Behold Our God

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Isaiah 33:22 ESV

22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.

The Messianic promise:

, , , , ,

The Messianic promise:

All nations shall come to Zion, where the King and the Lord dwell ()

The Messianic promise:

A King who is the Son of David () and the Son of God ()

The purpose of the reign of God

To conquer & reclaim His world -

To destroy the works of the Evil One and the forces of darkness

To destroy the systems (human and supernatural) raised against Him and against His righteousness

To destroy death, sorrow

To reconcile the world to Himself (2 cor 5:18-19)

Ephesians 2:12–19 ESV

12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 ESV

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

To bless all peoples through His reign

Introduction to Sermon

To reconcile the world to Himself (2 cor 5:18-19)

To establish a place like Eden & reverse the curse of

To destroy death

Introduction to Sermon

The King that we celebrate in the manger, the child to whom the magi brought such kingly gifts, is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises.

Introduction to Sermon

So as we come to , we’re looking at a prophecy from centuries before Jesus was born. Israel had continually turned away from the Lord, but at the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry, in chapter 6, the chapter begins, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on His throne.” The Kingship still belonged to the LORD. The earth still belonged to Him. And here we learn how the LORD would fulfill his promises that go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. The King, the Messiah, the Savior, was coming.

x-refs: Ps 22:25-28,

Q. How should all people respond to the coming of the King?

I. Marvel at the Lord’s provision (v6)

<<READ v6>>

God is the one who provides the feast

Feast - symbolizes life, contrasts with the stark provisions of the Babylons of the world ( etc). Choicest of food & wine -

“For all peoples” - fulfills

Focus on the wonder of God’s provision to us in spite of sin, and His promise here that He would provide more in the Messiah

How respond to His provision? Marvel, come to the mountain (thru Jesus)

<<READ v6>>

Here’s a picture worth exploring. In fact, you might call this the Ultimate Thanksgiving Dinner.

Just a show of hands - were any of you in the mountains for Thanksgiving?

So maybe you had a foretaste of Christ’s return!

Mountain

Look at the details we get in this verse. First, the mountain here is Mount Zion. Go back to the last verse of chapter 24 -

Isaiah 24:23 ESV

23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.

The light of the moon or even the sun are nothing compared to the brightness of God’s glory. The mountain and the city are at the center of the Lord’s plan of salvation and history.

Do you know the passage at the end of Revelation where Jesus has returned, and the Millennium is over, and the New Jerusalem comes down? That’s in . Old things have passed away, Jesus is King forever, and He dwells with us in the New Heavens and New Earth.

Revelation 21:22–27 ESV

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21:22–26 ESV

rev 21:22-

Mountains are incredible pictures of God’s glory and power. Mountains are amazing. But which is greater: The work of art, or the hands that painted it, the mind that conceived it, the heart that loved enough to create it? But God did not only craft one mountain; He crafted all of them, and He invented the very idea of mountains. But God didn’t just make the mountains as places of beauty; He also made them as places of communion with Him.

Eden, according to , was on a mountain.

In , on the slopes of Mt Ebal at the Oak of Moreh, the LORD confirmed His covenant to Abram

When the flood in Noah’s day receded in , the Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat and when Noah stepped out onto dry land, God met him there on the mountain and made a covenant with him.

Abraham ascended a mountain in Moriah in obedience to God, taking his son Isaac with him, to worship the LORD. And when God provided the ram, a substitutionary sacrifice, Abraham worshiped the LORD there and called the place “The LORD will provide,” YHWH Yireh. And the text says in , “it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.’”

Genesis 22:14 ESV

14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

God met Moses on Mt. Horeb, where He told him to take of his sandals, because the place where he was standing was holy ground. And when Moses was afraid to go back to Egypt to bring God’s message of deliverance to his people Israel, the LORD said

Exodus 3:12 ESV

12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

God went before them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and led them to Mt. Sinai, where He met with Moses and gave him the Law. And the Covenant is confirmed in , the LORD tells Moses to bring the elders with him up the mountain to worship God from afar.

Exodus 24:9–11 ESV

9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

exod 24.

The LORD chose Jerusalem as the place where His Name would rest, where the Temple would be built, on Mount Zion. When Jesus announced the arrival of the Kingdom of God, where did He say, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”? He did it on a mountain. He retreated to the mountains to spend time undisturbed with His Father. He took Peter, James, and John on the mountain to witness His transfiguration.

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He took a boat across the sea of Galilee, to Bethsaida, but as He began to climb the mountain to be alone with the Father, the crowds started showing up. They had followed him all the way around the lake and chased him up the foot of the mountain, and there, He taught them. They received the Words of God on the mountain, Jesus said “these words are Spirit and Life,” and then, when the day was waning, and notice the connection to , He fed them all - 5000 men plus women and children. On the mountain, the LORD provided.

And when they all left, He summited the mount and met with His Father.

The next day, when the crowds found Him again, He said to them,

John 6:26–27 ESV

26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

john 6:

and

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 6.35

And in fulfillment of , humble, righteous and having salvation, Jesus the King of kings ascended Mt. Zion on a donkey. On Thursday, He sat with His disciples in the city to share the Passover meal, where the lamb was slain in order that the people of God might live. And that night, on the Mountain, Jesus took bread and gave it to His disciples and said, <<WORDS OF INSTITUTION>>

“On this mountain,” the says, it will be provided. By the LORD Himself. Consider what is being said here: In the place where God meets humanity, the place where He has promised to set His Name, the LORD Himself will make a feast. A feast for all peoples. No one is excluded for their background, or their past, or their political affiliation, or their geography - on the Mount of the LORD, the covenant that through the seed of Abraham all peoples of the world would be blessed is fulfilled.

And the next day, the King fulfilled His word. On this very mountain, outside the city, the Lamb of God was slain for the sins of the world.

The text says “On this mountain, the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast.”

Turkey and cranberry sauce has nothing on what God had planned from eternity past for you and me. This feast is the kind that you talk about for the rest of your life. The kind you experience once and you’re always looking for it again.

David, in the wilderness, far from the Temple & longing for the presence of God

Psalm 63:5–7 ESV

5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

Isaiah 25:1 ESV

1 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

I remember a

In Psalm 63:5

Do you agree with me that to feast in the presence of God is to be blessed? Kingdom people, the King of Kings has promised to give you the choicest feast - eternal life in His presence. And what He won for us on the cross, He will complete when He returns. Right here and now, Christians get to know and experience the blessing of tasting the goodness of God in salvation. But when Jesus returns, that feast is going to keep on going.

The plans that

And He’s making this feast for “all peoples.” No matter what your background, religious heritage, no matter what sins you’ve committed, no matter what your ethnicity, your language, your age, on the Mount of the LORD, the covenant that through the seed of Abraham all peoples of the world would be blessed is fulfilled.

And He says it’s for “all peoples.” No matter what your background, religious heritage, no matter what sins you’ve committed, no matter what your ethnicity, your language, your age, on the Mount of the LORD, the covenant that through the seed of Abraham all peoples of the world would be blessed is fulfilled.

Imagine that - imagine a feast beyond compare, offered to all peoples, where God Himself is your host. The feast is literally eternal life and reconciliation to your Creator, and HE’s the one who does all the work, and everyone is invited.

Imagine getting a text from God inviting you to dinner at His house in the mountains. You say, “Can I bring anything?” It’s not that kind of dinner party. All you have to bring is repentance and faith, and even those are His gifts to you. That’s a Thanksgiving feast worth celebrating. Don’t miss out like Moab.

Instead, look at the promise of God’s provision and marvel.

x-refs: , , , , , , , , , ; , ; ; , , , ,

II. Arise for God’s mighty rescue (vv7-8)

Look at verses 7-8 with me - here’s our second point: Marvel at the Lord’s provision and arise for God’s mighty rescue.

<<READ 7-8>>

God will give you the choicest feast. But notice what it cost Him. We get to eat the finest of foods - the bread of life - but first He had to drink a very different cup. In the garden of Gethsemane, we see just how bitter the cup was. After the Last Supper, Jesus took the disciples to one of their favorite places - a garden on the Mount of Olives. On the way out the door, they’d sung a hymn. They did not understand what Jesus said to them in the upper room. And when they got to the gate of the garden, Jesus said his soul was so full of sadness that it was like dying, and asked them to pray with him. But they fell asleep, and He fell on His face and cried out saying “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And He drank the bitter cup.

Betrayed by his friend Judas and abandoned by the rest. Slandered by false witnesses. Savagely beaten. Mocked and insulted. Spat upon. Paraded before the crowds and condemned unjustly. Marched through the city, half-fainting as he bore his cross down the streets towards the mount called Golgotha, the skull. “This is the King of the Jews,” the placard read above his head. As the cross thudded into its post hole, and his arms were pulled out of joint, the religious leaders shook their heads in mock sympathy. “If only you’d been the Messiah, like you said. Then you could come down from the cross and showed us all we were wrong. Then we could believe you.” He took a breath and said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” In shock from blood loss and the trauma of flogging and being nailed to the cross, every breath was agony.

The thieves on either side of him joined in the insults. The passersby said “He saved others, but he can’t save himself.” He took another breath and said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The soldiers divided his garments and gambled for his robe. He took another breath and said, “I thirst.” The last thing he tasted was a sponge full of sour wine lifted to his mouth on a tree branch. And then He said, “It is finished.” And he died.

And in another garden, there on the mountain, they laid him in a tomb. But death could not hold the Author of Life. The Bread of Life. The Light of life. The Way and the Truth and the Life. Death is the great devourer. Since Adam, the grave has swallowed up every man and woman. But there, on that mountain, Jesus Christ swallowed up death forever.

There, on this mountain, He swallowed up death forever.

There is a veil which covers all nations. All peoples. The very source of every tear that’s ever flowed. He drank the cup to the dregs.

John 6:47–51 ESV

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Look again at verse 8 with me. <<READ 8>> “For the LORD has spoken.”

It is finished.

The salvation that Jesus brings is forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who believe. Not only does God Himself set the table and spread the feast with His own hands, the LORD God Himself will wipe away your tears. Think about that. Think about God Himself loving you enough to take you in His arms and speak words of comfort and peace. That is a promise here for all His people. To take away the reproach - the shame - that His people carried with them.

It says “the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.” When Israel fell to Assyria, and Judah fell to Babylon, the shame was devastating. When Judah began to return 70 years later, Jerusalem was rubble. The Temple was gone.

What replaces reproach when God takes it away? What’s the opposite of shame in God’s Kingdom? Joy and belonging.

In Isaiah’s day, Israel had plenty of reproach already, and so much more was coming. But Isaiah said the day was coming when the Lord Himself would take their shame away.

God’s salvation in Jesus Christ takes away your shame. When you come to Him, poor in spirit, knowing that your only hope is that Jesus Christ has paid your debts on the cross, mourning for sin and its consequences and longing to be satisfied with the bounty of Christ’s righteousness because you know you don’t have a righteousness of your own,

600 years later, under Roman occupation, Israel was just a troublesome part of a Roman province. King Herod was a

Jesus clothes you in His righteousness like a pure, spotless wedding dress. <<HANDS>> No - matter - what - you’ve done, He takes it away and bears it on His shoulders. By His wounds, we are healed. You don’t bear the stains. If you are His people, according to verse 8, your reproach was taken away.

But that “If” is very important. If you are His people. Jesus says, “Everyone who believes has eternal life.” He says in ,

John 11:25–26 ESV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

And this is the dividing line that tells us if we are His people. Do you believe?

Earlier, in Isaiah chapter 15 and at the end of chapter 25, we learn that the people of Moab are offered salvation, but in pride they refuse. Moab will not come to the LORD. Egypt and Assyria will turn to the LORD according to chapter 19, but not Moab. The offer is extended, and rejected.

He drank the cup for you. He swallowed up death so that you could eat the feast of eternal life. To take away your sins and your shame and the veil of death, and to clothe you in His righteousness. But you must repent and believe. As Isaiah says in

Isaiah 60:1–3 ESV

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 60:1 ESV

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Friends, there is no Black Friday offer to match this. Jesus offers as a gift what you could never buy, earn, or steal. The priceless glory of the LORD can be your everlasting light.

The proper response to God’s promise to take away the veil of death is to stand up. When the sun comes in through the window and the covers are thrown back, you arise. You walk in the light. When the crushing weight of sin and shame are taken away, the proper response is to stand up and beam with joy, knowing that you belong to God. When God clothes you in Christ’s own righteousness like a wedding dress, the proper response is to stand up and blaze with His glory like a bride.

You arise for God’s mighty rescue when you turn to the Lord in faith for salvation. And you do it again when you remember what He’s done for you and walk in His light because you love Him. When you stand up and blaze with His love for others, declaring how much He’s done for you. When you take hold of His promises and speak them to your own heart again.

How does a rescued sinner respond to so great a salvation? With love, and with rejoicing. Look at v 9, and we’ll close with this -

x-refs: , , ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; , ; ; , , , 22:3

III. Rejoice for Christ’s arrival (v9)

Look at verse 9 <<READ v9>>

This is why we celebrate Advent and Christmas. We rejoice for Christ’s arrival. We consider that manger and say, “Behold, this is our God. We’ve waited so long, and He came to save us.” Here’s our King. He spoke the world into existence. In Him all things hold together. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is the Lord. And here, He humbled Himself. He took on flesh and blood. Why? So that His body could be the bread of eternal life and his blood could be the wine of the New Covenant. He partook of our nature that we might partake of His. By His death, He destroyed the one who has the power of death. And so the mighty God became a meek child.

Hebrews 2:14–15 ESV

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Isaiah 57:15 ESV

15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

So we rejoice at His arrival. The words of verse 9 are a song meant to be sung at the Lord’s arrival. His advent. So we are going to sing. I’m going to ask the music team to come back up, and while they’re on their way up, I want you to think about why we sing. Lots of kids tend to sing when they’re happy, have you noticed? Some little kids will just turn whatever they’re doing into a song. They’re celebrating life. When we get older, and we get timid or self conscious, we often stop singing. But one of the most peculiar things about the Church is that it is a place where people sing. People with good voices, people with bad voices, the Church is a place where you can have a song even if you can’t carry a tune. Because we are children of God by faith, celebrating the life that Jesus has given. And we know that He is coming again to bring the feast to its eternal completion. Where on Mount Zion, in the New Jerusalem, God will dwell with man forever. And we will sing to the Lamb of God who was slain for us, but stands alive and reigns forever. Behold, this is our God. So let us be glad and rejoice. Kingdom people, your King has come, and He is coming again.

x-refs: ; ;

Pray => Call

Related Media

Related Sermons