And this is Leslie Curran saying hello once again and welcome to the programme. I'm delighted you're tuning in and joining us and I do hope you'll be able to stay with us for the next 15 minutes as today the Reverend Philip Gardiner is with us to let the bible speak. I want to read one verse of scripture today from Isaiah chapter 58.

Isaiah chapter 58 in the verse 1. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. There are many different pictures used in the scriptures for the faithful Christian who warns others concerning their need of God's salvation. The Christian is described as a watchman, as a farmer who sows the seed of God's word, as a fisherman who fishes for souls and in this verse he is described as one that blows a trumpet of warning.

I want us to look for a few moments today at this subject, the blowing of the trumpet. I want to see first of all the call for the blowing of the trumpet. In this verse the Lord was commissioning Isaiah the prophet to be a trumpeter, not merely in a literal way but to be a spiritual trumpeter.

These are the words of the Lord to Isaiah, cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. So the Lord commissioned him to this task. This was not the only time that such a call was issued.

A similar commission was given to the prophet Joel. In Joel 2 in the verse 1 it says blow ye the trumpet in them and set an alarm in my holy mountain. Hosea was also called to be a trumpeter and Hosea 8 in the verse 1 set the trumpet to thy mouth.

The Lord is still engaged in the task of calling the people out to be his trumpeters. As we consider this call for the blowing of the trumpet I want us to consider the preparation for trumpeting. Being a trumpeter was not one of those jobs that you could just walk into straight away without any experience.

The trumpeter didn't just see an advert on the Friday afternoon in the paper and start his job on a Monday. He evidently had to train the playing of the trumpet over a period of time before he could take up that duty in a public way. That has a very clear application to the idea of the Christian being a trumpeter.

Before we can ever stand up to warn the ungodly, before we can be an effective witness to those around us, we need to have been preparing ourselves. We must have been on our knees, we must have been digesting the word of God. While there is a necessity for preparation, there is also a necessity of power for trumpeting.

To be a trumpeter the person would need good physical stamina, for it requires a lot of physical energy. Someone then who is physically weak won't be able to play the trumpet effectively. Great energy is demanded.

That is brought out the words of our text. Isaiah 58 in the verse 1. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. The phrase spare not, in the Hebrew has the idea of do not restrain your voice, shout for all your worth.

So to blow the trumpet the person needs power and energy. That reminds us then as the Christian is to sound the warning. We don't have the power or the energy for that in ourselves, but rather it comes from the Lord.

The ministry of Gideon is one that is associated with the trumpet. It was under his leadership that a small army went against the Midianites with trumpets and pitchers and won a great victory. We read of Gideon in Judges 6 in the verse 34.

But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet. He blew as the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. That is exactly what we need if we are to be enabled to blow our trumpets for the Lord.

We need to be infilled by the Spirit of God. I want us to notice then the privilege in trumpeting. What a privilege it must have been for a young man in Old Testament times to be recruited as a trumpeter and to be handed the trumpet which he was to blow.

However the trumpeter was not always given a trumpet that looked attractive. In Joshua chapter 6 we have the account of the fall of Jericho. In the chapter the sounding of the trumpets is central to the whole narrative.

However those trumpets were not made of silver, but they were merely ram's horns adapted for that use. Can you imagine one of those priests that was to blow the trumpet? He had crossed the Jordan. He was now in the promised land.

The nation were going to take the city of Jericho. How excited they were at the prospect of that! And then he was handed a ram's horn to be his trumpet. The ram's horn surely was something that was despised.

When a farmer takes the horns of his animals he generally doesn't see them as something that's valuable. They are usually discarded. The Christian trumpeter has been given a trumpet to sound.

That is the word of God. The word of God is something that is despised by the world. While it is most certainly a precious volume the world sees no beauty in it.

What a privilege is ours then to be handed that living word to be our trumpet. In 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18 we read for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

“This sermon, based on **Isaiah 58:1**, highlights the Christian's role as a "trumpeter" of God's message, calling people to repentance and preparation for Christ's return. Drawing parallels from Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Joel, and Hosea, it emphasizes that Christians are divinely commissioned to warn others about sin and the coming judgment. This role requires preparation through prayer, studying God's word, and relying on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance. The trumpet’s message is twofold: a warning of humanity's sinfulness and a call to repentance in light of Christ's imminent return, bringing salvation to the prepared and judgment to the unrepentant. The sermon underscores the privilege of proclaiming God’s word, even when the world despises it, comparing it to the sound of the Jubilee trumpet, which symbolizes redemption and liberation through Christ’s sacrifice. Finally, it points to the ultimate trumpet at Christ's second coming, which will bring eternal joy for believers but judgment for those unprepared. The message calls on listeners to turn from sin, embrace Christ's salvation, and live in readiness for His return.”

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Applying that verse to the analogy of the trumpet, the preaching of the cross is just like the blowing of the trumpet of ram's horns.

The ungodly count it as something that is foolish, but for God's people we recognise that it is the power of God. Dear Christian never be ashamed then to blow out the trumpet of the word of God. The message therein is the power of God unto salvation.

So there is a call to the blowing of the trumpet. I want to see secondly there is the counsel in the blowing of the trumpet. The message that the Lord was telling Isaiah to sound out was that of a warning to sinners concerning the error of their ways.

In Isaiah 58 verse 1 it says cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah was to expose the sinfulness of the people. The whole context of this chapter has to do with their hypocrisy.

They fasted but it was only for ritual sake or even for their own personal gain. They did it not in the right spirit. There were some within the nation that kept the Sabbath day but it seems they didn't see it as a delight and so Isaiah was called to blow the trumpet against the people.

As Joel was commissioned to be a trumpeter the Lord too gave him the reason why he was to blow the trumpet. Joel chapter 2 in the verse 1, blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand. The book of Joel details a terrible plague of locusts which crossed the land bringing great destruction.

That plague became a picture of the coming day of the Lord's return and so the prophet then he was to issue this warning telling the people in light of the fact that Christ's coming was near that they needed to prepare prepare to meet thy God. These two themes then are to be central the trumpeting of the Christian. The warning is concerning the awfulness of sin in God's sight.

The sinner has rebelled transgressed against the Lord but then it is also a message concerning the judgment of sin. Christ is coming again to destroy all those that are not prepared for his coming. Perhaps dear unsaved listener you need to be warned today concerning the awfulness of your sin.

Your sin is ever before God. You stand as one who is guilty in the sight of the Lord. This program then ought to be another warning to you.

Your sin needs to be dealt with. It is an offence to a holy God. As the trumpet then is sounded you are exhorted to come to Christ.

In the Old Testament was not only used in war situations it was also used in connection with the sacrifice and the feasts of evil. One event was the coming year of Jubilee. Jewish farmers worked their land on a seven year cycle.

The seventh year was Sabbath year and the land was allowed to rest. After seven such cycles had passed there came the 50th year known as the Jubilee year. It was a land of great liberation when slaves were set free and the land was returned to its original owners.

In Leviticus 25 in the verse 9 it says then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month. In the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. This is a great picture of the gospel.

The day of atonement signifies the great work of redemption. The high priest entered into the holiest place and sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial animal upon the mercy seat. The testimony of the blood was that as the Lord looked upon it the sin of God's people was covered.

So as Christ died upon the cross for the guilty he ascended up into glory. For all those who have taken Christ as Saviour the blood of Christ is upon them. Their sins are covered they are atoned.

As such there has been then the sounding of the trumpet. The sinner has been liberated. No longer a slave of sin but rather now a servant of Christ.

But the Christian is waiting for another trumpet sound. That will be the great Jubilee day, the day of the Lord's glorious return. That too will be a day of great liberation, the ushering in of eternal joy.

In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 52 we read in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. Soon then there will be the sounding of the trumpet.

The Lord Jesus Christ will return in all his glory. Are you ready for the sounding of that trumpet? While on that day it will be a welcome sound to God's people. How terrible for those who are not prepared.

You must make your preparation now. Henry Lett Gilmore penned the words, Watchman, blow the gospel trumpet. Every soul a warning give.

Whoso hears the message may repent and turn and live. Sound it for the heavy laden, weary longing to be free. Sound a saviour's invitation, sweetly saying, come to me.

Will you heed the message of the gospel trumpet today? Turn from your sin, turn to Christ and be cleansed by the blood of his cross. Come even for your soul's sake. We trust the Lord will bless these thoughts to all our hearts.