A. Our condition without Jesus: poor, brokenhearted, mournful—no hope (Ephesians 2:12)
B. Jesus’ promises and power (Matthew 5:3; John 8:11; Matt. 9:5-6)
II. For the captive (Isaiah 61:1b)
A. Providing truth that leads to freedom (John 8:31-36)
B. Providing freedom from the captivity of sin (Romans 6:17-18)
III. For the sinful (Isaiah 61:10)
A. Darkness will be dispelled by the Light
1. John the forerunner (Luke 1:76-79)
2. Jesus the Light (John 1:4, 9, 14)
B. But, a warning of vengeance to the impenitent (Isaiah 61:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
A. What you think (2 Corinthians 10:5; Philippians 4:8; Genesis 6:5)
B. What you know (Proverbs 5:13; Acts 17:30)
C. What you believe (Romans 10:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:12)
II. You are responsible for your actions
A. What you say (Matthew 12:33-37; James 3:2-10)
B. What you do (2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Luke 12:47: James 4:17)
III. You are responsible for your relationships
A. Who/what you love (1 John 4:7-11; 3:10-12, 18; 2:15-17)
B. Who/what you follow (Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Hebrews 13:17)
C. Who/what you teach (Matthew 28:18-20; Galatians 1:6-10; Acts 20:27)
A. The fallacy of trusting ancestry (Matt. 3:9) and location (1 Kings 8:27)
B. Offering in the wrong spirit (Acts 5:1ff; 8:9-13; 1 Cor. 10:11; John 4:24)
C. Righteousness vs. wickedness (John 3:18-21; 9:35-50; 15:18-27)
II. Blessings in New Zion (66:7-14)
A. The exaltation of the Son, the establishment of the new nation, the multiplication of children (Acts 2; 4:4)
B. Joy and mourning (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Colossians 3:15)
III. Rejection of God’s plea (66:15-17)
A. Fire as a symbol of divine punishment (Psalm 97:3; Jeremiah 4:4; Ezekiel 22:21; Nahum 1:6; Isaiah 29:5-6; 30:27-31; 42:25)
B. Attempt to sanctify and purify themselves
IV. Worldwide spread of the gospel (66:18-21)
A. The sign: Christ’s resurrection? Destruction of Jerusalem? Establishment of the church?
B. Gentiles are brethren (Galatians 3:26-28) and priests (1 Peter 2:9)
V. The promise of perpetuity (66:22-24; cf. Daniel 2:44; Matthew 16:18)
A. “New heavens and new earth” different than Peter and John’s (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 20:15; 21:4, 8, 27; 22:4, 15, 19)
B. Mosher: “It is only in the church where one ceases to fall short of the glory of God (Eph. 3:10-21; Isa. 66:18)!”
A. Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1; Romans 15:1-3; Ephesians 5:1-2; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Peter 2:19-23)
B. Paul (1 Corinthians 10:32-11:1; Philippians 4:9)
C. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Philippians 3:17; Hebrews 6:11-12; 13:7)
II. For whom do you set an example?
A. Other Christians (Romans 1:8; 16:19; 1 Thess. 1:6-10; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7-8)
B. Young children (2 Timothy 1:3-5; 3:14-15; Matthew 18:6)
C. Those in the world (1 Peter 2:11-12)
III. What kind of example do you set?
A. What kind of Christian does the world see? (Matthew 5:14-16)
B. Does your example help or hinder the growth of the church? (Hebrews 10:24-25)
C. If every member of the church lived the way you live, would the church be strong? Growing? Would it even exist in this community?
A. “To keep you from stumbling” – He does His part (v.1) as we do ours (v.21) (1 Peter 1:5; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Philippians 2:12-13)
B. “To present you faultless” (Ephesians 1:4; 5:27)
1. When? “Before the presence of His glory” (Matthew 25:31-46)
2. How? “With exceeding joy” (Luke 15:7, 10, 11-24, 32)
II. God’s attributes (Jude 25)
A. “Our Savior” (1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4)
B. “Who alone is wise” (James 1:5; Ephesians 3:10-11)
C. “Glory” – dignity and honor – (Luke 2:13-14; Matthew 5:16; Acts 7:55)
D. “Majesty” – greatness – (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Job 37:22; Psalm 104:1; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1)
E. “Dominion” – strength and power (Romans 6:9, 14; Luke 1:51; Ephesians 1:19-20)
F. “Power” – authority (Matthew 7:29; 9:6; 28:18)
G. “Before all time, and now, and for evermore” [ASV] (Romans 1:20; 1 Timothy 1:17)
A. Pure motivation (Matthew 6:5-7, 8-13)
B. Without doubt (James 1:6-8)
C. Selfless (James 4:3)
D. In accordance with God’s will (1 John 5:14-15)
II. The goodness of God (7:9-11)
A. “Evil” parents (Romans 3:10, 23) take care of their children
B. Of course God, who is good, will take care of His (James 1:17)
III. The golden rule (7:12)
A. Compare with Romans 13:8-10 – It is not a matter of just avoiding the bad, but initiating the good!
B. Do not just wait to repay kindness; show kindness first! (Matthew 6:14-15; James 2:13; Romans 12:15)
A. Build upon the holy faith (2 Peter 1:5-11)
B. Pray in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15)
C. Keep yourself in God’s love (1 John 4:9-10)
D. Look for Jesus’ mercy (Matthew 5:7; James 2:13; Hebrews 4:16)
E. Do all of this “unto eternal life” (Titus 2:11-14)
II. The responsibility to others: compassion (22)
A. The last word in the Greek is difficult – some versions render it “to make difference/distinction” (KJV/NKJV); other versions speak to people “who are in doubt” (ASV)
B. The soul winner’s attitude tender, gentle, compassionate (Galatians 6:1)
III. The responsibility to others: rescue (23)
A. Pull them out of the fire (Zechariah 3:1-4)
B. Love the sinner, hate the sin (James 5:19-20)
A. The apostles had authority (Matthew 16:19; Acts 2:42)
B. Peter (2 Peter; emphasize 3:3-4)
C. John (1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7-11; 3 John 9-111)
D. Paul (Acts 20:29-30; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-14; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-9)
II. Mockers (18)
A. “Scoffers” (2 Peter 3:3-4) – men “who would make light of the truth”
B. The supposed “delay” in Jesus’ second coming is nothing more than a demonstration of God’s love and mercy for His creation (2 Peter 3:9)
III. Walk according to their own ungodly lusts, sensual persons, not having the Spirit (18-19)
A. Earthly, sensual, demonic wisdom (James 3:14-17)
B. The contrast between fleshly and Spirit-filled living (Galatians 5:16-26)
IV. Cause divisions (19)
A. The fallacy of “unity in diversity”/“agree to disagree” philosophy is that divisions are caused by innovations, not by fidelity to the faith
B. Factious spirit condemned (1 Corinthians 1:10; 3:1-7; Romans 16:17-18)
A. The importance of evangelism (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; 2 Timothy 4:2)
B. The new name = Christians (Acts 11:26)
II. The marriage relationship (62:3-5)
A. Crown of glory = victory over evil (1 John 5:4; Romans 8:37; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
B. Diadem = God’s royal family (Ephesians 3:14-15; 1 Peter 2:9)
C. Hephzibah = “My delight is in her”; Beulah = “Married” (Ephesians 5:23-28; 2 Corinthians 11:2)
III. The watchmen and God’s protection (62:6-9)
A. The watchmen are godly saints who guard the truth (1 Peter 5:8; Philippian 1:17; 1 Timothy 4:1-6; 6:10; Acts 20:28; Jude 3; Ephesians 4:11-12)
B. Continual prayer (Luke 11:5-14; 18:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
C. God’s oath (Hebrews 6:13)
IV. “Surely your salvation is coming” (62:10-12)
A. Evangelism includes: preparing the way, building the highway, removing obstacles, lifting the banner
B. Worldwide proclamation (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16)
C. Four identifications
1. The Holy People (Ephesians 2:21; 5:27)
2. The Redeemed of the Lord (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Acts 20:28)
3. Sought Out (Luke 19:10)
4. A City Not Forsaken (Hebrews 13:5; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
I. Destructive emptiness and instability of false teachers (12-13)
A. Spots/blemishes [“hidden rocks” ASV], self-serving (1 Corinthians 15:33)
B. Empty promises (Proverbs 25:14)
C. Unstable (Ephesians 4:14; James 1:6)
II. Enoch’s prophecy of the judgment (14-15)
A. “The Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints” (Matthew 25:31)
B. “To execute judgment on all” (Matthew 25:31-46)
III. The judgment against the ungodly (16)
A. Ungodly deeds – their only motivation is self-gratification (2 Corinthians 5:10)
B. Ungodly speech (Matthew 12:36; Philippians 2:14; Proverbs 7:21)
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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