Isaiah 56:1

Thus saith the Lord: Keep judgment and do justice, for my salvation is near to come and my righteousness is to be revealed. Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it, that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and that keeps his hand from doing evil. Neither let the son of the stranger that has joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, "The Lord has utterly separated me from his people." Neither let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant: Even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons or of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Father, we ask as we look into your word tonight for wisdom and understanding, and for an application from the passage that is before us. Lord, we thank you that you do speak through your word, and you desire to reveal your nature, your character, and your will to us. So we ask that you would unfold your character to us as we look through this passage tonight. Speak to us, we pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Thirty-seven times in the book of Isaiah, we read the phrase or the words, "Thus saith the Lord." These are the opening words of Isaiah chapter 56. Although Isaiah was the one who penned this prophecy 2,800 years ago, God is the one who spoke it. Therefore, the people during Isaiah's time should have responded to what God had to say.

Although we are not of the children of Israel and we are not living during the day that Isaiah wrote or spoke these things, we must recognize that we should respond to the word of the Lord as well. There are many things that we learn in the Old Testament that, although contextually it was speaking to the people of Israel, or specifically this portion of the book of Isaiah to the people of the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah, we must recognize that God speaks to us.

There are certain things God wants us to apply from His Word. In fact, that phrase, "Thus saith the Lord," is seen 413 times in the Bible. God is the one who ultimately has breathed this. As Paul tells us in 2 Timothy chapter 3, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. The New International Version says all Scripture is God-breathed. Because of that, it is useful. It is useful for correction and instruction in righteousness, for doctrine, and for reproof. This equips us, the men and women of God, for every good work. God desires that we would be equipped to face all the challenges we encounter in this life and to do so in a godly manner.

The Apostle Peter says that God has given every single one of us all things that pertain to life and godliness. The way I read that is that God has given us everything we need to live this life in a godly way. The Old Testament is a part of that revelation. When we read "Thus saith the Lord" here, God is speaking not only to the children of Israel 2,800 years ago but also to us. He wants us to take note of what He says because these first eight or so verses of chapter 56 are clearly applicable to us, as we will see as we go through this passage tonight.

He calls out to the people and says, "Keep judgment and do justice. Maintain justice and do what is right," the Lord says. In Micah chapter 6, you may have read the verse before, maybe even memorized it: "He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you." But to do what? To do justly is the very first thing He says. God desires that we, His people, would do justly and walk in righteousness. This means that we should walk in a way that is right before Him.

Now, we know from the New Testament that God does not require us to walk in righteousness to obtain salvation. We do not receive salvation as wages or as something we earn by doing good or right. It is given to us by grace through faith. We have been made righteous and justified before God by grace through faith. Therefore, we ought to walk in righteousness.

God was speaking to His people, a people He had called and redeemed out of Egypt, a people He had provided for over many years, giving them a great inheritance in the promised land. As a result of all that He has given to us, He wants us to maintain justice and do what is right.

All the way back in Isaiah chapter 1, one of the things that God looked for among the people of Judah and Jerusalem was justice, but He didn't find it. He sought for truth, and it was not there. They had become a city that He characterized as being a harlot; they had departed from the Lord.

Now, here in Isaiah chapter 56, we are well into Isaiah's ministry, coming near the end of his life. In fact, when we get into Isaiah chapter 57, which I hope we'll be able to do tonight, we'll see that Isaiah 57 corresponds with the reign of King Manasseh.

To jog your memory a little, Isaiah chapter 1 opened with the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Isaiah ministered as a prophet to Judah and Jerusalem during the reign of those four kings, but it is traditionally held that he was murdered, martyred, and killed by Hezekiah's son, Manasseh. We are right near that period of time when we are in Isaiah chapter 56 and 57.

Although Isaiah has been ministering to the nation of Israel, the people of Judah and Jerusalem for many years—over 35 years—he has been speaking prophecy to them, delivering the word of the Lord, saying, "Thus saith the Lord." Yet, after over 35 years of ministry, they are still struggling with the same problems they faced at the beginning of the book of Isaiah. There is still injustice and unrighteousness. They have not repented; they have not returned to the Lord. In fact, things would get even worse under the reign of Manasseh. The wicked things that King Manasseh would bring into the nation of Judah would ultimately lead to their captivity in Babylon and God's destruction of His people's nation.

He calls out to them, saying, "Maintain justice and do what is right because you are My people, because I have redeemed you, because I have given you an inheritance. You ought to walk in justice and do what is right."

Why should we walk in justice? Why should we do what is right? Notice what He says: "For My salvation is near to come and My righteousness to be revealed." There are a couple of different ways that we could read the end of verse 1, where we read that His salvation is near to come and His righteousness is to be revealed. We could read it as, "Keep justice."

Do righteousness because I'm coming soon to rescue you. My salvation is coming, and I will rescue you. Like the New Living Translation of the Bible says, if you have a New Living Translation, you'll see that that's basically what it says. We could also read this as, "Keep justice and do righteousness because my salvation, Jesus, is about to come, and my righteous servant is going to be revealed." You better be keeping righteousness when He comes. You want to be walking in the right way when the Lord's servant, the Messiah, appears.

Now, how is it that we could read this as "my salvation, Jesus, will come"? The word "salvation" in the original language is the word "Yehoshua," which is actually the name Jesus. He is about to appear. He's going to come, and when He comes, you want to make sure that you're doing what you're supposed to be doing.

There is a very similar exhortation given in the New Testament. Turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 21, very near the end of the book of Luke. We look at an exhortation that Jesus gives to His disciples as He is sharing with them about the signs of the last days. Luke chapter 21, verse 28 states, "When these signs, when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads." Why? Your redemption, your salvation, Jesus, is drawing near. He's coming quickly.

In the end of Matthew 24 and all through Matthew chapter 25, you also see similar exhortations given to the disciples of Christ. Make sure you're walking the way you ought to be walking because He could come at any time. This teaching is known as the doctrine of eminence, which states that the Lord could return at any moment. We here at Calvary Chapel believe that God could come at any moment. There is nothing else that needs to be fulfilled in biblical prophecy for the Lord to return.

Would we not agree that we want to be walking in righteousness and seeking justice when the Lord comes? We don't want to be caught in the middle of sin when God returns for His church. You could almost read the end of verse 1 of Isaiah 56 in that fashion. One way to read it, as the New Living Translation translates it, is to maintain justice and do righteousness because the Lord's coming quickly to redeem you, to save you. But another way is that you better be walking in the way that He's called you to walk when He comes. In the context of Judah and Jerusalem, that's probably a significant point to consider.

A better way to interpret the passage is to recognize that they were not walking as they should have been. Isaiah is speaking a word of exhortation, the word of the Lord to them, saying that they need to get right and return to the Lord.

Now, what happens if we obey that exhortation? Look at verse 2: "Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it, that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and keeps his hand from doing evil." What awaits the person who is ready, the one who is keeping justice and doing what is right? Very clearly, a blessing awaits that individual. Blessed is the man, or oh, how happy is the one who, when his Lord returns, finds him doing.

So, who is blessed? The passage tells us in verse 2 that it is the one who does justice and keeps judgment. That is a person who receives a blessing. There are blessings in obedience. A great book that I highly recommend is called "The Blessings of Obedience" by Andrew Murray. This is a very short book, but he outlines that there are clear, tangible, physical blessings when we obey the Lord.

If you look at just our nation, many of the things we are experiencing today align with the curses at the end of the book of Deuteronomy. A big part of that is that we have departed from following the Lord. If there were a return to the Lord, especially within the church, imagine the evangelistic opportunity that would arise if the church, corporately, in our nation, returned to the Lord. The blessings that would overflow as a result of that would be significant. There are tangible, physical blessings, yes, spiritual blessings, but also very clear physical blessings.

The one who does justice and keeps judgment is the person who is blessed. Secondly, the passage states that the one who, by doing so, lays hold of salvation receives a blessing. Thirdly, the one who observes to do God's statutes is also blessed. The statute that Isaiah points out, or that God points out through His prophet, is the issue of the Sabbath. He says that you are to keep the Sabbath. This is just one of many statutes that God had called His people to follow.

Of course, the Jewish people, who are very meticulous, took time to count all the commands of Scripture, all the commands or the mitzvah of the Old Testament. They found that there were 613 commandments that man was to follow.

The rabbinical view was that the children of Israel were to keep all 613 commandments. However, the heathen Gentiles could not do that, so they were only required to keep the Ten Commandments. The entire set of 613 commandments was meant for the nation of Israel, and they had counted them diligently.

One major issue causing problems within the nation of Judah at this time was their failure to keep the Sabbath. They were polluting the Sabbath, and this was not just about the Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week. Remember, why did the children of Israel end up in Babylon for 70 years? Why did God attach the number 70 to their captivity? As you read through Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and the book of 2 Chronicles, you find that the reason God tallied the years as 70 is that for 490 years, they did not obey the Sabbath's rest for the land. They were to allow the land to rest every seventh year, and they failed to do that for 490 years.

God decided that the land would rest, whether they liked it or not. Therefore, He sent them into captivity in Babylon to let the land rest for 70 years. When we read in Isaiah chapter 56 that they need to keep the Sabbath, the reason He identifies that statute is not because the Sabbath is greater than any other law, but because it was a primary area in which they were failing. God knows how to point out the areas that we need to address.

In our individual lives, there are certain things that we may struggle with, certain sins that God has identified for us. He says, "I don't want you to do that." This may be different for the person sitting next to you or for me. God, by His Spirit, is able to address the specific areas in our lives that need to be dealt with. He can speak to us through His Word or by His Spirit through our conscience, saying, "I don't want you to do that anymore."

The problem arises when we take our personal convictions and apply them to everyone else. For example, someone might feel that drinking alcohol is a sin. For that person, it may indeed be a sin. However, if they make a blanket statement that says everyone in the church who drinks alcohol is sinning, they overlook the fact that there may be others who do not drink alcohol but struggle with different sins, such as lust or gluttony. They may appear righteous by one standard, but they are not righteous by God's standard.

Standard. God has a way of identifying specifically in our lives what issues need to be dealt with by His Spirit. He speaks in a still, small voice or through His Word, saying, "This is something you are not to do." To him who knows that it is sin and keeps on doing it, it is sin for that individual.

Here are the children of Israel in Judah and Jerusalem. One of the primary issues they dealt with was polluting the Sabbath, and not just the seventh day, but that Sabbath rest for the land every single year. God specifically addresses this through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "Blessed is the man that does this, the son of man that lays hold on it, that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, that keeps his hand from doing evil."

We see that the person who receives a blessing is the one who keeps his hand from evil. This is a blanket statement encompassing all the things that are against God. The individual who refrains from doing those things that grieve the Spirit of God and are considered sin by God through His Word will receive a blessing.

Turn in your Bibles to the Psalms, specifically Psalm 34, and look at verse 14. One of the great things about Scripture, about the Bible, is that it correlates between passages. Psalm 34:14 states, "Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it."

Now, what happens if you depart from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it? The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. Several weeks ago, as we were studying through Isaiah 52 and 53, we saw that God says, "My ear is turned away from you because of your sin."

In Psalm 34:14 and 15, God says that if you depart from evil, that is, if you repent and stop walking in the direction you have been going, and you do good, seeking peace and pursuing it, although you may not fully walk in righteousness every day, the eyes of the Lord are upon that individual, and His ears are open to their cry.

Just a few chapters over, in Psalm 37, verse 27, we find a very similar exhortation: "Depart from evil and do good." What is the result? "Dwell forevermore." For the Lord loves judgment and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever.

But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The descendants of the wicked shall be cut off, God says. However, those who seek the Lord and depart from evil, God will cause them to dwell forevermore.

This principle is not just an Old Testament concept. If you turn quickly to the book of Romans, Paul's great letter to the church at Rome, in Romans chapter 12, verse 9, he says at the end of verse 9, "Abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good." This is a great exhortation to the church. Yes, we are under grace. Yes, we have received mercy from the Lord. Yes, we have been saved by grace through faith. Therefore, we ought to abhor what is evil and cling to that which is good. We should join ourselves to that which is good.

If we are not experiencing the blessing of the Lord, then perhaps it is because we are not observing God's statutes. We are not doing justice, we are not keeping judgment, and we are not withdrawing our hands from evil. We may be walking in the way of the ungodly, and as a result, we are not experiencing the blessing of the Lord.

I had a conversation with a man a number of years ago. He told me, "I don't have joy in my life, and I believe the Lord has withheld joy from me." I looked at him and thought that the only reason the Lord would withhold joy from him is if he is in sin. He had a hard time with that and did not agree, but the fruit of the Spirit is joy. If you are walking in the Spirit and have God working in and through your life, you should be experiencing the blessings of love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control— all those things that the law does not speak against.

So, if we are lacking in those blessings in our lives, it could be an indication that we are not walking in the way that the Lord has called us to. We are not departing from evil. Remember, the person who sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, as Paul says in Galatians chapter 6. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that he shall reap.

But it goes the other way as well. If you sow to the Spirit, you shall reap everlasting life. If you depart from evil, you will dwell forevermore, as Psalm 37 states.

In verse 3 of Isaiah chapter 56, the Lord continues, "Neither let the son of the stranger that has joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, 'The Lord has utterly separated me from His people.' Neither let the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep My Sabbaths..."

And choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant. Even unto them will I give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters, and I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

God now turns and addresses the stranger and the eunuch in His nation. God's promised blessing in verses 1 and 2 are now extended to the foreigner and the outcasts. I say outcasts because the eunuchs were considered outcasts. If you read Leviticus chapter 21, verses 18 through 20, you'll find that the eunuchs in the nation were not allowed to come before the Lord at the temple. They were considered outcasts by the people.

So God turns from addressing His people, Judah and Jerusalem, and telling them that they need to seek the Lord and depart from evil. Now He says to the foreigners, to the strangers mixed in with the children of Israel, and to those viewed as outcasts by the people of Judah, "Do not say that the Lord has cut you off from His people, that He has not allowed you to come near, that He has made you an outcast, and because of that you are withered and dry."

Why should we not say that? The outcast, the foreigner. For thus saith the Lord, God has a word of blessing and encouragement for the strangers and the outcasts here in this passage in verses 3 through 5. He says to them, "Keep My statutes, choose those things that please Me," and what will happen? Not only for God's chosen people, the children of Israel, but even to the stranger, to the outcast. He says, "If you keep My commandments, if you follow My statutes, I will give you a place and a name within My house."

What place? Well, a place within His house. Remember in John chapter 14, Jesus says to His disciples in verses 1 and 2, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." That word is spoken not only to the disciples of Christ, who themselves were Jews, descendants of Abraham, but it is extended to you and I, the outcasts, the Gentiles, the strangers, the foreigners, as we see it here in Isaiah chapter 56.

God says, "Grab hold of Me, lay hold of My covenants."

Seek truth, do justice, and you too, stranger, outcast, will have a place and a name with me. What name? In Revelation chapter 2, verse 17, and in Revelation chapter 3, verse 12, God promises to His church, to those who overcome and follow hard after Him, that He will give them a new name, a secret name that only they shall know.

God gives a promise in Isaiah chapter 56, verses 3 through 5. He speaks to the stranger and the outcast, not just to the descendants of Abraham, but to all people. He says, "You follow my statutes, you seek me, and I will give you a place and a name." The word in Hebrew is Yad Vashem. If you've been to Israel, you may have visited a memorial in Jerusalem called Yad Vashem, which honors those who were killed in the Holocaust. It is a museum, the Holocaust Museum, and the name of that museum, Yad Vashem, is taken directly from this passage—a name and a place.

Those who were killed in the Holocaust have a name and a place in that museum in Jerusalem. But God promises those who seek Him an eternal name and an eternal place within His kingdom. He says, "In my house, within my walls." How awesome and wonderful it is to know that we, as strangers and outcasts, can have a Yad Vashem, a place and a name within the kingdom of God, within His house eternally, and under the protection of His walls.

In ancient times, cities were protected by walls. However, we have already seen in Isaiah chapter 26, verse 1, that God says, "In that day," speaking prophetically of the time when the Messiah would come and the church would be established, "this song shall be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city, and salvation will God appoint for its walls." What protects you and me is not a physical wall. In Christ, we are protected by His salvation. That word salvation is Yeshua. We are protected by Him.

We will see that same principle reiterated in just a few more chapters in Isaiah 60, verse 18: "Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders."

But you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise. We're a part of that kingdom, a kingdom that has salvation for its walls and for its protection. God says to the outcasts and to those who are foreigners, "You come, you follow me, you put your confidence and your trust in me, and I will give you a place and a name within my kingdom." This is a place and a name that is better than that of sons and daughters.

Now, there is more than one way to read that. As we come down to Isaiah 56, verse 5, it states, "I will give you an everlasting name that is better than that of sons and daughters." Your inheritance and name in ancient times in Israel were contained by or continued through your descendants. You had a name, your family name, and you had an inheritance given to you in the promised land. This inheritance was only kept, only contained, if you had descendants.

However, if you were a eunuch, you had no descendants. It was looked down upon; it was seen as a devastating thing to not be able to have children, to be a eunuch, as Jesus speaks of in the New Testament. This was because you could not continue your name and your inheritance. But here, the Lord promises His people something better than a temporal name and inheritance. Those who put their confidence in the Lord, their trust in the Lord, have an eternal name and inheritance.

We are joint heirs with Christ, as Paul told the church at Rome in Romans 8. Some, however, read this as God giving you and me, as strangers and outcasts, as Gentiles, a place and a name in Christ that is far better than the place and name granted to Abraham. Remember, the Jewish people were descendants of Abraham. We are descendants of Abraham by grace, through faith, because he is the father of faith. Ultimately, we are the begotten of the Lord through Jesus.

Thus, we have a spiritual inheritance, whereas the children of Abraham had a temporal inheritance. This does not mean that the children of Abraham cannot receive the spiritual inheritance, but they must receive it in the same way that we Gentiles do: by grace through faith. There is, in Christ, a promise for all.

No Jew and Gentile. The distinction is done away with in Christ. Now, that does not mean that God no longer has a plan for Israel, physical national Israel. The Bible tells us in Romans chapter 11 and several other places in the New Testament that He does have a plan for those who are physical descendants of Abraham.

But ultimately, Abraham's prime purpose was to be the one through which the blessing to all nations would come. What blessing is that? Those who are in the perspectives class should know the answer to that question. Jesus the Messiah is the one who is ultimately the blessing through Abraham.

We receive a blessing that is better than that of sons and daughters. To the children of Israel in that day, to have a son was considered a great blessing. So, to be a eunuch was devastating. But God says, "I'm going to give you something better than having descendants. I'm going to give you an eternal inheritance."

In verse 6, we read also, "Every one of those words that Isaiah uses in verse 6," he says, "Join the sons of the strangers that join, serve, love, keep, and take hold of the Lord." Every one of those words could be used in a marriage ceremony to describe the relationship of a husband to a wife and a wife to a husband.

He says, "All you descendants of the strangers, join yourselves to the Lord, serve the Lord, love the Lord, keep the Lord, keep His commandments, take hold of His covenant." All those words could be used in a marriage ceremony. And God says, "I want to use those same words in the relationship that I desire to have with you." The descendants of the foreigners were to join themselves to the Lord.

Serving, loving, and honoring Him while taking hold of His commandments brings great blessings, as we see in this passage. What great blessing? He says, "Even them will I bring." God is going to bring them into His holy mountain.

Before we move on to the descendants being taken to the holy mountain of the Lord, it is important to note that this blessing, or those who receive the blessing, is characterized by certain actions. These blessings are specifically granted and guaranteed to those who join, serve, love, keep, and take hold of the Lord. Therefore, we must consider the question: Are we joined to the Lord? Am I lovingly serving Him and following Him? Do I seek to keep His statutes? If so, then we read, "Well, them will I bring to My holy mountain." God will gather the outcasts and the strangers who have joined themselves to Him, and He will bring them to His holy mountain.

What will He do for them there? He will make them joyful in His house of prayer, and He will accept their offerings. The outcasts and the foreigners, when they came to Jerusalem, were not allowed to offer sacrifices. Yes, they could come to certain places on the Temple Mount, such as the court of the Gentiles, where they could appear before God, but they could go no closer. The children of Israel could go further, but the women had to stay in the court of the women. The men of Israel could draw even nearer to where they would offer sacrifices to the Lord. However, the strangers, foreigners, and outcasts were not able to approach God and offer sacrifices.

But God says, "When you join yourself to Me, when you serve Me, when you love Me, when you keep My statutes, when you take hold of My covenant, then I will bring you into My holy mountain. I will bring you to that place where you can appear before the Lord. I will make you joyful in My house of prayer, and I will accept your offering."

We already looked at John chapter 14, verses 1 and 2: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." The next verse...

In verse 3, Jesus says, "And if I go to prepare a place for you, what will I do? I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." That sure promise is extended in Christ to you and me, who are not descendants of Abraham, to you and me, who are Gentiles, strangers, foreigners, and outcasts. He makes a place for us. He draws us to that house of prayer, which verse 7 tells us is to be a house of prayer for all people or a house of prayer for all nations.

This should call to mind the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 21, after Jesus' triumphant entry, as He comes to Jerusalem for the last Passover that He would partake in here upon the earth, He goes into the temple. He comes to the court of the Gentiles, and what did Jesus find in the court of the Gentiles? He found basically a swap meet. People were buying and selling all kinds of different wares. They were changing money because you couldn't use the Roman-inscribed money there on the temple mount; you had to change it into the temple shekel.

Once you exchanged it for the temple shekel, you couldn't use your own lamb or goat to offer as a sacrifice because it hadn't been inspected. They had pre-inspected sacrifices for you, but they sold them at a very high price. They were gouging the people. The money changers were making all kinds of money, and the people selling the goats and doves for sacrifices were making a ton of money as well. The chief priest had allowed them to do this.

So what did Jesus do? He went into that place. The Scriptures tell us that He drove the money changers and those who sold their wares out of there. In Matthew 21, verse 13, He said, "My house." Notice that—My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. My house indicates that it was His place—the temple, God's house, Jesus' house. It shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

You see, the Jews wrongly viewed the temple as their possession. It was in their nation, in their city. They had built it, their king had established it, and their money went to erecting it. Therefore, they believed it was their possession.

And so they vainly imagined that it was only for them. God's desire and His intent, however, was that all people, all nations, would be able to gather together there. Yes, there were certain requirements for them. They could only worship God in a certain place and in a certain method at that time. But ultimately, God's desire was that anybody could come and appear before Him there in Jerusalem.

Consider the prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8, verses 41-43. Solomon is dedicating the temple, and all the nation of Israel is gathered there when the first temple is erected. In verse 41 of 1 Kings 8, he says, "Moreover, concerning a stranger." This must have been strange for the Jews standing there when they heard their king pray this. "Moreover, God, concerning the stranger that is not of your people but comes from a far country because of your name. For they shall hear of the great name and of your strong hand, of your stretched-out arm. And when he shall come and pray towards this house."

The stranger could not go into the inner courts and could not offer a sacrifice, but he could come there and pray. Solomon recognized this and said, "God, when the stranger comes and prays towards this house, Father, hear from heaven in your dwelling place." Solomon understood that the place they built in Jerusalem was not the dwelling place of God, but he asked God to hear from heaven in His dwelling place and to do according to all that the stranger calls to Him for. That is awesome.

Solomon, the king of Israel, says, "God, when a foreigner, a non-Jew, comes and prays to you at this temple, hear their prayer and answer their prayer." Why? "That all people from the earth may know your name, to fear you as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name."

And so Jesus came to Jerusalem. He came to the one place on the temple mount where a non-Jew, where a stranger, could come and offer prayer in fulfillment of Solomon's words in 1 Kings chapter 8. He went to the one place where non-Jews could come and see the representation of God, and what did He see? A swap meet. What did Gentiles...

What did they think when they came to Jerusalem to worship the one true God? Did they think God was all about money? Clearly, that's not what God was about. Jesus cleared the place out and said, "This is to be a house of prayer for all nations, and you've made it a den of thieves."

The promise of Isaiah chapter 56, verse 8, states, "The Lord, which gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, 'Yet will I gather others to him besides those that are gathered unto him.'" Yes, God loved Israel and promised to gather the outcasts of His people. God is continuing to gather the outcasts of His people, the descendants of Abraham, today.

However, never forget that God has lovingly called and extended that call to people beyond the borders of Israel, even to this day. He calls others to Himself, not just the children of Israel. Unfortunately, there is a mindset among many evangelical Christians that because I am a Gentile and not a Jew by birth or blood, I am kind of a second-class citizen in the kingdom of God. That is not true. In Christ, the distinction between Jew and Gentile is gone.

Yes, God has an earthly plan and a blessing upon the descendants of Abraham, but we Gentiles are the others that He has gathered to Himself. We are not second-class citizens in Christ; we have all the same spiritual blessings. So never forget that, though we are outcasts, though we were strangers and foreigners, we have been brought near.

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter 2, near the end of your Bibles, just before 2 Peter. In 1 Peter 2, verse 9, Peter is speaking to the church, which was filled with Gentiles by this time. He says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of Him that called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light."

But notice, the sentence doesn't end there. The verse does, but the sentence doesn't. "Which in times past you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not obtained mercy, but now you have obtained mercy."

So what then? Dearly beloved, I beseech you.

As strangers and pilgrims, we are to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against our souls. Although we were strangers, foreigners, and outcasts, we have been made the people of God by the mercy of God—a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

In verse 9 of Isaiah chapter 56, it states, "Drink, and tomorrow shall be as today and much more abundant." God summons and calls to the beasts of the field to come and devour the sinful leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, as described in verses 9 through 12.

Now, either God is literally speaking of beasts of the field that He is calling or summoning to devour His people, similar to what we see in Ezekiel chapter 39, verse 17, where God calls to all the birds of the air to come and eat the feast of the carcasses from the Gog and Magog invasion. It is a disturbing word picture, but it will happen someday.

In Revelation chapter 19, verse 17, we see a similar scene at the end, during the great war of Armageddon in the valley of Megiddo, where God will slay the wicked. The blood will run to the horse's bridle for 1,600 furlongs, as stated in Revelation chapter 14, the very last verse. Revelation chapter 19, verse 17 also mentions an angel in the sky, standing in the midst of the sun, calling out to all the birds in heaven, who will gather together to feast upon the carcasses of those slain by the Lord.

Therefore, when we read about the beasts being summoned in verse 9, we might interpret it as a similar kind of picture. However, we could also understand this metaphorically, with the beasts representing the kings of the people of Babylon, who would come upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the 6th century BC to judge them for their sin. Ultimately, either interpretation is valid.

God is calling someone to come and destroy the leaders of His people. Why? Well, verse 10 tells us that His watchmen are blind, ignorant, dumb, and asleep. The people who were supposed to be leading the nation of Judah and watching over them were apathetic and ignorant. They were slumbering and dumb because of their sin.

The term "watchmen" in the Old Testament is generally applied to the prophets of the nation. When Isaiah was prophetically speaking to the nation of Judah, there were dozens, if not hundreds, of other people who had gone to the schools of the prophets originally started by Samuel. In the book of 1 Samuel, it talks about how he established these schools throughout the nation, where people were trained to be prophets and to speak forth the word of God. However, many of them turned out to be false prophets, referred to in the Bible as soothsayers.

When the prophet Jeremiah, in the book of Jeremiah, was telling the people they needed to repent because the Babylonians were going to come and lead them away captive, he put a yoke upon himself. He said they would be under the bondage of the yoke of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians. Another false prophet came to him, took it off, and broke it, saying, "No, no, no, that's not going to happen. Peace, peace." All the prophets of the nation of Judah at the time of Jeremiah were saying the opposite of what he proclaimed. Who do you think the people listened to? Who do you think the people respected and liked? Not Jeremiah. They preferred the soothsayers, the ones who tickled their ears.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy that in the last days, false teachers and false prophets would arise to tickle people's ears. They would essentially be soothsayers in the last days. If we look around our nation today, we see a great multitude of those called teachers, preachers, pastors, or prophets. Many of them could be classified as soothsayers. They simply tickle people's fancy and make them feel good while they are on their way to hell. Yet, there are some, as in the days of Isaiah, who are saying, "No, you need to repent; you need to turn." Thus, those in Isaiah's day who were prophets were generally called...

Watchmen. In verse 10, it says that the watchmen are blind, the prophets of the nation are blind; they are all ignorant and dumb dogs. They cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, and loving to slumber. Jesus cautions His disciples and His church not to fall prey to the same biblical ignorance in the last days. At the end of Matthew chapter 24, He gives a parable about the wise and the evil servants.

In Matthew 24, verse 48, He says, "But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My Lord delays His coming,' and begins to smite his fellow servants and eat and drink and be drunken, then the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for Him and in an hour when he is not aware. He shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

God cautions the church in Matthew chapter 24 not to fall prey to the same sort of careless indifference and apathetic ignorance, where we are blind, ignorant, dumb, and asleep. A great judgment, as Isaiah says, is going to come upon the watchmen of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem because they slept when they should have been on watch.

If you were a watchman in a city, you were set on the rampart, on the walls of the city, to watch for an enemy to come. If you fell asleep on the watch, you could be put to death because the whole city was under your care, and you were to sound the alarm if the enemy approached. The prophets were to be the watchmen, watching to see if the enemy was coming close, so they could say to the people, "We need to turn to the Lord."

Isaiah specifically addresses the watchmen and the false prophets of his day, saying, "You are out of the way, you are ignorant, you are asleep, and judgment is going to come upon you." We see the same thing spoken back in Isaiah chapter 28. In Isaiah 28, verse 7, it says, "But they also have erred through wine and through strong drink, and they are out of the way." Who? The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink. They are swallowed up with wine; they are out of the way through strong drink. They err in vision and stumble in judgment.

Nothing has changed from Isaiah chapter 28 to Isaiah chapter 56. A lot of time has passed, but the people of Judah and Jerusalem remain in a state of spiritual slumber.

In Jerusalem, they still stumbled in vision and erred in judgment. At this point, God, speaking through His true prophet Isaiah, says that all of these watchmen who have stumbled in judgment are greedy dogs, leaders of the people. They have insatiable appetites for sensual carnality and have given themselves completely to idolatry. They gorge themselves on wickedness and are never full; nothing ever satisfies them.

Isaiah describes them as ignorant shepherds. Those who were looked to for guidance had no understanding. They didn't know what to do; they were blind. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 6, verse 39, Jesus spoke a parable, asking, "Can a blind lead the blind? If they do, they'll both fall into a ditch." Here, the watchmen in the nation of Israel were blind, and the people were looking to them, saying, "You've got to tell us what to do." Unfortunately, they were leading them to destruction. Isaiah, in chapter 9, verse 16, states, "For their leaders caused them to err, and they that are led by them are destroyed."

Isaiah emphasizes that these watchmen in Israel are greedy dogs, ignorant shepherds, and self-focused. Their condition is illustrated in the very last verse of Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 12, where it says, "Come ye," they say, "I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink, and tomorrow shall be as today and much more abundant." This was the condition of the watchmen, the prophets of Judah and Jerusalem. They looked around at each other and said, "Come, I'll go get some wine; we'll fill ourselves."

Every day, they rose early in the morning seeking wine and pleasure until they were completely consumed. They stayed up all night long partying, and just as they were getting ready to break up their party, they would say, "Hey, tomorrow we're going to do it again, and tomorrow's party is going to be even better than today." We saw the exact same thing back in Isaiah, chapter 5. In verse 11, Isaiah said, "Woe unto those that rise up early in the morning, that they may fill themselves with strong drink, and continue until night, until wine inflames them."

The vial, the tabret, the pipe, and wine are in their feasts, but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands. How discouraging it must have been for Isaiah to stand now, 35 plus years later from when he declared that in Isaiah chapter 5, and to look around his nation and see that nothing had changed. If anything, it had gotten worse. The mindset of the people was that they were partying, headlong towards destruction, thinking that tomorrow would be like today and much more abundant.

Every time I read that verse, I can't help but think of our own nation. At the turn of this current century, from the 1900s to the 2000s, there were a number of economists predicting that our nation would continue to see an upswing in prosperity. Several different people, right at 1999 and 2000, were writing articles saying that the Dow Jones would reach 50,000. Time magazine had an interview with three economists in May of 2000 entitled "Will the Dow Hit 50,000?" It began by stating that it is totally logical, according to economist Kevin Hassett and journalist James Glassman, who argue in "Dow 36,000" that the stocks are both safe and undervalued.

In May of 2000, they claimed that stocks were safe and undervalued. Glassman continued, saying emphatically that stocks are undervalued today and that people could hold them and feel comfortable. You can use different assumptions and get 55,000 for the Dow, but they were very comfortable with 36,000. In fact, they argued that most people did not have enough stocks in their portfolio.

In May 2000, the sentiment was that tomorrow shall be as today and much more abundant. Just a few years ago, people were expecting housing prices to continue to soar. The belief was that tomorrow would be as today and much more abundant, getting better and better. We are lulled into a drunken-like stupor when we follow that kind of foolishness, and that is the kind of foolishness that the false prophets of Jerusalem had, declaring such things to the people. I say the same about those who were announcing such things in Time magazine and other publications ten years ago.

In James chapter 4, James says...

Verse 13 states, "Go to now, you that say, 'Tomorrow or today, we go into such and such a city, and we're going to continue there a year and buy and sell and make great gain.' Whereas you do not know what tomorrow shall bring. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

Their blind faith in the progress of the nation had replaced reason and faith in God, and they were ripe for judgment and unprepared for it. I would say the same thing has taken place in our own nation. This vain faith in progress leads people to believe that everything is just getting better and better, and that nothing will be kept from our hands. Look at what we can do! We are man. When you hear that, look up; your redemption draws nigh. Times are very dangerous when you hear such things.

The righteous perish, and no man lays it to heart, says Isaiah in verse 1 of chapter 57. Merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace, and they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. Isaiah continues his rebuke of the ignorant, indulgent leaders of his nation of Israel. They were so self-focused and greedy for their own pleasurable gain that they failed to recognize that by their neglect, they were persecuting those in their nation who were righteous.

No one seemed to care. No one was aroused to anger by the injustice in the nation because of the priests, the prophets, and the rulers of the land. No one even gave an hour. A careless indifference had so filled the people that they just didn't care anymore. They saw all the things happening around them, but it just didn't happen to them, and they thought it was okay.

This mindset was echoed by Ronald Reagan a number of years ago: "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job." That was the kind of careless indifference they had in their day. Well, it hasn't happened to me, so it's okay. We saw that even through Hezekiah, the king, in Isaiah chapter 39, where God, through the prophet Isaiah, told him, "Because of your sin, this day the Babylonians are going to overtake you, and they're going to take your..."

Descendants into captivity. He said, "Well, at least there'll be peace in my day." This reflects a careless indifference and foolishness. No one seems to take to heart that the righteous are being persecuted and killed.

But notice what God says at the end of verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 57. He states, "The righteous are taken away from the evil that is to come." Although the death of the righteous was due to the unrighteousness of the people in Judah and Jerusalem, God was sparing them through their physical deaths, bringing them into an eternal blessing. By their deaths, He spared them from the coming indignation that was going to happen.

In verse 3, God calls out, "But draw near hither, you sons of the sorcerers, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom make you a wide mouth and draw out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression and seed of falsehood, flaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; they are your lot. Even them that have poured out a drink offering, you have offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?"

He continues, "Upon a lofty and high mountain, you have set your bed; even thither you went up to offer sacrifice. Behind the doors and the posts, you have set up a remembrance for your remembrance, for you have discovered yourself unto another than Me. You have gone up; you have enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them. You loved their bed where you saw it. You went to the king with ointment, you increased your perfumes, you sent messengers far off, and you debased yourself even unto hell. You are wearied in the greatness of your way, yet you said not, 'There is no hope.' You have found the life of your hand; therefore, you were not grieved."

God speaks woe and judgment to an idolatrous, adulterous, whorish people in Judah. All the sins He speaks of in verses 3 through 10 were conditions taking place in the nation of Judah and Jerusalem during the time of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. As I mentioned earlier in our study tonight, in Isaiah...

In chapter 1, we are told that Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Tradition holds that he was martyred by Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, who became king over the nation when he was 12 years old. All the different events we read about here occurred during Manasseh's reign.

Let’s briefly turn to 2 Kings chapter 21, as it corresponds with Manasseh's reign. By this point, Hezekiah is probably dead, and Manasseh is reigning while Isaiah is nearing the end of his life. In 2 Kings 21, verse 1, we read that Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for a long time—fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

What did he do? He rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah, his father, had destroyed. Hezekiah was a reformer earlier in his life, but Manasseh came and undid all the reforms that Hezekiah had established. He rebuilt the high places again, reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove. The word "grove" here is the Hebrew word Asherah. He reared up altars for Baal and made an Asherah, just as Ahab, the king of Israel, the most wicked king in the northern ten tribes, had done. Manasseh was just like him.

He worshipped all the hosts of heaven, which means he worshipped the stars and served them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, constructing altars to false gods in the temple, of which the Lord said, "In Jerusalem, I will put my name." He built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. He made his son pass through fire, observed times, used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger.

He set a graven image in the grove, in the Asherah that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David and Solomon, "In the house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever." Thus, we see the wickedness of Manasseh. He worshipped Baal. When we read in Isaiah chapter 57, verse 7, it states, "Upon the lofty and high mountains thou hast set thy bed, and you went up to..."

Offering your sacrifices was worship to Baal, who was worshipped on the high places and mountaintops. We also read of Manasseh in 2 Kings chapter 21, where he worshipped in the groves, specifically in Asherah. In Isaiah 57:7, it states, "Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree." They would worship Asherah in the groves in very immoral and sensual ways.

Furthermore, in 2 Kings 21:6, we learn that Manasseh made his son pass through fire, which is the worship of Molech or Tophet. Isaiah 57:5 mentions slaying children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks. Baal was worshipped on the mountaintops, Asherah in the groves, and Molech in the valleys, particularly in a valley just outside the western walls of Jerusalem called Hinnom or Gehenna.

Manasseh was one who caused his children to pass through fire. He worshipped Molech, Baal, and Asherah, as reflected in Isaiah 57, which corresponds perfectly with Manasseh's life. When we reach Isaiah 57, we are discussing the time of Manasseh. Conditions in Judah were dire, worse than they had ever been. This was the worst moral condition the people had ever seen. Isaiah was one of the few standing up and saying that this had to stop, which ultimately led to his death at the hands of Manasseh for his witness.

Rabbinical tradition states that the idol Molech had seven compartments. It was constructed from iron or bronze, with seven compartments in its belly region. Different offerings would be placed in these compartments. At the very base of Molech, a fire would be kindled until it grew so hot that it became red and incandescent. In the outstretched arms or one of the compartments of Molech, they would place their children, offering their living babies to Molech. Manasseh caused his children to pass through fire, and during this worship, they would pound drums so loudly that the cries of the children would not be heard when they were killed. This was the horrific reality in the nation at that time.

And so God says, "You are an idolatrous, adulterous, whorish people." This is what you are doing. We also see in verse 8 of Isaiah chapter 57 that it says, "Behind the doors and also the posts of all the houses, you set your remembrance."

If you go to Israel today, any Jewish home or even any Jewish hotel that you visit will have a little compartment on the doorpost, an elongated box that contains a scroll of paper called a mezuzah. The scroll has written upon it Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 9, and Deuteronomy chapter 11, verses 13 through 21. It's the law. The reason they have this is because Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 9 says, "And you shall write them, the law, the mitzvah, you shall write them on the posts of your house." Taking that literally, they made these little compartments called a mezuzah.

You will often see very Orthodox Jews touch it every single time they walk into their home as an observance of it. When we read in Isaiah chapter 57, verse 8, that they set remembrance to their false gods upon their doorposts, it reflects a twisted, perverse mezuzah that they made for their false gods. Every time they walked into their homes, they observed these false gods. They uncovered themselves to another; they committed spiritual adultery.

At the end of verse 10 in Isaiah chapter 57, we read, "You were wearied in the greatness of your way, yet you said not, 'There is no hope.' You found life for your hand; therefore, you were not grieved." They wearied themselves with much sin and idolatry. Yet, in the midst of all of it, they wouldn't give up. Even though the thrill of their idol worship was gone, they continued on their way, unwilling to repent.

In verse 11, it asks, "And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared? Thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to heart. Have I not held my peace, even of old, and you did not fear me?" God continues, "I will declare your righteousness and your works, but they shall not profit thee. When you cry, let your companies deliver you. But wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them. But he that puts his trust in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain."

And shall say, "Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people." Judah had shown no reverence for God; they had not remembered Him. And yet, the Lord had been merciful to them. He says, "There's no righteousness in you, because there's nothing that you've done that is right, so it can't profit you. Therefore, I'm going to publicly expose your unrighteousness, and I'm going to allow judgment to come upon you."

When judgment comes upon you, turn to your other gods. In verse 12 or verse 13, when you cry, let the companies deliver you. Let all these false gods that you bow down to deliver you. The prophet Jeremiah said very much the same thing in Jeremiah 2:26. "As a thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed." They and their kings, their princes, and their prophets say to a stalk or to a tree, "You are my father," or to a stone, "You have brought me forth." This refers to both Asherah and Baal worship; the stalk, the tree is Asherah, and the stone is Baal.

They turn to those things and say, "You brought me forth," but in the time of their trouble, they call out to God. They worship Baal and Asherah, but when times get hard, they cry out to Him and say, "God, help us." So what does He say? In Jeremiah 2:28, "But where are your gods that you've made for yourselves? Let them arise if they can save you in your time of trouble. For according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah." They have a god for every single city. They have the chargers and the raiders, and never mind all these false gods. They can bow down to them, but they can't trust them. Why? The wind shall come along and carry them away. They cry out to their false gods, but those false gods have no substance, cannot save them, and are not worthy of their confidence.

In contrast, He says, "He who trusts in Me shall inherit the land." For thus saith the High and Lofty One, in verse 15, the One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy: "I dwell in a high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." The wording of verse 15 should have caused the backslidden people of Judah and Jerusalem to at least consider that the one true God was the only one worthy of their devotion. He is the High and Lofty One, the One who inhabits eternity, the One who is holy, the One who dwells in a high and holy place. But they would not; they continued headlong in their sin.

But then He says to them, "Who's the one that's able to come and draw near to Me? The one with a contrite and humble spirit." He says very much the same thing that David says in Psalm 15: "Lord, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your holy hill?" God answers the question: "He that walks uprightly, that works righteousness, that speaks truth in his heart. He that backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor, in whose eyes a vile person is despised or condemned, but he honors them that fear the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt and changes not. He that puts not his money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved."

The wicked shall be blown away like wind, He says. But the Lord, the one who trusts in the Lord, will never be moved. Finishing up here, verse 16: "For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be wroth or angry. For the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I angry, and I smote him. I hid Me, and I was wroth, and I went forth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips, peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord, I will heal him."

And so God says that the person who will be contrite, the person who will turn to Me and repent, "I'll heal him, I'll be merciful to him." But the wicked are like a troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. "There is no peace," saith God, "for the wicked." Mercy and restoration come upon the repentant, come upon those that are of a contrite and humble spirit, and God will revive the spirit of the humble. He will revive the heart of the contrite ones. He will give them mercy. He will give them grace. He will turn them back to Himself again.

But the person who is wicked, He says, "There is no peace for the wicked." And so, as we've seen, thus saith the Lord, the foreigners, the outcasts, "If you'll lay hold of Me, if you'll be contrite, if you will humble yourself, I'll revive you." God opens the way for any and all that would come. We saw last week in Isaiah 55, "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He who hath no money, come ye, buy and eat." The way is open.

To all those who would turn from their wicked condition, call out to the Lord, and God will save them. What a blessing it is to be those who have received mercy, who were once not a people, but now are the people of God.

So, what is our call? As a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, we are called to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Amen? May we do that.

Let's stand and pray together. Lord, Your word is living and powerful. We pray that this word, which cuts deep and divides asunder between joint and marrow, and soul and spirit, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart, would reveal tonight if there is anything in our lives that is hindering us from glorifying You.

Father, with contrition and humility, we come before You and ask, God, take it away. Burn away anything that is not of You, that we would be, Lord, a bright, shining representation of the people of God. Shine through us, Lord, that we would be that city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. Use us to be those who declare the praises of You who called us out of darkness.

We thank You that we have fellowship with You and with one another as we walk in the light. We praise You tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. Cheers. All right. Cheers. See you tonight. Cheers. Mrs. Cheers. Discusors. Cheers.