I. The comfort and assurance of pardon (Isaiah 40:1-2)
A. Comfort in the New Testament (Matthew 5:4; Romans 15:4-5; 1 Corinthians 14:3; 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:18)
B. Comfort through companionship with God (1 John 1:6-7; 2 Cor. 12:7-10)
II. Preparation for the Lord (Isaiah 40:3-5)
A. Common practice for ancient Near East rulers
B. Prophecy of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23)
C. Preparation through repentance (Luke 3:3, 10-14; Matthew 25:31-45; James 2:14-17; Luke 19:8; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 6:5-9)
III. The endurance of God’s Word (Isaiah 40:6-8)
A. Brevity of life (James 1:9-11; cf. Matthew 6:19-21)
B. Man’s inability to save himself (1 Peter 1:22-25)
IV. Shout the good news! (Isaiah 40:9-11)
A. The message goes forth out of Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3; Acts 1:8; 8:1, 4)
B. The Messiah is God’s “arm” (Isaiah 51:4-5; 52:7-10; 53:1; Luke 1:51)
C. The Good Shepherd (John 10:14)
D. Characterized by strength and tenderness (Matthew 11:29)
A. Companion passage found in Colossians 3:16
B. Let the Bible interpret itself! To “be filled with the Spirit” is to “let the word of Christ dwell in you”
II. The music question (Ephesians 5:19)
A. “Speaking to one another” – reciprocation
B. “In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” – focus on the content of the songs
C. “Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” – not for entertainment, but for worship – God is the audience, not us
III. Gratitude to God (Eph. 5:20) and submission to the brethren (Eph. 5:21)
A. Our attitude before the Almighty (Colossians 3:17; 1 Thess. 5:16-18)
B. Our attitude toward one another (Gal. 6:1-2; Rom. 12:9-16; Phil. 2:1-4)
A. “New wine…firstfruits…first ripe fruit” (Numbers 18:12-13)
B. “New wine…found in the cluster” (Isaiah 65:8)
C. “Raisin cakes” (Hosea 3:1)
D. The juice of the grape (Isaiah 16:10)
E. Alcohol (Genesis 9:21)
II. What the Old Testament says about alcohol
A. Priests (Leviticus 10:8-11)
B. Civil leaders (Proverbs 31:4-5)
C. Leads to poverty (Proverbs 23:21)
D. Should not be given to others (Habakkuk 2:15)
E. “Whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1)
F. Leads to all kinds of immorality (Proverbs 23:29-35)
G. Don’t even look at it! (Proverbs 23:31)
III. What the New Testament says about alcohol
A. “Do not be drunk with wine” (Ephesians 5:18)
B. It is improper (Romans 13:13)
C. “The will of the Gentiles” (1 Peter 4:3-4)
D. We are to be persons of self-control (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-11)
E. It will keep one from heaven (Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
F. Hope for those who have been deceived (1 Corinthians 6:11)
A. “Swiftly…swiftly…” (James 4:14)
B. “How are we using God’s golden moments?” (Ephesians 5:16)
C. “Shall we reap glory? Shall we reap tears?” (Galatians 6:7)
II. Verse 2
A. “Millions…” (Matthew 7:13-14)
B. “Shall we sit idly…” (Matthew 9:35-38)
III. Verse 3
A. “Souls that are precious” (John 3:16)
B. “Souls that are dying” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
C. “While we rejoice our sins are forgiven” (Philippians 4:4) – may our joy motivate us to tell others!
D. “Did He not also die for these lost ones?…” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
IV. Chorus
A. “Into our hands the gospel is given, into our hands is given the light, Haste, let us carry God’s precious message, guiding the erring back to the right”
B. Matthew 28:18-20
A. To “redeem” is to buy back again
B. Past darkness vs. present light (Ephesians 5:8)
C. Past mistakes should serve as motivation to make the most of present opportunities
II. The example of Gideon
A. A time of darkness in Israel (Judges 6:1-10)
B. Gideon’s task: save his people (Judges 6:14, 25-26)
C. Gideon’s obstacles: fearful and careless men (Judges 7:3-7)
D. Gideon’s needs:
1. Faith (Judges 6:12-16)
2. Strength (Judges 6:12)
3. Obedience (Judges 6:27)
4. Humility (Judges 7:2; 6:15)
5. Courage (Judges 6:27)
III. Present parallels
A. A time of darkness (Ephesians 5:11)
B. Our task: save our people by pointing them to Jesus (Luke 19:10; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 9:6; 10:6; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:2)
C. Our obstacles: fear and carelessness (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 Corinthians 10:12; Ephesians 5:15)
D. Our needs:
1. Faith (Romans 10:17)
2. Strength (Ephesians 6:10)
3. Obedience (Hebrews 5:9; Matthew 7:21)
4. Humility (James 4:6, 10)
5. Courage (Ephesians 6:18-20; 1 Peter 3:14)
Adapted from a sermon by Curtis E. Flatt (1921-2018)
A. Do not seek publicity
B. Others may cite your deeds to motivate others, but we should not publicize them for ourselves (Mark 12:41-44; Acts 4:36-37)
C. God is the rewarder
II. Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15)
A. Our personal prayers should be private petitions, not public proclamations (Matthew 6:5-8; Luke 18:10-14)
B. The model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; 1 John 1:8-9)
C. The condition of forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15)
III. Fasting (Matthew 6:16-18)
A. Denying oneself food to focus on spiritual matters
B. Practiced by the early church (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23)
C. Jesus’ point: whatever you do, do it for God, not to draw attention to yourself!
A. Imitate the love of Christ’s sacrifice (Ephesians 5:1-2; Rom 12:1-2)
B. There are activities “not fitting for saints” (Ephesians 5:3-5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21)
C. “Let no one deceive you” (Ephesians 5:6-7)
1. Jesus was a “friend of sinners” (Luke 7:34)
2. But He had the aim of teaching and converting, not “partying with them” – our aim must be the same (Matthew 5:13-16)
II. Walk in light
A. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit “in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Ephesians 5:8-10; Galatians 5:22-23)
B. No fellowship with darkness (Ephesians 5:11)
C. Responsibility to expose darkness (Ephesians 5:12-14)
III. Walk in wisdom
A. “Circumspectly” – “exactly, accurately, diligently” (Ephesians 5:15)
B. “Redeeming the time” – taking advantage of opportunities as presented, as you do not know how many opportunities remain! (Ephesians 5:16)
C. “Understand” (Ephesians 5:17; 3:4; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17)
I. Transformation of the wilderness (Isaiah 35:1-2)
A. Contrast with the destruction of Isaiah 34
B. Nature rejoices with man at repentance
II. Encouragement of the weak (Isaiah 35:3-4)
A. Encouragement needed (Lk. 22:32; Rom. 15:1-2; Gal. 6:1-2; Acts 14:21-22)
B. Fulfilled in Christian dispensation (Hebrews 12:12-13)
C. “Do not be afraid!” (Gen. 15:1; Exo. 14:13; Deut. 20:1-3; Josh. 1:9; etc.)
D. New Testament encouragement (Phil. 4:6; 2 Tim. 1:7; 2 Thes. 1:6-9)
III. Physical and spiritual healing (Isaiah 35:5-7)
A. Jesus’ answer to John the Baptizer (Matthew 11:3-5)
B. Spiritual application (Revelation 22:17)
IV. The Highway of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8-10)
A. The Way (Matt. 7:13-14; John 14:6; Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22; 16:17; 18:25-26)
B. “Fool” is evil (Prov. 1:7; 24:7; 10:8, 10; 14:3; 12:15; 15:5; 20:3; 27:22; 29:9; Isaiah 19:11; Jeremiah 4:22; Hosea 9:7; Micah 2:11)
C. The redeemed and ransomed (Acts 2:41, 46; 8:8, 39; 16:34)
A. Do not lie (Leviticus 19:11; Matthew 5:37)
B. Relationships are built on trust (Ephesians 4:15-16)
C. Severe consequences of lying (Revelation 21:8; 22:15)
II. Integrity of emotion (Ephesians 4:26-27)
A. Be angry at sin, but show love to the sinner (Psalm 97:10)
B. Do not let anger fester (Matthew 5:25; 18:15; Galatians 5:20, 23; Titus 1:7)
III. Integrity of work (Ephesians 4:28)
A. Do not steal (Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:11; Titus 2:10)
B. Work not only helps the one who labors, but allows him to help others in need (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12; Acts 4:34-35)
IV. Integrity of speech (Ephesians 4:29-30)
A. The old man’s mouth will be stopped (Romans 3:19), but the new man’s mouth will confess Christ (Romans 10:9-10)
B. The “grain of salt” is the responsibility of the speaker, not the hearer (Col. 4:6)
V. Integrity of love (Ephesians 4:31-32)
A. How we feel about our brethren matters (1 John 4:20-21)
B. Love for the brethren is demonstrated through kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness (Gal. 5:22; 1 Peter 3:8; Matt. 6:14-15)
A. “The futility of their mind” (Ephesians 4:17; Proverbs 1:7)
B. “The blindness of their hearts” (Ephesians 4:18; Romans 1:18-23)
C. “Work all uncleanness” (Ephesians 4:19; Mark 7:21-23)
II. The transition from old to new (Ephesians 4:20-21)
A. Learning Christ through the example of others (1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Peter 3:1-2)
B. Hearing Christ through His inspired Scriptures (Romans 10:17; James 1:21)
C. Taught by Christ by way of faithful disciples (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:2)
III. The triumph of the new man (Ephesians 4:22-24)
A. “Put off…the old man” (Ephesians 4:22)
B. “Be renewed” (Ephesians 4:23; Romans 12:2)
C. “Put on the new man” (Ephesians 4:24)
1. Put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:26-27)
2. Raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)
3. Created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 2:12)
4. Living in “true righteousness and holiness” (Titus 2:12)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
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