Can you hear me? Can you speak? Can you talk?
Check. One, two. Check.
Check. Check. Check.
Check. Check. Here is [singing] where I lay it down.
every burden, every cloud. [music] This is my surrender. This is my surrender.
Here is where I lay it down. Every lie [singing] and every doubt. This is my [music] Surrender.
And I will [singing] make room for you. to do whatever you want to. Do whatever [singing] you want to.
[music] Then I will make room for you to do whatever you want to to do whatever [music] you want to. Here is where I surrender. This [singing and music] is my surrender.
Here is where I lay it down. Everyone, this is my surrender. [music] I will make room for you.
[music] Whatever you want to [singing] number two. Come on. Come on.
Hey, good morning church. My name is Dylan Stanland. I just want to welcome you to worship.
It's always a joy to gather together with with this the local church and worship God and grow our relationships with the Lord. Um I just want to share with you what happened over the last week real quick. We just got back from high school camp.
uh me and the student team along with a whole herd of adult leaders uh we took 140 people to camp last week and just to praise the Lord a little bit. Four of Our students went from death to life in Christ saying, "Look, I Yeah. Yeah.
Go ahead and clap for that. They're saying, "Look, I know I need the Lord. I need a relationship with the Lord.
" And they've taken that first step. We had two additional students say, "Look, I've made that step, but I've never followed through with baptism. " And so, we had two of our students say, "Look, I need to I need to spend some time into baptistry and just Uh stand in front of my church and and let them know the decision that I've made.
" And then we've had one other student, um, Brian Haythorne, say, "I think I'm called to ministry and I want to explore what God has for my life and working for his kingdom and working for his church. " So, praise the Lord for lives that were that were changed and decisions that were made at camp this past week. Also, just want to share with you um I Had a another student pastor call me this week and asked me one question.
They said, "How do you continue to make camp affordable? " Well, I just want to celebrate with you because my answer to him was, "We have a church that just gives generously. " And so it is because of you um your prayer, your sacrifice, and your giving that our students are able to continue to go to camp year after year.
So let's celebrate that as well. So that being said, anybody joining online, we welcome you and we're glad that you're tuning in. And regardless of you who are here, whether you've been here for years or whether this is um your first time, we want to welcome you as well.
And if it is your first time, we'd love for you to take the connection card out of the seat back in front of you or the next steps card out of the seat back in front of you and fill that out. Um, you can drop it in the offering Plate on your way out or you can take it across the hall to the next steps area and we would love to meet you, get to know you and give you a gift from our church. And so that being said, we've got two big announcements this morning that I want to give you.
Um, one of those announcements is for kids camp. If you have kids who have finished [snorts] third through fifth grade, there are still spots available for camp. Um there is still room for camp and camp Registration is still open.
We would love for your kids to be able to go to camp with us. Also, next week, keep in mind that it is Father's Day Sunday. And so, as we get together and we celebrate dads and father figures in our lives and what they've meant to us, we wanted to have a little fun.
And so, we're going to have um jeans and jerseys this next Sunday. So, if you have a favorite football team, basketball team, baseball, whatever it is, we would Encourage you to wear your jerseys and just have a little bit of fun next week. All right, Joel, will you lead us in worship?
>> Thank you, Dylan. Welcome back to Harmony Hill. Welcome back to Lufkin.
Okay. U So, welcome back to all of you. if uh we're so glad you're here.
Uh I was just stealing some words from the welcome. So glad you're here. Okay.
So, I'd like to Invite y'all to stand with us. Just kind of relax. Maybe say uh hi or whatever your greeting would be to your next door neighbor sitting beside you.
Um all right. So this morning, we're the same God that we worship every day, that guides our footsteps every day, that brings us through so many battles. The song talks about that.
Jehovah Ni, he fights our battles. Jehovah Gyra, he meets our Needs. Jehovah Rafa, he heals our body.
Jehovah Shalom, he is our peace. And so we're just going to worship the God who is all of those and so much more. And if you're ready to worship, I want you to give me like let's do a hallelujah this morning.
>> That was good. We don't need We're good. Yeah.
Let's do it. Let's sing. If y'all want to put your hands together, you can.
what he can do. He shames every idol. He reigns without rival.
He goes by [singing] the name of Jehovah. it over. He speaks into [music and singing] nothing and darkness goes running.
He goes by the name of [music and singing] Jehovah. Je Call the name. Call [music and singing] the name.
Call the name. Jehovah and all our praise and all our praise and all our praise belongs to him. Yeah.
Good news right here. Also, his foes will [music] be silent. He's fighting for Zion.
There's no other God like him on Jehovah. Je [singing] Like fire. [music and singing] There's no other god [music] like who know we can call [music] the name call the name call the name and all our [music] praise and all our praise and all our praise belongs [music] Call the name.
Call the name. Call the name World. And all our praise.
And all our praise. And all our praise belongs to him. I just think quickly what he's done for you.
How he's been with you this week. How he's been with you and friends. Goes like this.
Jehovah say fight your battle. [singing] Jehovah say fight [music] your battle. Jehovah say [music] fight your battle.
[singing] Believe it. Jehovah fight your battle. Jehovah [music] fight your battle.
Jehovah meet your need. Jehovah will heal your body. Jehovah Shov [music] you Jehovah your peace call the name call [music] the name call [singing] the name call Jehovah [music] praise.
All our praise and all our Praise and all [music] our praise belongs to the name. Call the name [music] [singing] and the name above all other names. Jehovah and all our praise and all our praise and all our praise.
Jehovah ni Jehovah ni [music] fight your battle Jehovah [music] everybody Jehovah sh [music] one more time [music] Jehovah Jehovah [music] heal your body. The wonderful name of Jesus, Jehovah, our God. like I would like to just take a small moment during this time of worship to introduce you to someone that has come into our team that I haven't introduced you to yet.
And uh and I I like I have been forgetting Every Sunday and you keep hearing a voice but you can't you know you can put a face to it but you can't put a name to it. So this young man over here on the far right is Nathan Brown and uh we'd like to welcome him. Yep.
So, if y'all don't mind, we're going to continue worshiping. We are here for you. We reach for the hem of your garment.
We know what it [singing] can do. We know what it refra [music and singing] [singing] [singing] Praise, praise. Let everything [music] give it.
Praise. Praise. Let everything.
Sing a new [music] song to the Lord. Oh, let our faces. Praise.
Praise. We praise the Lord. We've come [singing and music] to pour out our oil just to wash our savior's feet.
Every drop [singing] bottle can't compare to your glory. We refuse to bring an offering. [singing] It doesn't cost us anything.
Cuz you're worth everything. Let everything that has restra [music] sing a new song to the Lord. Oh, let our praises roar And praise.
We praise the Lord. Reanc God of salvation. You're the great I am.
You're the only way of love to bring you. Praise. Praise.
Praise. Praise everything that has praise. Praise everything that he has bre.
Praise. Praise everything in [music] heaven. Sing a new song to the Lord.
Oh, let our praises roar. Praise. Praise.
We [music] praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. We praise the Lord.
We praise the Lord. You can remain standing as we go into a Time of prayer. Uh just one prayer prompt today and it's connected to the message I'll be preaching in just a little bit.
So let's take time today to pray uh for a spirit of repentance. Repentance being that we turn from sin and turn back to God personally as a church, as a state, and as a nation. And we'll be picking up those themes in the book of Isaiah here in just a few moments.
But take a few moments to pray and then the team will lead us in Another song. Let's pray. So many [singing and music] things I could say.
You already [singing] know. Won't let my words get in the way here in [singing] this moment. How precious is [singing] your presence.
Holy, holy, Lord I [singing] stand on you. Wonderful tre I know And I found it. Sell everything that I [music] own.
Just to have it is your presence. Holy, [singing] [music] holy, Lord I stand in awe. You are holy.
So, worthy, worthy. There is none [music] [singing] like you. You are worthy.
Come on, rejoice. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
[music] [singing] We sing today. [music] [singing] Let our voices sing today. Hallelujah.
Glory. [music] Oh, [music] I you are you. Oh God, you are your handy.
There is God. I stand on you. >> Father God, thank you for who you are.
It's because of your righteousness that we can be righteous. Because of Your holiness, we're made holy. Father, we stand in on you.
And right now we will testify to who you are in baptism. So, Father God, unto you all the glory. Amen.
Turn your attention over here. >> Good morning, church family. This is Aydah Courtney.
She's coming this morning in believers baptism. Uh it was about a year ago at pursuit camp. Uh God had been working on her life.
She knew Who Jesus was, but it it was at camp that she said yes. I want to make Jesus the Lord of my life. And so now she's coming in believer's baptism saying, "I want everyone I want my family.
I want the world to know that I'm a follower of Jesus. " So we get to celebrate with her this [music] morning. So Ada, is it true that you have made Jesus the Lord of your life?
>> Yes, sir. >> You believe that God sent him, that he Walked on the earth, and that he died for your sins, and he raised him from the dead? >> Yes, sir.
>> All right. Awesome. Well, Ada, because of your testimony of faith, [music] I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk from newness of life. [applause] [cheering] Amen. Let's pray this morning.
Father, we are so thankful for what you've done in Ada's life and what you do in our lives, taking us from death to life in Christ. Thank you that we get to celebrate with this beautiful picture. Uh thank you for his sacrifice on our behalf.
Pray that we would lift our hearts to you and praise this morning. Pray for Pastor Todd as he brings the word. Guide him, Father.
Continue to Change lives. Change our hearts today. Let us walk with you faithfully in Jesus name.
Amen. Heat. [music] Heat.
Good morning. It's so good to worship with you today. Uh this summer we've been doing a series called When God Paints a Picture.
And what that is is we're looking at Old Testament prophets and some of the visual aids that God gave them in order to teach us a Spiritual truth. So visual aid uh last week was the God who pursues and restores a family from the prophet Hosea. And then today we're going to be looking at the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 5.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. And I believe that to be true. And just as a little bit of fun this morning, I'm uh in just a moment, I'm going to cue them to put a picture up on the screen that I believe Definitely could fill up a thousand words.
In fact, I found this picture a number of years ago. And when I was in student ministry, I I did a little game on a Sunday morning where uh the students were all sitting at tables by by grades and I put the picture up on the screen and I asked them to create a caption like how would you caption this picture? And we'd have a little competition.
And man, it was it was good. It was good. I'm looking forward To sharing with you this photo that could spark a thousand words.
Take a look at this. This came from a game, a little, you know, in a box game called awkward family photos. And they nailed it.
If that's the name of the game, they nailed it. And I remember that day asking the students to provide a caption. And the winning caption of that day uh made me laugh so good.
And I apologize this is somewhat offensive to some, but the Winning caption was roll tide. Oh man, a picture can produce so many words and feelings. We can certainly take them off the off the picture there.
But a picture like that, you got to wonder what twists and turns got got that picture together. I mean, how did the parrot and the gun and everything? How did that all come together?
Well, in the picture from Isaiah chapter 5 today, It is a visual picture of a vineyard, but it takes some twists and turns. It is certainly unexpected. And so Isaiah chapter 5, I'm going to read verses 1- 7.
This is what Isaiah writes. [clears throat] Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
He dug it, cleared it of stones, planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtowwer in the midst of it, and he Hewed out a wine vat in it. and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, oh inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard, what more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I look to it to yield grape, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge. It will be devoured. I will break down its walls And it will be trampled upon.
I will make it a waste. It will not be pruned or hoed. Briars and thorns will grow up.
I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed, for righteousness, but behold, an outcry.
So, in this picture, it takes so many twists and turns. It Starts with Isaiah saying, "Let me sing you a song. " And so, you think, "Okay, this is going to be a song.
" And he's going to use a vineyard as a metaphor, maybe even for a love song. And he talks about how well it was taken care of. But then all of a sudden it shifts to a court scene saying, "Now judge between me and my vineyard.
" And then all of a sudden there's punishments being doled out and then the aha in verse 7. I mean It is a seven verses that are moving in a complicated hard to follow pattern. So what's going on here?
Ultimately, Isaiah is painting a picture about how Israel is like the vineyard and it should have been producing good fruit, but in fact it was producing wild grapes, which a synonym in the Hebrew would be rotten. Be like rotten grapes. So what I want to do is I want to look at this picture and sort of make sure That we understand it and then we're going to make some applications to it on the back end.
So let's start with the picture which is the song of the vineyard. And the first thing we notice is that the vineyard is given every advantage. The vineyard is given every advantage.
And so Isaiah describes that this vineyard was on a fertile hill. So it it was given a ideal start. The soil would be good.
It was in a region known for producing grapes and good fruit. And They had chosen a nice stretch, a nice plot, a nice acreage on a hill. And the hill would have been important because of um the way that they did um their harvesting and throwing up um their their produce and the wind catching things that were the the chaff and the weeds away.
And so this was a A1 A+ piece of land for a vineyard. Not only that, the vineyard owner wanted to give it every advantage possible. And so he went and he dug up and had dug up all of The stones out of that piece of property.
So taking the rocks out so that it was all good soil, no issues there. Roots had plenty of room to grow. And he he actually took those stones and built a wall around to protect the vineyard.
And then he took some more of those stones and it says that he built a watchtowwer right in the middle. A watchtowwer meant that there could be someone watching day and night to make sure no animals came in to disturb the Vineyard. No enemies came in to sabotage the vineyard.
There's protection all around this vineyard. And in fact, it was even sort of opulent. It had its own wine press.
Typically in that region, a wine press or the wine vat where they would crush the grapes into the juice that would flow down. Typically that was more like a college dormatory bathroom. It was sort of a shared thing for a lot of different vineyards.
But this particular Vineyard was given such an advantage. It had its own private wine vat. Every advantage was given to this vineyard.
Which brings us to the second part of the picture, an unexpected harvest. So given all of these advantages, the vineyard owner at the time of harvest comes into the vineyard expecting a good crop. In fact, one of the things I forgot to mention was that he chose Not the bargain bin seeds, but the choicest vines, the the vines that would produce or the plants that would produce the most high quality grapes.
And so he walks into the vineyard expecting to find high quality grapes and instead he finds a vineyard full of rotten fruit. all rotten. He's going sprig to sprig going, "What?
What's going on with this one? It's it's the Whole thing. " And he begins to wonder, "Did did I not do everything possible?
I I got the best seeds. I I made sure the soil was fertile. Like all the other vineyards around us are producing.
Why is mine not? " Which brings us to the third part of this picture. not only an unexpected harvest but a verdict no one can dispute.
So this song, the song for the vineyard, All of a sudden if I had a record player, which I know not everybody in here might know what a record player is, but it would just screech. You would stop it. The song's over.
It was sort of moving in this great movement and then stopped. And now all of a sudden we're in a court scene. And he says, "Now inhabitants, judge for me.
Who is at fault? Me, the vineyard owner, or the vineyard Itself? Is there anything else I could have done to produce good fruit?
" And the implied answer for everyone is no. There's nothing more you could have done. You are in the right.
It was the vineyard. There's something about the vineyard itself that is producing bad fruit. And so then it moves to the fourth part of the picture, an unavoidable discipline.
So it's clear the vineyard owners in the right. Everyone has said, "You are right. It's the vineyard's fault.
" And he says, "Then this is what I will do to the vineyard. I'm going to tear down all the walls. I'm going to rip out the hedges of protection and it will be trampled on by people and beasts.
It will no longer be plowed or hoed or tended to thorns and briers. It will become a useless wasteland, unusable For farming or for a wine vineyard any longer. That is the discipline that will come on this piece of property.
Which brings us to the fifth piece, a revelatory identification. This is where the entire parable, the entire picture makes a big twist because he says, "You Israel, you Judah are that vineyard. " Now remember at this time Israel under David and Solomon had Been together and then they fractured Israel and Judah and Isaiah is calling them both out.
You are the vineyard. So now that we have that piece of information, let's walk back through it again. God is saying this is the meaning of the picture of the vineyard.
God says to Israel, "I have given you every advantage. I have taken you and I've given you the promised land, the most choice piece of Land. I, your God, has dwelled among you.
I have protected you. I have defended you from your enemies. And when I walk through Israel looking for fruit, I expected to find justice, but I'm finding bloodshed.
I expected to find righteousness, but I'm I'm hearing cries of despair and oppression from people. He says, 'Ive given you every advantage and you are producing bad fruit. And he Says, so now let's judge this.
Who is at fault, God or the people? And see, they've already walked into the trap because they'd already said, "No, the vineyard owner, God, is not at fault. It's the people.
" And he says, "That's right. You have been unfaithful. " And he says, 'Now there is judgment coming.
I'm going to remove the protections around you, and I'm going to allow the enemy to come in and lay you waste. Now, here's what is really important to understand anytime you're reading Old Testament prophets is that you can't read just one little section without understanding the whole context. Because just reading that, it could make it sound like God is a big bully and that he just turns his back and leaves you to destruction and that's it.
That's the end of the story. But that's not the story of Isaiah. See, Isaiah chapter 5 is the beginning of a of one unit that Goes chapter 5 to chapter 12.
And then that is the first unit of three units in the 66 books of Isaiah. So just for context, let me help you understand. God is telling Israel, "It is time for judgment because of your sin, your abandonment of me.
" In fact, in in the back half of chapter 5, he gives six reasons for their judgment. Six sins for their judgment. And this is in your outline.
Let me just run through these six Because I think it's going to sound a little bit closer to home than 2700 years ago. Number one, Isaiah says that God will judge you because you are getting more and more isolated from one another. He describes it as you are buying field upon field, house upon house, sort of like one owner so that you can be alone.
And God says,"I made you for community and you are isolating yourselves away from one another. " The Second thing that he calls out in Isaiah chapter 5 is he says, "You love to celebrate. You wake up in the morning and you go to bed at night and all the time in between all you can think about is celebrating.
" You never bring any of that enthusiasm to worship of God. says, "You love to party. You love celebrating, but you just don't point any of that to worship.
I have that against you. " The third thing is that They became a people who would ridicule God. Isaiah is prophesying.
Other contemporary prophets are are prophesying and saying, "Judgment is coming if you do not repent. " And the people start mocking God. They start saying, "How long is he going to wait?
I don't think it's ever really going to happen. Sort of reminds you of the people of Noah's day mocking him. Or the people in Peter's day that said Jesus isn't coming back.
He's pretty slow About it. And Peter says, "Watch out. God's not slow like you count slow.
A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day to God. " And these people are mocking God. Number four, they're being judged because they have perverted the truth.
The Bible says that they are a people who are celebrating what they should be ashamed of. And they are ashamed of virtues that they should be celebrating. I don't know about you, but it's Starting to sound a little bit closer to home than 2700 years ago in Israel.
Number five, they prefer man's wisdom rather than God's wisdom. rather than seeking him, rather than prayer, they they are the ones that can be trusted. They are the ones who can find the wise decision.
And then the last one is that they are an addicted people. They are drunkards. They are addicted not to God but to various vices.
And he says, "For these Things I am bringing judgment. " Now look, it's important. Isaiah is specifically talking to the nation of Israel in around 750 BC.
That's who this judgment is for. They are the ones that became exiled because of their sin. But even though that's the primary application, God is a God of all nations, of all peoples.
And if he would discipline and judge his own people for these types of sins, Do you think we would be exempt? Are we not a people who love to be isolated, growing more and more apart from communities and other people? Are are we not a people that have incredible enthusiasm for hobbies and sports and other things that make us tick and we don't bring that same enthusiasm to the worship of God?
Are we not a culture that is celebrating those very things that we should be Ashamed of that just years ago, mere decades ago, were clearly sin and wrong. And now we have debate about virtue and vice, good and bad, morality. Truth is relative.
We are a people who pervert truth. We are a people of addictions. This very well could be describing our own culture, our own day from Isaiah chapter 5.
And God says, "I must judge it. " See, God revealed his character in The book of Exodus. Yes, he says that I am loving.
I am compassionate. I am long-suffering, meaning patient. But it also says because I am holy, I must punish sin.
Sin must be punished otherwise God is not holy. And we know that he is. But see, if you're only reading Isaiah chapter 5, apart from the rest of the context, seems like God's a big bully.
But what's really happening when you read 5-12 and then 5 through chapter 66 Is that God is disciplining his children in order to preserve a purified remnant who will worship him. He's disciplining them so that they will turn back to him. That's the picture.
This vineyard is producing rotten fruit. So he will punish and he uses the Assyrians to come in and punish Israel and then later the Babylonians to punish and exile Judah. So that's the original context.
Now Let's shift to what are applications for today for us. If this was a judgment of Israel, we saw it play out. What are the truths that we glean in 2026?
Number one, understand this. God still inspects fruit. The image is of the vineyard owner walking through and inspecting fruit, expecting to find good fruit, finding rotten fruit.
God is still in the business of inspecting fruit. Many of us know uh maybe you learned as a kid if you grew up in church um a song. I'm not going to sing it about the fruits of the spirit.
You could rattle them off because of a fun kid song. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the fruit of the spirit.
Paul writing to the Galatians in chapter 5 says, "If you belong to him, you will bear spiritual fruit, holy spirit Fruit. " And he lists those fruit. What we don't often think about and we did not make a clever kid song about is the verse right in front of the spiritual fruit, which is the fruit of the flesh that Paul lists out.
No fun kid songs for that. Sexual immoral, idolatrous, um, rivalry, dissension, envy, fits of anger, sorcery. No fun kid song for that.
Lies, idolatry. I think I mentioned The fruit of the flesh or the fruit of the spirit. See, God still inspects fruit.
Jesus himself in Matthew chapter 7 said this about how to know a false teacher. You will know them by their fruit. You will know them by their fruit.
I'm not talking about perfection. I don't want anyone leaving here feeling like, you know, um you you are not saved because you you you had like a bad day this week. I'm talking about general 6 8 months, 5 years, whatever sample size you want to take.
Is it bearing good fruit or fruit of the flesh? See, one of the dangers, one of the dangers that we have in in our theology as Baptists is that we believe, and I believe this, the eternal security of the believer. meaning that once you are saved that that is you're in his hand.
It cannot be snatched away. But here is the danger. The danger in that is that In Baptist world we have given this credo once saved always saved without giving sort of a fuller picture of but you'll know them by their fruit.
See, just walking an aisle, checking a box, getting wet does not mean you are saved. If you leave that process without being changed, a faith that saves us is a faith that changes us. So there are many who walk that aisle, Get baptized, and then go live like hell, and they go, "I'm good.
" See, one of Jesus's disciples, John, in his letter we call first John was wrestling with this with his church because there were some people who had been part of the church and now they were not part of the church. And they're going, "John, what is the deal with this? " this and John says this, if they were really of us, they would be with us.
But because they are not really of us and never were of us, now they have left. What what John is trying to help us communicate is when we have been truly transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we start bearing fruit, spiritual fruit. You will know them by their fruit.
Jesus said that in Matthew 7. And the very next teaching after you will know them By their fruit, Jesus makes the scary statement. There will be many who say to me, "Lord, Lord," and I will say to them, "Depart from me.
I never knew you. " See, it's so important to remind ourselves Jesus checks the fruit. Is it from the kids song or from the one that we don't have a kid song for?
What is our life? The second application, God uses discipline to produce purity. God uses discipline to produce a Purified people.
That's what he's doing in the book of Isaiah. He starts with judgment in chapter 5. And then by the time we get to chapter 53, which we talked about at Easter, it is the suffering servant who has now come to lead a new people in a renewed covenant for eternity.
Jesus Christ is the suffering servant of Isaiah. There is a discipline on Israel so that emerging from that would be a purified People. And what I just want to say to you is this that sometimes sometimes the things that you and I go through difficulties challenges there are times when that is God's discipline on us not because he doesn't love us but because he does but because he does.
The book of Hebrews chapter 12 tells us that God disciplines his children because he loves them and wants To renew them to righteousness. And so it could be that if you have wandered away, if you're watching online today and you just sort of tuned in and you've been wandering and you're going through some stuff, understand it may be that God is disciplining you so that you will repent and turn back to him. It could be that some things that we face as a people, as a church, that it is sometimes God's discipline to purify his bride.
The third application that we see, God promises a new song. So, this song started off sounding like a love song in chapter 5. And then all of a sudden you're in a courtroom and then the next thing you know there's a judgment being meated out and then the next thing you know you fell into the trap and it's you're you're the vineyard and you're the one at fault.
But then in chapter 12, the end of the first unit, Isaiah says that there will come a time When we sing a new song. When we sing a new song. I mentioned a a record player earlier.
Way back when when you had a record, you would have an aside and a bside. The aside would typically have the radio hit that the band wanted to put out and the B-side would be one that they thought it's pretty good, but it's not as good as the aside. But sometimes they would be backwards.
Um the song I will survive, you know that song? I'm not going to try to sing it Because I want you to come back next week, but I will survive was actually a B-side track. The Rolling Stones B-side track.
I can't get no satisfaction. So sometimes the Bside is better than the Aside. And the Aside on this record is a song of judgment.
Thank goodness we can flip it over and find the Bside. Chapter 12. Chapter 12.
It says that the same people who were Punished, those same people will turn around and praise the mighty name, character, and works of God. They will even say, "We are so glad that when you were angry with us that you have now turned to comfort us because now we will proclaim your good name to all nations. >> [snorts] >> See, this was a judgment for Israel.
But chapter 12 starts to paint a picture Where all of us get to be a part of the new song. The new song of God's goodness where the nations, every tongue, tribe, and people come together and worship Christ. There's a new song which leads me to the fourth application.
How do you participate in this new song? It's by understanding that Jesus is the true vine. Jesus is the true vine.
Here, here's what I don't want you to walk away today with. Okay? I'm the vineyard.
I need to work harder to Produce good fruit. That's not the message today. The message is that Jesus is the true vineyard.
He did the work. Perfect life, died for our sin, resurrected so that now any of us who are connected to the true vineyard can produce good fruit. Jesus in John chapter 15 said it this way.
I am the vine. You are the branches. Anyone who abides in Christ in that vine will bear much fruit.
But anyone who is not connected to the Vine, you can do nothing. So the answer is not do better, work harder, be more moral. You're going to end up still producing rotten grapes.
But what we can do is we look to the fulfillment of the vineyard, the true vine, Jesus Christ, and we repent of our sin and we find ourselves placed in him. And now we can bear good fruit. The last couple of weeks, I've been watching the NBA finals.
I've found it totally compelling. Sorry if you're a Spurs fan, but the Knicks won last night and it was so funny because after they won, they were setting up the floor for the trophy celebration and they kicked it to commercial while they were doing that. And the first commercial was a commercial with some of the New York Knicks who had just won the championship.
And and one of the Commercials, it's one that's been on for a while. They're a number of them and they're hiking up a mountain and it's a phone commercial or something like this and they FaceTime each other I guess about how good the signal is on a mountain and they're facetiming with some teammates and the ones at home are eating some dip and they're so excited about having dip and the guys who have hiked up this mountain are going I wish we had snacks and then Carl Anthony Towns one of the New York Knicks goes I found these berries and then then the the forest ranger says oh yeah those are very poisonous and it just sort of moves on. I don't know why that just makes me chuckle.
But here is the reality. Apart from the vine, you may think, "Look, I found some berries. Watch out.
Those are very poisonous. " Apart from the vine, those berries are Very poisonous. But when you find yourself connected to Christ through repentance, through obedience, you have now been given every advantage to bear good fruit.
You've been given God's word to tell you what's true. You've been given a savior who died in your place and resurrected in Christ. You've been given the Holy Spirit who lives within you to empower you in conviction, to draw you to himself, to illuminate truth.
You've also been given the church for accountability, encouragement, and to come together to be reminded a focus of worship. We've been given every opportunity in Christ. When we are connected to him, we can bear much fruit.
Apart from him, we can do nothing. Joel, you and your team, go ahead and get into place as I read this last little challenge here in the notes. When the Lord walks through the vineyard Of your life, my life, and inspects the fruit, will he find evidence [snorts] of his work?
Will he find evidence of his work? As a culture, as a people, we look more like than ever the back end of chapter 5 of Isaiah. But as individuals, as a church, as God's people, we can be connected to him.
And when he walks through our lives through the life of our church, through the life of our Family, what kind of fruit will he find? If you're here today and you've never repented of sin and trusted Christ for salvation, you've never been connected to him, been grafted into him as the vine, I want to encourage you today to do that. I'll be up here at the front during this next song and after the service.
I would I would love to talk with you about that. You can go to our next steps room just across the hall here. Or if you came today with a Believing friend or family member and you're more comfortable talking with them, by all means talk with them.
Just let today be the day that you start bearing good fruit. And then for the rest of us who've already made that commitment to follow Christ, what kind of fruit are we producing? Are we in danger of God disciplining us?
Isaiah once said to God, "How long, oh God, how long Before they listen? Let us repent and let us be obedient and bear good fruit and sing the new song that praises our good God. " So, we're going to do that.
I'm going to pray, then we're going to have another opportunity to praise his name like Isaiah chapter 12. Let's pray. Father, thank you.
You're so good. Lord, even in your discipline, you discipline those you love. Lord, help us to receive that, to Repent.
God, may we be a people that bear good fruit, connected to the vine. May we be known as godly and righteous. It's in Christ's name.
Amen. Here is [singing] where I [music] burden every crown. This [singing] my surrender.
This my surrender. Here [singing] is where [music] I lay it Down. Every lion, every doubt.
This is [music and singing] my surrender and I [singing] will make room for you to do whatever you want to >> to do whatever [music] you want to >> and I will make room for you to do whatever you want to to do whatever you want to. >> Here is where [music] I lay down every [singing] burden, every crown. This is my surrender.
[music] This is my [singing] surrender. Here is where [music] I lay down. Every life buried [singing] down.
This is my surrender. [music] For you [music] to do [music] whatever you want to to do whatever you want to. And I will make room for you [music] to do whatever you want to.
Do whatever you want to. I will make room for you to do whatever [music] you want to. Do whatever you want to.
[music] >> [music] >> Do whatever you want to. Do whatever you want. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat.
Heat. always better. Take the ground for my break down the walls for my care.
[music] [music] Do whatever you want to. Do whatever you want to. And I will make room for [music] you to do whatever you want to.
Do whatever you want to [music] where I >> [singing] >> lay it down. [music] You are all I'm chasing now. This is my surrender.
This is my surrender. >> Here is where I lay it down. You [singing] are all I'm chasing now.
This is [music] my surrender. >> This is my surrender. Father, before your throne of grace, we come knowing that you are all we need, that you are our forgiveness, that you are Our strength, that you are our future.
I pray, Father, that we would lay everything that comes between us, that we put between me and you. And father God, we will worship at your throne of grace because of you, what you do. Father God, we love you.
We praise you. We worship you. I pray that if you give us tomorrow, we will be your church.
In Jesus name we pray. And the church says, "Hope to see you next week.
