The Torch of Jerusalem's Salvation (Isaiah 62:1-3)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name. 3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God.”
Introduction
These days, I am listening to different sermons of pastors of other denominations on YouTube. But when I listened to them I realized that we were in trouble. Theologically, I am seeing that these pastors are trying to touch the hearts of others but they are only speaking nonsense. We need to teach our remnants correctly theologically. In another denomination, I watched a video of a professor at a university who was a doctorate. A person asked this professor if these prominent generals and admirals in Korea went to heaven? Since they did great and amazing things for Korea, and they lived a good life? Because back then, there were no Christians in Korea. The core of his response was, “Salvation is determined by God alone and we should not speak lightly about whether we will go to heaven or not. The professor used the scripture of Romans 1:19 “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” to support his answer. God will show Himself even to non-believers. The second Bible scripture that he referred to was Romans 2:6-7 “Who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” - To those God allows them to see Him, God will allow them to see His word. If people live a righteous life before God, then God will show His glory of salvation to them. The Bible tells us this so we should not lightly judge if we will go to heaven or not. When I heard the response of this professor, I was so shocked. Why were we saved? This professor did not correctly explain how salvation is obtained. When we evangelize, what is the one thing that deceives people? People tell us that they believe in Jesus and God. And, that they know who God is. So does this mean if you heard of God, that you will be saved? Even our ancestors heard and know of God, Jesus Christ. Even Muslims heard and knew of God. So does this mean that you heard and know of God that you will be saved? What is absolute is that when you believe in your heart and confess the name of Christ as your master, then you will be saved. Through today’s sermon, we need to hold onto this correctly.
1. Two Kinds of Light
1) The light of Zion's righteousness
Verse 1 - We need to hold onto God’s word correctly. There are different interpretations that this “I” is referring to the Messiah or it is Isaiah? I think when I see this scripture, I interpret it as God. But what is more important is that it speaks about Zion. We need to know what Zion means. The Bible speaks about the word “Zion” 250 times. The meaning of Zion means, “The fortified place.”
The first place where Zion appeared was in 2 Samuel 5:7 “Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).” - The land that Joshua and Caleb couldn’t conquer was the land of Zion. This was how fortified this land was. It was because it was such a strong land to the point where Caleb and Joshua couldn’t conquer. God commanded David to conquer this land and David was able to conquer it.
The reason why God told David to conquer the fortress of Zion was seen in Psalm 132:13-14 “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: 14 “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” - God raised up Zion so that He could be glorified through it. After David conquered Zion, it was proclaimed that this will be the place where God will dwell and God’s people will be forever. Today’s sermon speaks about “Zion’s sake” and is speaking about God’s righteousness. God will not rest until God’s righteousness is fulfilled. We need to understand God’s righteousness correctly. God did not judge mankind and place His wrath on us but rather sent us Jesus Christ on our behalf. This was God’s righteousness. When we believe in this, then we will become righteous. What is important is that in order to be saved, when we believe in the name of Jesus Christ who will save us, then we will be saved. Without the Son, we cannot be saved. Without Jesus Christ, we cannot receive forgiveness of our sins. If we commit sins, then we can receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ. This is the only way. Even if you call yourself a child of God, if you don’t come before Jesus Christ with your sins, then you will not be forgiven of your sins. Even though we will go to heaven because we are children of God, if we don’t go before Jesus with our sins then we will suffer on this earth. Only Jesus Christ can forgive your sins.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ” - You may say that you believe in God but this is not how you can be saved.
2) The Torch of Jerusalem's Salvation
Verse 1 - Jerusalem is referring to the children of God. There are many interpretations of “torch” in the Bible but it mainly speaks about the covenant of God. An example we can see is in Genesis 15:8, 17 “And he said, ‘Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?’ 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.” - God gave a covenant to Abraham that He will give the land of Canaan.
When Abraham received God’s covenant, Abraham replied to God in Genesis 15:8. When God heard His question, God commanded Abraham to prepare blood sacrifices and went through the blood sacrifices that were cut in half. He went through as a burning torch between the blood sacrifices. Back in the day, when you made a covenant between two people, you would split an animal in half and you would walk through it with the person you are making a promise with. This shows the meaning that if you break a promise with that person, then you will take responsibility for that broken promise and be put to death. But we can see that it was only God who crossed the blood animals cut in half. What does this mean? That means that God will stake His life to keep His promise with Abraham. What is absolute is that God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham. From here, we shouldn’t end here. But the animals were cut in half. There were three animals that were cut in half. This shows the animals that were used for blood sacrifices. This also represents that God will send Jesus Christ, His Son, to give the spiritual inheritance to His children. Through Jesus Christ, God’s covenant will be relayed to us and be fulfilled. No matter what happens, God promised that He will fulfill His covenant with Abraham. Even if Abraham’s children become corrupted and worshiped idols, God promised that He will fulfill His covenant with Abraham. God did fulfill this covenant. God fulfilled this covenant through Jesus Christ. Why through Jesus Christ? We continued to see that Jesus was the head of the church and we are the body. This was all part of God’s plan to build the church.
God’s plan was to raise up the church as we can see in Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” - The thing that is most important within our walk of faith is to stay inside of Jesus Christ. If we are outside of Christ, then we will die. We need to live where we make Jesus the head of the church and we live as the body of the church. Then, all authority and power will be given to us. If we live inside of Christ, then the evidence of the Holy Spirit will come upon us. This is the blessing that is given to children of God.
2. Called By A New Name
1) The working of the Holy Spirit
Verse 2 - If we become children of God, then Gentiles and people around you will see that we have become righteous. Kings will see that you are truly a child of God and will see you are different. It doesn’t end there but God will give us a new name. Receiving a new name that we have become a new being. When you become saved, you become a new creation. What does it mean to become a new creation? You will be called a new name. You will become a new person. This means that we are born again and we will have a re-birth. This means that the power of the Holy Spirit is revealed within our lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will gain power and we will experience change within our bodies and lives. We were once children of Satan but we became a child of God when we confessed the name of Jesus Christ. This is the change that takes place. A child of God means that God will take full responsibility over your life. This is the blessing that a child of God has received. How does this show? Through the working of the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” - When does the working of the Holy Spirit start? It starts when the name of Jesus Christ is proclaimed. Only through Jesus Christ can the Holy Spirit work. Even if you say that you know God even though you attend the Buddhist temple, you can never have the working of the Holy Spirit. No matter how much you say that you know God even though you are a Muslim, you can never receive the working of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only works through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the amazing spirit and power of God.
2) A crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand
Verse 3 - Great and amazing blessings will come to us. Crown is what you wear on your head, not something you hold in your hand. But it says that the crown is within the hands of the Lord. This means that we are within the hands of the Lord. This means that we are God’s royal people. We are God’s crown. This is the crown that we will receive when we go to heaven. God is holding onto this crown tightly within His hand. This is how much we are to God. We are so precious to God, just as precious as jewels. He is holding onto us tightly. Each one of us, God, thinks of us very precious. This means that we are God’s royal priesthood. We possess the authority of a king.
That is why it says in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” - We are God’s royal priesthood who show the great glory of God. Only children of God can wear this. Not even angels can wear this. Do you think if we possess this much preciousness to God, do you think God will not answer our prayers to Him? Will God not work through us or not? Wherever we go, God works. God hears each and every one of our prayers very precious. This is how important God sees our prayers. Our remnants don’t forget this. This is how precious you are to God. God will not abandon your prayers and He will listen to each and every one of your prayers.
3. Destroy The Bartizan of Darkness
1) The restoration of your spiritual identity
We must pray to stand as a bartizan who can stand as a watchman who can save 237 nations. We must pray with this every single day.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” - God has given us the bartizan of prayer. No matter what problems we have, God said that He will break all of them down. If we pray to God, then we experience God’s power. The darkness that is tormenting you and your thoughts, pray about it.
2) The restoration of your spiritual authority
Pray with the 7 journeys. We need to shine the light of Christ.
Isaiah 60:1-2 “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” - The moment we pray and hold onto God’s word, the great power of the Holy Spirit will come upon us. Whenever we pray with the word of God and the 7 journeys, then God will be glorified through you. Then, God will continue to guide you.
3) The guideposts to save the next generation
2 Timothy 2:1-2 “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” - The 7 guideposts. We need to hold onto this Bible verse. Just like I spoke to you in the introduction, whatever God tells you, you must hold onto it correctly. Don’t hold onto it lightly but hold onto it correctly. We must commit ourselves with God’s covenant and word. Then, people will start to follow you.
Conclusion
I read a news article and it was about in 1985 when there was a celebration of the declaration of the 100th Missions in Korea. What was said in this article was shocking. The article said that we will pledge to collaborate with other religions and we will not tolerate any single, inclusive religious activities and organizations. They are saying that they will make a one-world religion. The danger of this was that they will reject any inclusiveness, which means that they will reject only Jesus Christ. Then, they continue to say that we will collaborate so that we can fulfill the kingdom of God on this earth. This means that they will collaborate with other religions and come together, and establish the kingdom of God on this earth. This means that these people don’t know the meaning of the cross at all. Why was this being said? The world is being carried away by the theology of Postmodernism. This ideology means that you live your life how you want and what you are doing is right. Whatever you believe in, don’t judge or criticize others for it. Let people live with whatever they want and how they want. The problem with this is that it has pierced through Christianity and churches today. People are saying don’t just speak about only Jesus Christ but acknowledge other religions and other people’s beliefs. The Bible absolutely tells us in Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Hold onto today’s sermon. Be victorious in the name of Christ.
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