The Stone

… And chapter 28, and verse 16. We'll read verse 14 for connection, but it's verse 16 we are going to dwell upon. Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, we have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us. For we have made lies our refuge, and on the falsehood we have hid ourselves. Therefore, thus said the Lord. Thus said the Lord, God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believe it shall not make haste or be confounded. I would like to take, for this evening, this verse and open it up to us. It is said of the book of Isaiah, it is usually called the fifth gospel. Some call it the royal gospel. Some call him the evangelical gospel. I want to say he is both. He is the royal evangelical prophet. Presented Christ in most of his glories. And if we should go through the book of Isaiah, it has seven sections in the book of Isaiah. And you will find it has sixty-six chapters. And it is wonderful because the first forty verses, I should say thirty-nine verses, brings before us the official glories of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the last twenty-seven brings before us also the moral glories of Christ. Permit me before we commence to just turn to chapter seven and read a few verses there. Chapter seven and verse ten. Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he said, Here ye know, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary man? But will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and be a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Now, if we should take a nice picture for a nice foundation in the book of Isaiah is this verse. A sign in the height and a sign in the depth. The sign in the height is Immanuel himself. But God is going to bring before us this one who is Immanuel. He is going to give us a sign in the depth. It's the death of the Lord Jesus Christ or the humiliation of Christ. And the sign in the height is this glorified man. This man, there's a man in the glory, crowned with glory and honor. And right through the book of Isaiah, you find this two track is running. When God presents the Lord Jesus Christ in a moral way, he always presents him also in his deity. Always brings that before us. So I'm going to now to look at one of the aspects of or characters of the Lord Jesus Christ as the stone. If you turn in the book of Isaiah, he's the light. He's the sanctuary. He is the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace. He's the one upon whom God is going to hang his put the government upon his shoulder. It tells us also of the Lord Jesus Christ that he is the one that God is going to bring in and put everything into his hands in the book of Isaiah. Also, it tells us that he is the one. God says, who is the who is the branch? Who is the servant? All these glories we could spend some time on. But tonight, this evening, we are going to spend some time on verse 60, the stone. He says, Therefore, thus said the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stones. I am. No, there are three mountains in the history of the children of Israel that is very, very prominent. We have Mount Moriah. We have Mount Horeb and we have Mount Zion in Mount Moriah. We have the basis of God's ways is there. Isaac was offered up as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have horror how God revealed himself in a burning bush and yet still the bush was not consumed. How is that possible? It meant that God was going to reveal himself. Indeed, with all consuming man, man never had that concept before. How this God who is a consuming fire was going to reveal himself without consuming man. That's the character of God's ways. But at Mount Zion, we have the fruition of God's ways. All God's ways are realized at Mount Zion. So now God says, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone, a tried stone. And it tells us in the book of Peter. Let's turn to that quickly so we could lay this foundation so we can move upon it. First Peter and chapter two and verse five. It tells us there. He also as lively stones or living stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore, also is contained in the scriptures. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect precious and he that believe it on him shall not be confounded or confused. Unto you, therefore, which believe he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they are appointed. I just brought all those verses to just emphasize that the person we are speaking about is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is the stone and God is going to bring before us in this one verse. Some features about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. First, he's a tried stone in the book of Hebrews and chapter two. He says he is the captain of our salvation. He has qualified to lead us through the wilderness. Every step of the way, the Lord Jesus is has been qualified to lead us through. He has gone through every form of human suffering and he is qualified to lead us right through the wilderness. He is leading many sons to glory. And now we ask ourselves, when you think about this tried stone, he was tried and tested. He was brought into the wilderness after he was baptized. After he was baptized, he came out immediately out of the water and a voice was heard from the excellent glory saying, this is my beloved son in whom I have found all my delight. Never there was a man like the Lord Jesus Christ. Though God over all blessed forever, though Emmanuel himself, God with us, he was a man just like you and I, sin apart with a body, a soul and a spirit and he was led into the wilderness and being led into the wilderness, he was tempted there by the devil. Forty days and after his temptation was accomplished at the height of it, the devil came to him and says, if you be the son of God, command these stones to be made bread. And Jesus said unto him, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. And it tells us in the book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy by this man shall live. So the devil said to him, well, then took him up to a high pinnacle of the temple and says, cast yourself down. He shall give his angels charge over thee. But the devil missed out some of the word of God and keep thee in all thy ways. Satan quoted the scriptures. Then he took him out on the high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of this world and says, all, all these I give to you, all you have to do is bow down and worship me. And the Lord Jesus said to him, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou shall worship the Lord thy God and him only thou shall serve. And he was tried. But what happened when he was in in the wilderness, there was nothing in him to respond to the dictates of the devil because he knew no sin. He did no sin and there was no sin in him. He was tried and tested right through his life here. The Bible tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ. The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath nowhere to lay his head. He says, listen, that when the Lord Jesus came, the donkey was borrowed that he rode into Jerusalem on. The tomb, the cross on which he was crucified wasn't his. The tomb in which he laid wasn't his. We know the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor. That we through his poverty might be made rich. When you look at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was tested. And I can tell you this, you can, you cannot go through any form of suffering that the Lord Jesus hasn't gone through. He was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He has gone through everything that a human being can go through and he was tested. He was a tried stone and having been tried and tested only proved that he was qualified as it were for us to be, for him to be a foundation. One may ask, when you look at the religions of this world, you ask upon what are they placing their trust? Some it says put their trust in chariots. Well, today we have to say cars. Some put their trust in horses and that's the cars with the speed. Some put their trust in the armor flesh, but the Bible says it is going to fail them. And David says, what me? I'm going to put my trust in the Lord. Brethren, we have a tried stone. We have a stone that have been tried. When I was in Belfast, I saw some stones that you can use a fluorescent light and bring out the beauties of them. And I collected some of these stones. And when I get that light, it is going to bring out the beauties of the stones that I have collected. But what brought out the beauties of Christ? What brought out the perfections that the devil saw? He saw it. What brought out the perfections that Pilate saw? What brought out the perfections that those that were sent to trap him in his words? What brought it out? You know what brought it out? Indeed, the trials that he was brought into. All the trials were like aroma ascending to the nostrils of God. If you please, it's like the meal offering. His life was an evil life, not unbalanced like mine. I may love, but indeed when it comes to some other area of my life, it may be out of balance, not the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was an evil life, but it was a life that the Spirit of God, He was filled with the Spirit of God. He was anointed with the Spirit of God. He was led by the Spirit of God. He returned in the power of the Spirit of God. And when you think of it, when indeed Pilate examined the Lord Jesus Christ, and he says, I find no fault in this man. Likewise, indeed even man when they came and interrogated the Lord Jesus, listened to his words, it says never man spoke like this man. Why? The Lord Jesus had been tried and tested by man. I have tried him and tested myself, and I confess that the Lord is gracious, that the Lord is merciful, that the Lord Jesus is all that he said he is and even more. And if we should, I will say with the words of John, John said, if all the things that Jesus did should be written in a book, this world couldn't contain the books that should be written about the Lord Jesus Christ. That's not what Solomon said. Of the writing of books there is no end. I was down at the depot. By the cross I have a lot of books down there. A lot of books, I took some. And it's some about the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of my books are about the Lord Jesus Christ. And every time I come, I am still picking up more books. And you're saying, Brian, when are you going to stop picking up books? How large a library is he going to get? Well, I went to Belfast. I went to Dublin. And likewise, you know what Brother Andrew Putz did? He took me to Trinity College. And he showed me a large library. And I said, it's true what Solomon said. Of the making of books there is no end. But I'll tell you this, this is the book of books. Indeed, this is the book that will give us the facts about the Lord Jesus Christ. He had been tried. He had been tested. And here I can say, all of us could say, indeed, that when he came to the cross, the ultimate test, you know, he said he's going to buckle. Yes, at Gethsemane's Garden, he offered up strong crying and tears unto him that was able to deliver him out of death. And he was heard because of his piety. The Lord Jesus suffered. Yeah, indeed, he says, you know what he said? My soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death. And the Lord Jesus was there in Gethsemane's Garden. All Luke said was his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. The angels strengthened him. He prayed more earnestly. But it is brought out in the book of Hebrews. He offered up strong crying and tears. He cried. He sweated. Strong crying. He cried out to God. And God heard him. And then he went to the cross, tried on every end, tried. And you know, these light afflictions that we go through, which work it an eternal weight of glory. We think we think it will never come to an end. The scripture tells us that the sufferings of this life is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us since we shall be changed. We shall be changed, but God is bringing out to us the one upon whom we have placed our lives. Brethren, he have been tried. He have been tested. And you have to say, indeed, people wants to know who is this Christ. It's a sure foundation. Then he tells us not only is a tried stone, but he's a precious cornerstone. He tells us he is a precious cornerstone. And we read it in the book of Peter. There have been precious jewels. And when you read the book of Job, and he's speaking of wisdom. You know what he says? He says, men dig way down into the earth. There is a path that the vultures eyes have not seen. And the lion's whelp have not trodden. Or the fierce lion passed by. Where is that path? That path has been trodden by the tried stone, if you please. He says, men get down deep in the earth and find the vein of silver and of gold and bring it out into the light so men can see. I got some gold on my hand. Telling you, I am married. But where did it come from? It came from under the earth. And you know what he says? He says, where is the path of wisdom? You know what happened? The depth says, it's not in me. The sea says, it's not with me. Don't look down here. Man has now gotten a small submarine that could go down to the depths of the sea. Searching for the answer to life. Well then, wisdom says, the depth says, it's not here. Not the topaz of Egypt, of Ethiopia, or the gold of Euphrates. None of these things could compare unto a prize. What it is saying? It is saying this stone is so precious that God says, this stone was disallowed of men. Men says, we don't want this stone. This stone is no good. And they throw away this stone. You know what it is said? When, as it were, those who went to Africa, saw indeed people kicking around gold all over the place. And it says, give us those stones. And they give them, you know, iron. And it says, we want those stones. Why? Some people kick around gold. So what? They were rejecting the gold. They were rejecting the precious stone. And the Bible says, the stone disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious. What men says, away with this man. We would not have this man to reign over us. But you know what God says? God says, God has highly exalted him. And give him the name that is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee is going to bow. Of things in heaven, of things on earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's upon whom you have placed your trust. Not only tried, God says, I want you to know he is a precious cornerstone. It is said, when they were building Solomon's temple, they brought up the stone and they said, we don't want that. Throw it down the precipice. That's what traditions say. But what happened? The same stone they threw down the hill, they had to bring to put in the head of the corner. It means the building take character from that stone. Everything should plumb up by that stone. It's plumb lane. Isn't that true? It's plumb lane. Well, the real plumb line is the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything must take character from him. And then it tells us here. It says, he is so precious. If you fall on this stone, you shall be broken. It means a broken and a contrite heart God is not going to despise. You are going to be blessed. But who this stone fall on will be ground into powder. This is who he is. So in spite of men's attitude, we will not have this man to reign over us. Indeed, we don't want this man. Shall I crucify your king? We have no king but Caesar. Indeed, then Pilate says, behold the man whom shall you give us for robbers? What shall I do then with Jesus that is called the Christ? Crucify him. Yes, and they took him out. They nailed him to the cross. They spat upon him. Yes, he was cursed. The flowers ploughed upon his back. They make long their pharaohs. He gave his back to the smiters and his cheek to them that pluck off his hair. He hid not his face from shame and spitting. Oh, he sank in Maya, it tells us, continuing on in the sufferings of Christ. They nailed him to a cross. And after they nailed him there, hang him up into heaven and hang him up between earth and heaven. He was the son of the drunkards. You that save others, save yourself. Come down from the cross. And the Lord Jesus bore it all. Then God shut him in in thick darkness and dealt with him. But we are looking at it from the hands of men. Men says we don't want Christ. But God says he was disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious. There he is. Look where he is right now at God's right hand. There is a man in the glory. And I like this verse. The Bible says, If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of men, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. It says why? Indeed God who had commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Yes, that face that was once marred and smitten is now radiating the glory of God. So yes, in spite of man's treatment of him, God says he is chosen and he is precious. Man, a man out of death. God take him and says sit down here at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool. The precious cornerstone. He says a sure foundation. Sure foundation. And in the book of first Corinthians chapter chapter one, chapter three, I believe, and verse 11, it says. No other foundation can be laid than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So brethren, we know we don't only have a shrine stone, he has gone through everything, not only a precious cornerstone, but we have a sure foundation. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stand it sure. Knowing this, let them that name the name of Christ, he says, depart from iniquity. But when you think of this, it says of the Lord Jesus is parable and use that the words of the Lord Jesus, you know what he says? He says, they that hear my word and do it, I will lighten you unto them. He said, they're like a wise man that built his house upon a rock and the floods, the winds came, the flood rise, the winds beat vehemently upon the house and the house stood firm. The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The winds came, the rain fell, the storms and the sand. The house went, was destroyed. Why? The same elements that afflicted the man on the rock afflicted the man on the sand. The same storm afflicted each. The same rain came to both. The flood rose for the both, but the house on the rock stood firm. You know, we are not exempt from the testings of this life. The same thing that affect us at times affect the sinner. But you know why we stand is because we are founded. We have a sure foundation, sure foundation. It has been tried. In my week in the West Indies, a man was locked up because he built a house. It was on a hill. And when he finished, the house was leaning like this. He built it with the contour of the hill. Something was wrong. Something was wrong. The foundation was wrong. And I find there are many who love the Lord, who know the Lord, but they are leaning. The foundation is bad. Something is wrong. They have a house, but the house is leaning. I have also seen where they have laid foundations and after, because the concrete wasn't good, it cracked. I have seen foundation. After the house is built, they start to sink. So the material must be good. So now if you build on Christ, we have a sure foundation. You can build on him. There is no cracks with Christ. There is no leaning with Christ. There is no faulty material with Christ. He is the Emmanuel himself. And they are telling us, brethren, indeed he has been tried. You know what they do when they are pouring a foundation? When they are building a bridge? When they are building a suspension bridge and putting up the towers on which to hang the suspension bridge? You know what is done? They would be filling this tower and they are going to pour concrete day after day after day after day. If it takes a month, they are coming hour after hour and truck after truck because they want, as it were, the concrete to dry. You know, together, there will be no seams or if part dries and this part comes tomorrow, there will be a fault. Not with Christ. Not with Christ at all. He always was. Indeed, he is God over all, blessed forever. So there is no beginning and starting with Christ. No, no, no. He always was. So now you can put your trust in him. You can say, listen, my stone have been tried, have been tested and he firmly endured as a rock. Not only so, think about all the jewels men have died for. They said the biggest pearl they got was in India. The Queen have it here. She got it. I went to see it. Last time I was here, I went through all the gold, the orbs, the crowns as you pass through there. Well, let me tell you this. They are going to be burnt up. This stone went into the fire. The fire of God's judgment. And you know what happened? He just came out and the Apostle Paul saw him and not the Apostle Paul says. He says, O King Agrippa, I went down to Damascus, you know, breeding up my threatening and slaughters, incarcerating the Christians. But at midday, O King, I saw a light. Brighter than the noon, the sun. All the trials and testings only cause Jesus to shine even more. He was the light brighter than the noon, the sun. And he said, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision. And yea, indeed, when he started to preach and present his testimony, you know what? You know what? Festus said, Paul, what's wrong? Do not make me mad. He said, I'm not mad, most noble Festus. But speak it forth the words of truth and soberness. The king before whom I speak knoweth of these things. Why? Because Paul saw something surpassing all the glories that eclipses indeed that is seen on this earth. His glory eclipses the sun. And you know what the songwriter says? Glory, Lord, is thine forever. Ever thine thou art the sun. Greater far thy God of glory than the glories thou hast won. He has won glories and that he is. He is the sun. Show foundation. But I would like to turn to some verses brethren. He says, he that believe it shall not make hay, shall not be confounded. I guarantee you this. You can cast your life upon the Lord Jesus Christ without reservation. A man said to me last time I came to London. He was at a place preaching and he was on a little piece of platform like. And a man was going in to bet on the horses. And he was preaching about Christ, the rock. And the man said to him, get off that box. So Christ is what rock. He says, I'm going to bet on something sure. And the man said, let me tell you this. Christ is the rock. All other rocks are sham rocks. Just shams. That's all they are. The real thing is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let me explain what sham means. All it means is this. They are not real. The real rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. The real stone is the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's turn to the book of Daniel and chapter 2. Let's read verse 31 for connection. And his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest still that a stone was cut out without hands which smote the image upon his feet that was of iron and clay and break them to pieces. Then was the iron and the clay and brass and silver and gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor. And the wind carried them away that no place was found for them and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and fill the whole earth. Now again, we are going to see that this stone and I'm going to use scripture to really highlight what scripture is bringing before us here. Right now we are in the last days, the last times and things are coming to an end. And when this image that Nebuchadnezzar saw and you know how proud he was but we are not going down that line. But it says there's a stone that is cut out without hands that is going to break this image into pieces, smash it up. You know in the days in the book of Revelation it tells us that a strong angel proclaimed and says who is worthy to open the books and to loose the seals thereof. No man in heaven, no man in earth was found and indeed it tells us all men has failed. Mr. Blair is a failure. Not only him, Mr. Bush also is a failure. Not only him, I'm telling you every man in authority is nothing but a failure. And God is going to prove to us indeed that all will fail because all cannot bring to pass God's mind for planet earth. So when John saw that, John began to weep. John cried and John began to weep. He says man, hopeless situation. It's a hopeless situation. Who is going to put this world right? Who is going to bring in things for God's harmony? Who is going to set God's mind and bring in God's mind and bring order to this disorder? When John looked, there was nobody in heaven, no man on earth, everyone has failed. And you know what happened? When John began to weep, the elders said to him, weep not John. For the lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. And John was turned to the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what is brought out here in the book of Daniel. A day is coming where the Lord Jesus is going to put down all rule and authority. The Lord Jesus is going to rule with a rod of iron. The Lord Jesus' men are going to know that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is King over all they that rule. And He is Lord over all they that exercise authority. The Lord Jesus is going to put down all. And you know what it says? Man, it is going to fill this world. It will be like a mountain. It means His glory is going to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Listen, it says, I cannot tell how you angels worship shall draw this world and bring in this glory for God. But this I know, I can say, He changed His lives. He healed the broken hearted. He set the captives free. And this is the foundation we have. God says when you look at this humble beginning. Bethlehem's manger. Bethlehem's manger. That same babe in Bethlehem's manger came so big. Filled the earth. Because He is the stone that is going to break the image. Bring down Babylon if I use the term. Write down the revived Roman Empire and let them know. Listen, I am in charge. Everybody is having their day right now. I see the homosexual marching in New York City. They start marching in London already. I pass in Trafalgar Square. Everybody piercing their nose and ears and eye in every place. It seems as though man has gone mad. But I tell you this. Jesus is going to put them right. If they don't want. If they don't bow now. Fall on Him. And He is going to bless you. But don't let Christ fall on you. The stone that the builders rejected. Has become the head of the corner. Since I am chaired you know. I know upon what I am standing. Not this. I am standing on a solid stone. It has been tried and tested. It is precious. He is precious. Unto Him. Unto God He is precious. Unto us. He is precious too. Not only so. We have a sure foundation. Upon what are you building your life? Upon what? One man said to me. He said let me tell you this. I am not making any leap in the dark. No leap in the dark at all. I could tell you this. This is no leap in the dark. Because I could have taken up Christ as the light. In the same book. Of Isaiah. The light that shined it into the darkness. Glory for His people Israel. Light unto the Gentiles. He has been tried. He has been tried. No matter what you may be going through. The Lord Jesus has gone through it. Every human being. What they are called to go through. Jesus was tested. And He came up. That is why He is called. The Captain. You see that is why you have to be on the rock. That is why He is called. The Captain. Of our. Salvation. Likewise. He is the precious. Cornerstone. Brethren He is so precious. For us to talk about the preciousness of Christ. Time will fail us. Likewise He is the sure foundation. You could build your life on Christ. And a brother used to say. If God tell you to jump through that window. Just jump. It's God's job to make the way. Well then. You could just lay your life. On this foundation that is sure. And then. There is coming a day. That this stone is going to fill. The universe. May God help us. To realize. What a blessing. God has given to us. And we would. Sing a hymn. And close in prayer. Thank you very much. …