what about Isaiah forty? So then the review was just Now. The history they gave was great. The introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism was great, lots of good information, a lot of things I would be in agreement with, but it had nothing to do with Isaiah chapter forty. But what even is more subversive is you read the text and then immediately talked about us basically and how the Heidelberg Catechism is for us. But what about Isaiah forty What about the the Heidelberg Catechism is not going to provide any comfort for the people in Babylonian exile. How do they get caught up with the Heidelberg Catechism? That's the crazy thing. But so then we asked this question, does the catechism? Does the Heidelberg Catechism apply Isaiah forty verse one to Christians and rip it out of its original context? That's the question I have. While I was listening to all of that, I'm like, Okay, somehow the Heidelberg Catechism is connected to Isaiah forty. What is happening here? And so I started looking up some things and we read these words. The Heidelberg Catechism does apply Isaiah forty verse one to Christians, particularly as a message of comfort regarding forgiveness of sins and assurance in Christ. While Isaiah forty verse one was originally directed to Israel and the context of the Babylonian exile, the Heidelberg Catechism extends the Versus message of comfort to Christians as a part of spiritual redemption. Well, you can

9:37 say they extend it, and most of the sermons that we heard, it's not that they extend it. They just kick those people literally out of it and just insert us into it. It's one thing to extend it, it's another thing to just replace us, that's you know, or to replace them with us. How does the Heidelberg Catechism use Isaiah chapter forty verse one. Well, Question and Answer one of the Heidelberg Catechism, or sometimes refer to as Lord's Day One, famously begins with this question what is your only comfort in life and in death? This emphasis on comfort resonates with Isaiah forty verse one, where God offers comfort to his people. The Catechism's entire structure and pastoral tone reflects an interpretation of comfort similar to what Isaiah forty verse one conveys, though applied to spiritual rather than physical exile. So they take Isaiah forty one apply it to spiritual rather than to physical exile. Well, you can't just go make it spiritual when it's talking about something physical. For the most part, by linking comfort with forgiveness, grace, and assurance in Christ, the Catechism spiritualizes Isaiah chapter forty verse One's message of comfort and relief for his people.

10:54 This is intended to show that just as God comforted Israel and exile, he also provides comfort to Christians through christ redemptive work. Does this take the verse out of its original context in a sense? Yes, Isaiah chapter forty verse one was originally a message of comfort to Israel regarding the end of their Babylonian exile and the promise of restoration. By applying this verse directly to Christians as a message about forgiveness and reassurance in Christ, the Catechism moves beyond the historical context of Israel's physical exile to a broader spiritual application. The spiritual application, though not part of the original historical setting, is intended to highlight a parallel on how God comforts all his people. Well, my thing is, if you're going to fight, are you just using Isaiah forty verse one just because it has the word comfort and it's repeated comfort?

11:47 Ye? Comfort? Ye? Are you borrowing it because of the Hebrew word for comfort? There? Well, why are you taking it from Isaiah forty verse one. There's no other verses in the Bible to speak about comfort nowhere. I'm not that already. And again we saw the same thing in Pilgrim's Progress, where John Bunya just goes spiritualizes Isaiah forty three, verse two. Like the minute this starts happening, the original context just gets destroyed. So I we went seventy minutes yesterday on a sermon about Isaiah forty that turned into I mean, they never even got to Isaiah forty. So what I did is I kept listening. I kept listening, and finally I think I'm up to the point where they the focus is now going to change. Now. I did not listen long enough to know if they actually get to Isaiah chapter forty, verse one. But I feel like we have to at least try, right. We can't just leave yesterday with just like, hey, well here's another example. I've got to at least let the sermon have the opportunity to at least address the text. But I am going to do this, right. I didn't think about this, but I am going to do this. I am going to go I'm going to pull up the blue Letter Bible app I'm going to just type in the word comfort.

13:14 I'm going to type in the word comfort, all right, comfort occurs. Well, that's I'm gonna hang on. I gotta do. I'm going to put the New Testament, all right, A comfort occurs twenty three and twenty three verses and the New Testament of the KJV. So if you're using the King James version, comfort occurs and forty m sorry, twenty three verses and the New Testament of the KJV version. All right, So if you're using the King James, the word comfort occurs twenty three times in the New Testament. It occurs in Matthew nine twenty two. All right. Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, daughter, be of good comfort, Mark ten forty nine. Jesus still stood still, commanded him to be called, and they called the blind man, saying him be of good comfort. Effort rise Luke eight forty eight. He said, unto her daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith have made the whole go in peace. John eleven nineteen. Many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them. Acts nine thirty one. Then had the church's rest through all Jadea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the holy ghosts were multiplied Romans fifteen four. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope One Corinthians fourteen three. But he that prophesieth speak unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. Second Corinthians one to three. Blessed be the God, even the Father of

14:45 our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. That sounds like maybe Second Corinthians one three would be a good verse to use. Right instead of going to Isaiah forty, where you have to completely insert us into a text where we're not found, wouldn't you go to Second Corinthians one three, which would make perfect sense. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Second Corinthians one four, Who comfort who comforteth us? So the God of all comfort? Second Corinthians one three, who comforteth us and all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Now we have God is the god of all comfort, God comforting us, we comforting others with the comfort that we have received. Now you've got things that could really fit maybe the Heidelberg Catechism Second Corinthians two seven. So that contrawise ye ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with over much sorrow that Second Corinthians two seven. What is that referencing? I think that's referencing the person in First Corinthians five who was engaged in well, you know, a sexual relationship with his you know, father's wife, and then he's basically to be excommunicated. Well, there seems now here there needs to be some forgiveness, There needs

16:18 to be some comfort. Okay. I think that that's what that's referencing to. That would possibly fit with the Heidelberg Catechism. Second Corinthians seven four. Great is my boldness of speech towards you. Great is my glorying of you. I am filled with comfort. I'm exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. Second Corinthia seven thirteen. Therefore, we were comforted in your comfort second Corinthians thirteen eleven. Finally, brethren, farewell, be perfect, be of good comfort Ephesian six twenty two. Whom I've sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts Philippians two one. If there be, if there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love Philippians two nineteen. But I trust in the Lord Jesus that also may be of good comfort, right Timothys. They're sending him that he may also be of good comfort Colossians four eight. Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate and comfort your hearts Colossians four eleven. We have the same type of thing. One Thessalonius five eleven, comfort yourselves together, and then second Thessalonians two seventeen, comfort your hearts, establish you in every good work. So there's a lot of idea of people comforting people, certain people being named there. I'm not going to go through the names and all the situations, but you can go read all of the verses. So what I'm trying to demonstrate is that within the New

17:48 Testament itself. There are plenty of verses that use the word comfort. So why in the world do you have to go to Isaiah chapter forty, verse one and connect comfort here with us when Isaiah forty vers one is comfort to the people there? Now, you could use it maybe as a cross reference, right, you could say, here's how God comforted Israel and their time. But do we want to how do we utilize that? Because this wouldn't be comfort during a time of trial or a time of tribulation. This would be comfort under punishment, under chastisement, right, because the comfort these people are in exile. Why are they're in exile because of their sins? So would we not have to then draw the correlation of comfort being given to people as they're being chastised or being punished for their sin. How do like, if we're going to apply this, we have to apply it at least to some context that would be similar. Correct. So we've been talking about this. I told you to do a little word study on the word comfort. I did a little bit of that for you yesterday. I told you to be reading Isaiah forty through fifty five. This is all kind of we're just kind of doing a lot of preliminary work here, So we're just going to go back to the sermon from yesterday and just see what we can do. I know we've spent now nineteen minutes just kind of just talking about all of this. But let's see if we look. I don't know if we're going to get very far, but let's just see. He's now done with all of his introductory comments about the Heidelberg Catechism.

19:20 Now he's going to go to Lord's Day one, which is going to be the question about what is your only comfort in life and in death? Now? Is he going to then go to Isaiah chapter forty? Now, maybe the way he puts these together, it's going to be perfect, it's going to be amazing, it's going to be great, or maybe it's not. I just know this clearly he's using it to make it about us, and that is my concern. Is he going to refer to the original people and their original situation? We're going to hope. So here we go. The first Lord's Day of the Heidelberg Catechism opens up with the question that forms the theme of the Heidelberg Catechism, what is thy only comfort? The Heilberg Catechism, as I said, was largely written by Erzinis. It wasn't his first catechism.

20:21 He has two other catechisms of note, a Large Catechism which is for more mature Christians, and a small catechism that is for children. Comparing the first question and answer in those catechisms to the Heidelberg Catechism brings out some important things. That large catechism written by r. Zignis was written from the viewpoint of the Covenant. That's very significant. That did not become the theme of the Heidelberg Catechism, but that was the theme of his large catechism, and I'll be referring to it in coming Lord's Days. In the Large Catechism, Resignis's first question is what firm comfort do you have in life and death? And his answer is that I was created by God in His image for eternal light, and after I willfully lost this in Adam, God, out of infinite and free mercy, took me into his covenant of grace that he might give me by faith, righteousness and eternal life because of the obedience and death

21:53 of His son who was sent in the flesh, and that he sealed his covenant in my heart by his spirit, who renews me in the image of God and cries out in me Ah a father, by his word and the visible signs of the Covenant. What is just utterly insane to me is this sermon began with the reading of Isaiah forty. As I've already stated in my opening comments, here we are. We're probably more than halfway done with this sermon, maybe even more than halfway. And every do you just notice it's about you, it's about me, it's about us, it's about me, it's about you, it's about it's about It's like this has like it's almost like the original recipients of Isaiah forty are just completely ignored forgotten. Now I'm still holding out hope.

22:53 Look look at it. I'm not going there's only so far I'm gonna go, and then I'm just gonna say, okay, look we're done. Obviously this is not going to ever deal with Isaiah forty. I'm hoping at some point, well I was hoping he was going to immediately go into why he read Isaiah chapter forty. I'm assuming at some point he is. But obviously you can tell that even if he does, there's going to be very little time given to the actual text, to the actual anything. It's just like Isaiah forty. This is what's so funny. Many times those within the reformed world are very condemning of those who use topical preaching. How dare they write? Well, what is this? Now? I love catechisms, and I think Catechism should be taught. I thought, I think Catechism should be preached, I think Catechism should be read, Catechism should be used. But the thing is, when you're using the catechisms and you're going to make a reference to these verses, well, then the verses have to be then explained and taught in their full context. And many cases you'll say, why did they use that verse? And you know what, See, that's the thing. If you're committed to the team, if you're committed to a specific, specific perspective, you're not going to offer criticism. But see, since I'm not committed to any specific team, I don't care who I offend. I'm sorry.

24:13 I don't know why in the world Isaiah forty has anything to do with this other than the fact that they both use the word comfort. We need to find out what is the comfort for these people? We need, Like, there's so much here to figure out, right, Like, let's just an example, just looking at it just from a structural standpoint. We could just look at it from a structural standpoint. Do we just make Isaiah forty verse one and two its own section, and then three starting in three a separate section? I will argue, yeah, we should separate them, right, we've already looked at Well, if you're going to talk about comfort in light of the Heidelber Catechism, why wouldn't you use New Testament passages? And I gave you once some of them that I thought would possibly be very helpful. That's a good question, right, Are you using Isaiah forty maybe because of the Hebrew word? Well, we talked a little bit about the Hebrew word and there's a lot going on there. I don't know if that would really help with the Heidelberg Catechism. Are you using the heidelberd or are you using Isaiah forty? Like?

25:14 Are you using Isaiah Isaiah forty because of the Hebrew word? And does that somehow help with the Heidelberg Catechism don't I don't necessarily see that it's the Heidelberg Catechism using Isaiah forty as a way just saying, hey, this is how God provides us comfort and this is how he provided them comfort. But in it two completely different comforts. Unless you're going to I guess you could try to find some spiritual parallels. Maybe he's going to do that. It just seems like you're talking in completely different situations to some level, right, Like to me, the parallel would be, this is God bringing comfort to people who are suffering for their sin, all right, So how to then take the lesson from that and we bring comfort to people who are suffering in their sin? Now, typically we would apply that, well, we bring the gospel to lost people, but what about Christians who are in sin? Don't they get some kind of comfort because this is God's people who are suffering. This is not the pagans. This is God's people. This is his n issue as he refers to them my people. So what in the correct application would be, how can we learn how God brought comfort to those suffering in their sins? And how can we learn to bring comfort to those who are suffering in their sins who are Christians. Maybe there's the lesson right now.

26:40 I mean, if we're going to try to draw some parallel, so I don't Maybe at some point he's going to get there. I don't know. I'm hoping. I'm starting to lose all hope at this point. But let's see no less than three references to the Covenant in that first question and answer. Much briefer is the first question and answer of the Small Catechism. What comfort sustains your heart in death as well as in life? That God has truly forgiven all my sins because of Christ, and has given me eternal life in which I may glorify Him forever. I call your attention this morning to comfort for living, next week, comfort for dying, comfort for living.

27:42 Why that comfort is needed, what that comfort is, and the blessedness of that comfort. We need comfort, All of us need comfort. Please know how this sermon is being. We need comfort, need comfort. It's you, It's me, we we us. It's like it's not them or they, it's us, we me. It's all about us. And that's why I have put forth that term, and not a lot of people may necessarily have appreciated it, but Christians at large were just narcissistic, textual hijackers. We make it about us, We go to the text we hijacket like we're running into the cockpit of an airplane removing the pilot, like I'm driving this baby and I'm going to drive it wherever I want it to go. How in the world are you and Isaiah forty? And then you're gonna be me? Me? We us me, we us need comfort. No, they needed comfort.

28:43 They needed comfort. They needed comfort because they were in Babylonian exile. They them. We need comfort as to the circumstances of our lives, the physical circumstances as well as the spiritual circumstances. The hylerbrig Catechism presumes this. The first question and answer of the Hydelberg Catechism is not do you need comfort? But the question is what is your only comfort? For life and for death? Comfort is something that we all need.

29:32 Comfort is not only for the sick person languishing in a hospital bed. Comfort is not for the invalid in the rest home. Comfort is not for the old man or old woman bent over with our right edds, pushing a walker or being pushed in a wheelchair. Comfort is not something that only the widow and widower needs. Comfort is not only for the man dying of an incurable cancer, or for the wife dying of cancer about to leave behind a family of children. Comfort is not only for those who have lost loved ones, children, brothers and sisters, spouse, parents, But comfort is something that we all stand in need of.

30:36 And comfort is something that we all stand in need of all of the time our entire life in this world, no matter how long we may live. It is comfort that is need in need, from our earliest years to old age, when finally we close our eyes in death. God did not say to the prophet Isaiah, comfort ye, comfort ye my old people. Comfort ye, comfort ye my sick and my dying people. But he said comfort ye, comfort ye my people, all of my people.

31:32 Oh, my goodness, gracious. So he just went to Isaiah forty comfort ye, comfort ye my people. And now he's interpreting my people completely separate from his actual context. He's he's removing this from Israel, he's removing this from just as everyone everyone. Yeah, okay, I'm just gonna give him the opportunity. I'm going to give him the opportunity. I'm just gonna be patient here. I'm going to assume that I am jumping the gun a little bit here, that I'm not giving him the opportunity to fully explain this right, because there's no way he's interpreting Isaiah forty one, comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, and he's inserting us into the my people phrase. There is no way he would do that because it has a literal context. Here. This is to the people. Isaiah thirty nine talks about the Babylonian captivity.

32:40 Right it starts, and I think if you look at Isaiah thirty nine, verse five, then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, hear the words of the Lord of Hosts, Behold the days come that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried onto Babylon. Nothing should be left, saith the Lord. See there is the context, and now the comfort comes to the people within the Babylonian exile. The my people are the people in Babylonian exile. This is not even an issue about theology. This is not even an issue about hermeneutics. This is just a basic issue of reading comprehension. Anyone who reads this, you can't just go and say, well, now I'm part of this group, am I Have I been in Babylonian exile. Oh well, I'm going to spiritualize it. You can't say. If you're going to spiritualize it, then the Bible loses all meaning.

33:38 You can just make it whatever you want. This comfort is needed both for living and for dying. Comfort is not merely something that we need at the end of our life as a kind of sedative to see us through death. Comfort is not a kind of life insurance policy that, well, if you need to cash it in, that's great, and if you don't, all the better.

34:21 Comfort is not something that we need only here and now at certain critical times in our lives. But comfort is something that we need all our life. Law it would be it would be crazy if someone really wanted to do this. The sermon begins with the reading of Isaiah forty. After well over half the sermon, he returns back to Isaiah forty. But just go through the sermon and listen how many times he uses me, you, we us, how many times he uses phrases that refers to us, and how many times he uses phrases that refers to the actual people that the comfort was actually supposed to go to. He's yet to refer to the people it was actually supposed to go to. He's completely like they don't even exist so far in this sermon. Now, I'm not saying they're not going to be mentioned, but at some point or I mean, we're going to run out a sermon. At some point, we're going to run out a sermon. So even if they're mentioned, they're only going to be mentioned in maybe a five minute section maybe if that, maybe maybe ten minutes if they're lucky, maybe they will get ten minutes if they're lucky.

35:37 That's the viewpoint of the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism. What is the evil, the sorrow, the misery on account of which we need comfort? Included in those sorrows are the sufferings that we endure in our earthly lives. Just because we're Christians, that doesn't mean that we're exempt from those sufferings, that we don't have to endure, the heart attack, the cancer, the loss of a loved one, that we're exempt from those things.

36:34 This has nothing, says nothing to do with Isaiah forty. Now, I know what some of you are going to say. You're saying you're not being fair because it's a message about the Heidelberg Catechism. Okay, you may have a point, but here's the problem. He started with reading Isaiah chapter forty. He did even go back and just reference it. But even so it starts with Isaiah forty. It's referenced a little bit halfway through, so clearly Isaiah forty is the text. So Isaiah forty is the text, but it's been completely hijacked. And now he's like, what is the misery? What is the suffering? The misery and the suffering is that the people are suffering because of their sin and they're in Babylonian exile. This is not about well, they're having you know, medical problems, they're having a hard time. This has nothing to do with that. Even if you want to break broaden it, well, then broaden it within its original context.

37:32 The original context is when there are people suffering as a result of their sin, when do we bring comfort to them? What is that comfort? Now? It can? Is it easily transferable? I don't know, because there's a specific comfort being offered here. Like the issue is if we're go if we're going to go on Isaiah forty and you're going to draw any application, the application has to be somewhat consistent with the text. Right, No, the sickness, the pain, the sorrow and sufferings, the heart attack, the cancer, the deadly automobile accident, poverty, famine, all of these are the experience of the people of God.

38:28 Included in these sufferings an account of which we need comfort, are all of the sufferings that we endure because we're Christians, and because we live as Christians, because of our confession and walk, we invite the persecution of the ungodly world. That's always been the caves. That's always reason on account of which the sufferings of God's people are greater than the sufferings of the children of this world. Because added to our other sufferings are the sufferings we endure.

39:14 Because so are the people in Isaiah forty suffering because of their faithfulness to God and they're being persecuted? Or are they suffering because of their sin? I mean, I don't know, I mean who cares? I mean, I mean Isaiah forty really is just irrelevant to this entire discussion, right, I mean, so, why did you start with reading Isaiah forty? Why did you go back and make a quick reference to Isaiah forty. A minute ago, you used Isaiah forty when you saw the phrase my people, and then you just wanted to apply it to all of us without any explanation, without any textual justification, just using Isaiah forty when necessary when you want, and then just leaving it when you don't. Again, it would have been much better to go to I was Second Corinthians. I think second second Corinthians. I think it is the God of all comfort. See, that would have made much more sense, right because they would have had a New Testament context written to a New Testament church. It would have had and the God of all comfort. Then that just means God in himself, He is the God of all comfort. So then you could correlate it and it would make a lot more sense to this. Using Isaiah forty raises fifty million hermeneutical.

40:27 Problems because we are Christians. At the time that the Heidelberg Catechism was written, this was certainly the Caves. Reformed believers throughout Europe were being persecuted. Many of them sacrifice their lives for the cause of the Gospel, imprisonment, beatings, hangings, beheadings, drownings, being burnt at the stake, all of these were the order of the day for those who confessed the Reformed Faith, the truths summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism. And even though this is not at present, our experience is going to be one day in the future for our children and grandchildren.

41:42 Very likely this is the experience of many today. I just want to throw out there, while many of the Reformers and those of the Reform Faith were persecuted and faced, you know, some forms of suffering, just note that some Christians of the Reform Faith were involved in instances of persecution and religious conflict. Like many religious groups and the Reformation and post Reformation era, some Reform Christians participated in actions that today would be considered persecution, often on part of a broader social, political, and theological conflicts. We have John Calvin, and John Calvin is also associated with the execution of Michael Savadas and a theologian who denied the Trinity and opposed aspects of Orthodox Christian doctrine, who was condemned as a heretake in fifteen fifty three and was burned at the stake in Geneva, where Calvin's influence was strong. While Calvin did not act alone. The city council approved the execution. He supported his punishment as a way to preserve doctrinal purity in a period when heresy was often considered a threat to public order. You have others, French Reformed Protestants, who experienced significant persecution and from the Catholic monarchy and often defended themselves in violent conflicts.

43:04 So the Dutch Reform Church became the established Church and the late in the Dutch Republic in the late sixteenth century and regions where they held political power. Reformed authorities occasional occasionally restricted religious freedoms of Catholics and a Baptists and others. Though they were generally more tolerant and in Netherlands than in other parts of Europe, certain laws and restrictions limited the religious practices and rights of minority groups. And Scotland, the Reformed Church, led by John Knox and others, sometimes used force to dismantle Catholic practices and enforced Protestant reforms. The Scottish Reformation involved in actions against Catholics, including the destruction of monasteries and churches to measure and suppress Catholic worship.

43:47 So in the context of the era just so you know, there was prosecution, persecution of people from all different theological backgrounds. He just mentioned how the reform people suffered, well, non reform people suffered, the Anabaptists offered, All kinds of different groups suffered, Catholics suffered, Catholics made other people suffer because what was happening there was a constant attempt to merge church and state. Right, so when you merge church and state, the church can say that's a heresy, that's a heresy, and then the state can punish that heresy by civil law, civil imprisonment, destruction of property, taking away property, stopping you from being able to do certain things, imprisonment, or death.

44:27 So it happened on both sides. I think if we're gonna talk about it, let's just be honest about it. Okay, it happened on both sides, all right. So and again when we talk about John Calvin in Geneva, just know that, well Calvin did not act alone. A lot of people said, well, you know he had the man killed. Well, Calvin was not acting alone. Calvin may be determining that the doctrine is wrong. The doctrine has heretical demands, a heretic, but it required the civil government to also be a part of it. And that's what was the merging of church and state, all right. So just that happened a lot of times, all right. During the Reformation and Counter Reformation, religious and political lines were often blurred, and heretical views were frequently seen as threats to social stability. This led to a context in which many Christian groups, including Reform Christians, saw persecution as a means to maintain orthodoxy and public order.

45:24 It is important to recognize that Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and other groups also participated in religious persecution at this time. The Reform tradition was not unique in this regard, though they did hold a notable commitment to theological purity. The actions of some early Reformed Christians standing contrast to core Christian teachings on mercy, love of neighbor, and modern Reformed churches generally regret and repudiate these actions or they just don't mention them. So I'm just saying, if you're going to go, if we're gonna talk about, well, the Reform people were persecuted, and they were persecuting others, right, so let's just make it clear. So what's the lesson? Never blur the line between church and state, because when church and state merge, people die. That's what I've been saying my whole Christian life, right, So there you go. I read a lot of that really quick, and I probably didn't get some of the names pronounced correctly, but you get the basic idea. Now again, you see, though, what's happening?

46:25 What is happening? Are we in Isaiah forty? Ladies and gentlemen, are we anywhere near Isaiah forty? This is. Who live in lands that are torn by civil war, as in Me and Mark, lands that are ruled by those who are committed to false religions, the lands that are ruled by Roman Catholicism. The reform faith, as it's expressed in the Heidelberg Cateachism is a reform faith, an account of which those who confess these truths will suffer besides the physical sufferings and the sufferings.

47:22 For just to make sure I get his name correctly, the person I should know it could have taught it a million times. But John Calvin is often associated with the execution of Michael Servetus or I always say Servetus but I think it's Servetus is the way it's actually pronounced. But John Calvin is often associated with the execution of Michael Cervitus as a theologian who denied the Trinity and exposed aspects of Orthodox Christian doctrine. Servetus was condemned as a heretic in fifteen fifty three was burned at the state. While Calvin did not act alone, the city council approved the execution. So just that, just so that you know that I want to make sure I get that correct and make sure I correct make sure that I'm as accurate as possible. But yes, that story is talked about all the time. I just want you to know that it doesn't matter both sides. You go through church history. No, everyone's hands are covered in blood. Everyone's hands. Let's just just just okay, it doesn't matter. You know why, because it supports another theological thing that we keep talking about is I don't care what year, I don't care who the person is. If they are Christians, they sinned. If they're Christians, they sinned, They sinned, They sin because that is the life of Christianity is sin. That's what we do.

48:38 We continue to sin we can try to pretend that we're so much better than everyone else, but our history is full of sin, just like everyone else's history, because we still sin, We will constantly sin, We always sin. That's a reality, all right. So I'm just saying, if you're gonna you're gonna start talking about the reformers being persecuted, well, then talk about their reformers doing the persecution, all right, because it happened on both sides. Was one side worse than another, well you can draw that conclusion. The bottom line is what's the lesson from it all. It's not trying to determine who did more and who did less. The issue is all of it emerges from this idea of merging church and state. When your church is in charge of the state, it's great for you. You're persecuting them, you're punishing them, you're going after them, you're going after them. Great, you're in power. But the minute you lose power and another group comes to power, now they merge with the state, and then they come after you. So if Christians are in charge and you want to go after Muslims and not allow them to build mosque, and you want to do this, and you want to do that great, until they come in power, then they come after you. That's why I don't I think the separation of church and state is absolutely essential, or all you're going to do is people going to die. And you may say, no, it's claiming it for Christ who like you're claiming it for which Christ, the Christ oft or the Christ of Protestantism, and even if it's the Christ of Protestantism, which Protestant group, because it's all wonderful and great to just say it generically,

50:08 But if Catholics are in charge, then you're going to suffer. And if you're in charge, other people are going to charge. And when another group comes in power, then you're going to suffer. That's the way it works. That's why we don't want the merging of Now, I know that's not the issue here. The issue is supposedly Isaiah chapter forty. But I just wanted to make sure I got the name correct and stated it correctly. All right, now, let's go back and say if we can get to Isaiah forty, because once again we're fast approaching the hour mark. And guess what, We've not accomplished anything on Isaiah forty. Christ's sake there are also the sufferings of soul that believers experience. Disappointments in their earthly lives, in their families, struggles in the church business, ruin fired from our job.

51:11 We can't put food on the table or pay all the bills. There's the setbacks in our business, the pain of harsh and unfounded criticism, the pain of our diligent work in the churches and schools that are referred to in that heading of the Catechism, where teachers give themselves to their calling to instruct our children in the fear of God on the basis of the Reformed Confessions, and instead of appreciation or criticized by are not supported or encouraged in their work. And the same is the case for the labors of office bearers often in the church mothers.

52:15 In the home. There is the pain of strife and disunity in our marriages, or in our families or extended families. And some of the worst pain of all is the disunity and strife that takes place in the church. But the great misery of the Child of God is none of these. The great misery of the Child of God an account of which he stands in need of comfort is his sin, guilt of his sin before God. Our misery is our sin? Why is there misery and suffering in the world because of man's sin. We deserve all of these miseries and sufferings. We have sin in Father Adam.

53:28 We have been born with a sinful and depraved nature. Now, if you'll just think about this from a purely like logical perspective, I understand why we say it this way. What we deserve to suffer? Why do we suffer because of sin? And we are all guilty and Adam therefore we all deserve to suffer. But I just want you to think about this from a logical perspective. The all knowing God, who is all powerful, created Adam and Eve knowing they were going to sin. In fact, forget that he created Satan knowing Satan was going to rebel, And instead of destroying Satan after he rebelled, which he could have or just not creating him, he creates him, lets him come to earth and goes into tempt Eve, knowing exactly what's going to happen. Once Adam and Eve's sin.

54:15 He could then have destroyed them. He could have kept them isolated within the garden. He could have kept them for procreating, He could have stopped it all, but no, he allowed them to have children and have him have children. So what he's saying is that God, who knew it was all going to happen, could have done a million things to stop it from happening, allowed it to happen. But guess what. You deserve to suffer because you fell in at him. You deserve to suffer. You deserve disease, you deserve pain, you deserve to be robbed and molested. And this because you sinned an Adam, you deserve it because we're sinners. Wow, that's I'm a sinner And how did I become a sinner? Let me see? Let me see here, Let me think about I was born that way.

55:04 But because I was born that way, I deserve to suffer. My parents were born that way and they deserve to suffer. And their parents were born that way and they deserve to suffer. And so you're born a certain way and you deserve to suffer. You're born guilty. You didn't do anything. You're born guilty. You're born a sinner, but you deserve to suffer because you're a sinner. I didn't choose to fall in at him. I mean, just think about it from like a purely logical standpoint. I mean, do we hear what we're saying. It sounds so good, it sounds so theological, and it sounds so yeah. Yeah, we deserve it.

55:52 But just think about it. God, the God who created all of it, could have stopped it at any point. There's a million things he could have. He could have stopped us from being born a sinner, right, correct, He could have stopped more sinners from being born. Correct. So I know it's common for us to say we deserve it, we deserve it, We deserve it, we deserve it.

56:33 And our lives are characterized by many sins, omitting to do that which God requires us to do and doing the very opposite of what he commands. The evil, the greed, the sorrow of the child of God is his sin, just exactly because the believer's greatest misery is his sin. He can never be satisfied with the superficial comforts of this world. The believer recognizes his need of comfort, So does the unbeliever in his own way. How does he deal with the sufferings and sorrows of earthly life. Well, he finds his comfort in a bottle that may even have the name Southern comfort. Or he finds his comfort in material things, the comforts of life and of this world, in pleasure, in career, in business. But the Child of God can never be satisfied with these would be comforts because none of them address our main MISSI, which is our sin. Because of his sin, the child of God

58:09 needs comfort. That's the first two verses of Isaiah forty comfort ee, comfort ye my people, seth you or God speaking comfortably to Jerusalem, cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. That's the misery of the child of God. See what he just said, Seeing how he goes back to Isaiah forty here is it. That's the misery of the child of God. I guess he just forgets the people this was written to. I guess they just don't count.

59:05 I just don't understand. I just don't understand. I just don't understand. I need A bottle of Southern comfort is what I need. I'm going to see if I can door dash one is what I'm gonna do. Okay, all right, let's let's see if you mentioned I mean, I think we're about done. I mean, it's like five minutes left. I think in the sermon, I mean he went back to Isaiah forty. See, but he just goes back to Isaiah forty just just to insert us whenever wherever he wants, Just go to Isaiah. Just insert us, Just insert us whenever you want, just whenever you want to put someone there, just put someone there that The text doesn't matter, The historical context doesn't matter, send text doesn't none of it matters, because we're just utilizing this for our own topical method, our own topical message.

59:50 That's the reason we need comfort. What is that comfort? What is the only comfort for living and for dying or comfort, according to the Catechism, is our faithful savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is my comfort. Jesus is my comfort because my comfort is not in some thing, but in someone and in what that someone has done.

1:00:32 Okay, okay, we're at sixty minutes. I don't get it. So you could argue, well this again. You could tell me, well, this is about the how to Idelberg Catechism. What do you expect. Well, he keeps referencing Isaiah forty. I mean he read twenty something versus to start, he referenced it about the halfway point, and now he's referenced it at the end. Has three references to Isaiah forty, with no not even attempting to handle the text correctly, not even coming close, not even not even remotely even trying. I'll play like another minute, just to see if possible there's another reference to Isaiah forty.

1:01:19 For me, Jesus is not one comforter among several other comforters, but he is, as the Catechism says, our only comfort Jesus is that comfort Simeon, the aged Simeon in the temple who held up the baby. All right, so now we're now I don't know, ladies and gentlemen, here's what I would tell you. First, identify why these people need to be comforted. If you need help, go to Isaiah thirty nine, starting in verse five, and you'll see that the reason these people need comfort is because of the Babylonian exile and the Babylonian captivity. Why do they go into Babylonian exile in Babylonian captivity? I think you'll be able to determine that they go in because of their sin and their rebellion and their idolatry.

1:02:24 And they're not heeding the warnings that God sent to them. Right, So now they're suffering for their sin, which includes the destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and be carried away death and in slavery. Okay, they've been enslaved, they're in bondage. There we go. They are suffering. They need comfort. So God then says prophetically, way before they even get there, comfort ye, comfort ye my people. The my people are the people in Babylonian exile, Babylonian captivity, or the nation of Israel, if you want to expand it at all. That's who it's referring to. And God says this, God says, my people. And why does he my people need comfort? Because God had entered into a covenant with Israel, a specific covenant with them, and there are specific promises given to them. So what is the comfort? Well, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Okay, I think, now that's not the church, that's not you, that's not me, And cry under her. And then three things are said. Number one that her warfare is accomplished. Number two, that her iniquity is pardoned, and number three, she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Three things are stated. Understand those three things. That's if you want to understand this comfort. This comfort is to a specific people.

1:03:49 Who are the people, the people who are in Babylonian exile? Why do they need comfort? They're in Babylonian exile? What I guess you could argue, we could break it down. What are the words of this of this comfort? Well, he says, speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry under her? And what is he to cry under her? Three things? Your warfare is accomplished, your iniquity is pardoned, and you have received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Three things have been said. What are those three things? How does that bring comfort to them? How does that provide any comfort to them? How do we understand those things? That's what matters. If you want to talk about comfort, then talk about the comfort that was given to these people that somehow everyone goes to Isaiah forty and says, who cares about you? We're going to somehow make this about us again? Is there any application what the application would be When you see a Christian who's suffering as a result of their specific sin, something that they have done, and it's horrible and it's ugly, Well, then how do we bring comfort to them? Is it even transferable? Is the concept is transferable because here's God? But God is doing this because of a covenant. Well, if someone's a child of God, we have been ingrafted in, right, We've been ingrafted in so that and God is the God of all comfort. So what comfort can be offered to a Christian who is suffering currently the consequences of their sin? Now?

1:05:24 Is there a parallel? Now, if you want to be able to draw a parallel, then okay, but you've got to remain faithful to the original context. This is not about comfort. Because your car won't start, you lost your job, you got sickness, you broke your leg, you're having problems here, you're having problems with your kids. This is not about This is about comfort and context of people suffering for their very specific sin. All right, we're sixty six minutes. It's I don't even know how much time is left there.

1:06:05 If he goes back to Isaiah forty obviously, I mean obviously we could. I think we can all agree we've done what we can with this, and this is not the only only one that does this. This is sermon after sermon after sermon on Isaiah forty. It's almost like a and it's an epidemic. It's a pandemic. It's a it's a it's a it's a problem. Isaiah forty just seems to be utilized for whatever purpose someone wants to utilize it for. All Right, I could break down Isaiah forty.

1:06:48 Why we separate it from verse three? I could probably break it down there. We could do more. We talked a little bit yesterday about the the linguistic use of the Hebrew word there, which is kind of interesting because there's this idea of being sorry and repenting. Okay, we talked a little bit about that. There are some interesting phrases there. Warfare is accomplished. Okay, what does that mean? Why do they receive the double for all their sins? All the possible We've already discussed this a little bit. I give up, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes another very frustrating attempt. But hey, don't tell me that I wasn't being fair there, because we let the whole thing play.

1:07:32 It started with a lengthy quote from Isaiah forty, and then Isaiah forty was referenced there multiple at least two times, maybe two more times, so I think a total of three times. So clearly Isaiah forty was like the lynchpin here, but it just was used for I mean, are there any rules? Are really? Are there any rules? Are there really any? I mean, I could open up my Bible right now and say something, and then I'll get fifty emails going, that's wrong, that's wrong, that's wrong, that's wrong according to whom you what makes it wrong? Well, this makes it wrong? Are you sure? Because let me go, let's take all of yours, because I mean, that's the thing.

1:08:15 Everyone thinks that their interpretation of the text is right. I think my interpretation of Isaiah forty and it's historical linguistic context makes sense. But obviously not everyone agrees with me. So who says I'm right? Who says they're right? Who's right? Who knows? You? Just do whatever you want with the text, make it say whatever you want, say you're right, and just find a group of other people who say you're right, and then you're good to go you called a church. Everyone else criticizes your church. Who cares? As long as you get enough people to support your church, Who really cares what anybody else thinks? Because they think they're right. You think you're right. Everybody thinks they're right. Everybody thinks they're right. Everybody thinks they're right. That's the way it all works, man, that is so frustrating. Look, I know there's passages in the Bible that are hard to understand.

1:09:14 I know there's passages in the Bible that seem confusing and confounding and discombobulated and who knows what. But when you read Isaiah thirty nine, you have a clear explanation of the Babylonian captivity and then you have comfort, ye comfort. You have a major shift and tone from judgment to and warning to now comfort. But it's to a specific people like I don't understand how it's complicated. Like there's some things I understand why it's complicated. I just don't understand what's happening here. And this is not the first sermon. I mean, I think some of you probably can can testify, can acknowledge that you've been listening to a lot of sermons on Isaiah forty and you found the same thing.

1:09:59 Sometimes you're just like, why did they even mention Isaiah forty. But here's the thing. If you if you're looking for sermons on Isaiah forty and the title has anything to do with you, me, us, or we, you already know you're off to a very questionable start. So I should have known a title a sermon entitled Our Comfort for Living was problematic considering the text was Isaiah forty and R is not there? They them, That's who's there. All right, I'll stop, Thanks for listening. Everyone, have a great day. I give up, I retire, goodbye.