Good evening, and we welcome
you back to Pillars of Prophecy.
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Are we having a blessed time?
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If you are, say "Praise
the Lord. " Praise the Lord!
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Amen. We have had
already this evening
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a wonderful
sermon by Jay Rosario
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and an anointed hour of
music. It was really a blessing.
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And this hour will be
sure to please you as well
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because it's my privilege to
introduce our speaker tonight
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who is Pastor C.A. Murray.
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And he doesn't
need an introduction.
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You know when we take
time to introduce we are not
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honoring the man. We are
simply introducing the man
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who will bring honor
and glory to the Lord.
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And so Pastor C.A. is
the Production Manager
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here at 3ABN. He's
an ordained minister.
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He's... you've heard
him sing this Camp Meeting.
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He is a wonderful
husband and you know
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he's a good friend of
mine. But more than that
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he's a good friend of Jesus.
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He's a man of his word
and a man of God's Word.
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So we'll be very
pleased to have him address
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the topic of
Messianic Prophecies.
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But before he comes out to speak
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we're going to bring back
Reggie and Ladye Love Smith.
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And haven't you been
blessed by their music? Amen!
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Tonight they're going to
sing a song that they wrote.
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And the title of
that song is Miracle.
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I was tired and worn
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the day that I met Jesus.
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And I fell to my face
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and cried out loud to Him.
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"Lord I know if You're willing
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You can heal me
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from this hurt and pain
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that lies so deep within. "
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Could this be
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my miracle?
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Could this be the one
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that I've been waiting for?
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I've waited for.
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I can hardly believe
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how He cares so much for me.
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Could this be
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my miracle today?
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He was standing by the well
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when I first saw Him.
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And He spoke of love
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and how He cared for me.
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For He told me I could drink
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this living water
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and it would quench my thirst
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for all eternity.
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Can this be
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my miracle?
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Can this be the one
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that I've been waiting for?
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I've waited for.
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I can hardly believe
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how He cares so much for me.
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Can this be
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my miracle today?
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He said: "Come as you are
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and drink from that fountain. "
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Jesus made a way for you
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if you will believe.
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There is hope and peace for you
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if you will trust Him.
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He will break the chains
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and set your spirit free.
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This can be... oh, this can be
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your miracle... your miracle.
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This can be the one
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that you've been waiting for...
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you've waited for.
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I can hardly believe
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how He cares so much for me.
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Can this be? Oh
Lord, can this be?
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Can this be? Yes this can be...
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Can this be
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your miracle
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today?
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I can hardly believe
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how He cares so much
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for me.
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Can this be
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my miracle
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today?
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God's miracle.
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Amen!
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Amen and amen.
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I was talking
with James Rafferty and
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Kameron DeVasher last evening
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and they were saying how tough
it is to get a prophetic sermon
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done in an hour because
there are so many on-ramps and
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off-ramps and so much
material, so many ways
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that you can go. And
it's really tough to get it
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all in an hour. And
Shelley Quinn was saying
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pretty much the same thing,
so I have to agree with them.
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There are so many
facets to prophecy and so much
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that can be encompassed
by the prophetic word
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that it's really just tough
to sort of "fight the clock. "
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But we will try to do our
best. We am going to talk about
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the Messianic
prophecies. Of course,
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we are going to concentrate our
studies on the book of Isaiah,
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but we will get to
Isaiah through Luke.
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So you want to put
your finger in Isaiah
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and then flip over to Luke 24.
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Start there. We
will get back to Isaiah
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but we get to the Old Testament
through the corridor of the New.
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Love to hear
those pages turning.
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If you will, now bow your heads
with me in a word of prayer.
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Father God, truly Your
Word is a lamp unto our feet,
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a light unto our path.
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And we pray now, mighty Father,
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that You would be the teacher.
That You would instruct us
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and give us of the
truth of Your Word.
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Give us open and receptive
hearts. And we thank you
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in Jesus' name,
Amen. Picture the scene:
00:10:05.95\00:10:09.08
two men are
walking along a lonely,
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dark, and dusty road.
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Day is fading into dusk
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bringing the curtain
down on what has been
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a long,
exasperating, depressing,
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disappointing three days.
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It is as it were
a "lost weekend. "
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Have you ever wanted
something really bad?
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I mean really bad.
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You wanted something so bad that
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if you didn't get it you just
didn't know how you would go on.
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You ever wanted
something really, really bad?
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There are times when you
can want something so badly
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when the desire, the expectation
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is so strong, so engrained
and engraved on your psyche,
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so much a part of
your own personal ontology
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that even the
notion, the thought
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that what you want could
not be or not turn out precisely
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as you wanted, precisely
as you had envisioned it,
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that thought is so alien to
you, so repulsive, so repugnant,
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so foreign, so
alien to your thinking
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that even... you don't
even allow it to enter your mind
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let alone your heart.
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You just don't want to go there.
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Some people want their
Jesus - their Messiah -
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with blonde hair and blue eyes.
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Some people want their Messiah
with black skin and dreadlocks
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kind of like Bob Marley.
00:12:06.32\00:12:08.62
Some people want their
Messiah to be kind of like
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one of those vending
machines where you get popcorn
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and Famous Amos
cookies and potato chips.
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You know, you pray a
little perfunctory prayer,
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put in some seed money,
pull out the handle and get
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anything you want.
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Some people want
a Burger King Jesus.
00:12:31.31\00:12:33.92
Sort of an ethnocentrized
have-it-your-way kind of God.
00:12:35.24\00:12:39.75
Some people want a
1960's hippie Jesus.
00:12:40.76\00:12:44.16
You know: sandals and
slippers, "Peace, man. "
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You see, this idea of
making Jesus or making God
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in our image and
creating a God to fit our needs
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and constructing a Savior
to be what we want is as old
00:13:01.09\00:13:05.59
as sinful man.
00:13:05.69\00:13:07.49
Many of the Jews in the
gospels and the epistles
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rejected Jesus simply
because He didn't fit their
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preconceived notion.
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They didn't get
the Jesus they wanted
00:13:20.37\00:13:23.13
so they rejected
the Jesus they had.
00:13:23.43\00:13:26.67
But not these two that are
walking this road this night.
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They are loyal,
loving followers of Jesus...
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not prominent ones.
Ellen White says these two men
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are "disciples. " They
weren't prominent disciples.
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They weren't a
Matthew or a Luke or a John.
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These were just
followers of the Lord.
00:13:49.33\00:13:52.90
But evidently they were
important enough to Jesus
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to get a special visit.
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See I could make a left turn...
that's a sermon in itself.
00:14:00.04\00:14:02.38
There's nobody
unimportant with Jesus. Amen!
00:14:02.68\00:14:06.11
So these three horrific days
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have mercifully ended.
00:14:11.48\00:14:14.17
And as they walk, they weep.
00:14:14.47\00:14:17.75
They commemorate, they
commiserate, they ruminate
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on the galling apocalyptic
failure of their fondest dreams.
00:14:21.67\00:14:26.31
On the worst
weekend of their lives.
00:14:26.51\00:14:30.47
That 7-1/2 mile trip
from Jerusalem to Emaeus
00:14:30.87\00:14:36.34
might well have been 7,000 miles
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or 7,000,000 miles.
00:14:40.76\00:14:43.13
Now the Bible does not
suggest or give us a digest
00:14:45.72\00:14:49.97
of their conversation
before the arrival of Jesus.
00:14:50.17\00:14:54.75
But we can guess, we can intuit
what they were talking about
00:14:55.15\00:15:00.58
by the clues that
the Bible does give us.
00:15:00.79\00:15:04.24
The Bible says Cleopas and
his companion loved their Lord.
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They were true disciples.
00:15:09.69\00:15:11.06
But this love of God did
not free them from the faulty
00:15:11.19\00:15:15.15
expectations, the
misguided anticipation,
00:15:15.25\00:15:18.26
and the counterfeit ecclesiology
rampant in rabbinical Judaism.
00:15:18.29\00:15:23.50
Cleopas and his fellow disciple
00:15:23.71\00:15:26.04
had made the same mistake that
many of the Jews were making
00:15:26.24\00:15:30.14
and are making even today.
00:15:30.34\00:15:32.66
In short, their ethic was
suffering under the weight
00:15:33.46\00:15:39.33
of their ethnic -
00:15:39.44\00:15:40.81
um-hmm -
00:15:44.69\00:15:46.44
and colored by 2,000
years of revisionist history.
00:15:48.00\00:15:52.54
The truth is,
ladies and gentlemen,
00:15:52.74\00:15:54.77
that most of the pain
and sadness and angina
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that they were feeling
that night was self-induced
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and
self-inflicted and unnecessary.
00:16:01.85\00:16:05.32
They were crying
for nothing, Kenny.
00:16:05.72\00:16:08.74
You know, when you go to
the doctor sometimes you get...
00:16:10.68\00:16:13.03
with one of these kind of non-
distinct pains - the doctor will
00:16:13.13\00:16:16.40
push several spots you
know to find out where it hurts.
00:16:16.50\00:16:18.94
He pushes here and you
say: "Umh-umh... not there.
00:16:19.14\00:16:21.38
Not there. Umh-umh... not there.
00:16:21.58\00:16:23.39
Ummm! That's it. "
00:16:23.59\00:16:25.29
Well here's where the pain
was for these two disciples;
00:16:25.90\00:16:29.93
here's where the
migraine came from:
00:16:30.13\00:16:32.89
Luke 24:21.
00:16:32.99\00:16:34.48
This is the
diagnosis of their pain.
00:16:34.78\00:16:37.61
The Bible says - recording
their conversation to Jesus:
00:16:39.54\00:16:44.49
"But we were
hoping that it was He
00:16:44.69\00:16:49.36
who was going
to redeem Israel. "
00:16:49.56\00:16:52.65
Translated: "We were hoping
00:16:53.05\00:16:57.01
to get out from
under Roman domination. "
00:16:57.21\00:16:59.71
"We were hoping to
be top dog again. "
00:17:00.12\00:17:02.73
"We wanted God to do to
Caesar just what He had done
00:17:02.93\00:17:06.77
to Pharaoh. " "We were hoping
00:17:06.97\00:17:09.30
that it was going to be
Jesus who redeemed Israel. "
00:17:09.50\00:17:12.84
What they didn't understand
is that is precisely what Jesus
00:17:13.04\00:17:15.59
had done.
00:17:15.69\00:17:17.06
He didn't redeem them from
Rome; He redeemed them from sin.
00:17:18.27\00:17:22.10
The Bible says Jesus
took them to a Bible study.
00:17:23.74\00:17:26.33
And I believe that
Bible study was talking about
00:17:26.63\00:17:30.31
redemption, redeemers,
and deliverance and freedom.
00:17:30.42\00:17:35.94
The Bible says
He began at Moses...
00:17:36.14\00:17:37.79
a type of Christ, interestingly
enough, and a redeemer.
00:17:37.99\00:17:41.21
And then He went through every
single text concerning Himself.
00:17:41.45\00:17:47.17
And the Bible says their
mourning turned to dancing.
00:17:48.21\00:17:50.87
Their sadness turned to joy.
00:17:51.07\00:17:54.02
And that very night
they turned around and ran
00:17:56.90\00:18:01.57
back to Jerusalem. No food;
no water; no sleep; no rest
00:18:01.78\00:18:06.29
because their lives had
been changed by the truth. Amen!
00:18:06.49\00:18:11.88
And their response to
learning the truth was the same
00:18:11.98\00:18:16.67
as it always is for people
when they learn the truth.
00:18:16.81\00:18:20.13
Their response is
codified for us in Luke 24:32.
00:18:21.59\00:18:25.69
"And they said to one
another: 'did not our hearts
00:18:25.89\00:18:29.19
burn within us
00:18:29.69\00:18:33.80
as He spoke with
us by the way? ' "
00:18:34.10\00:18:39.15
I have no doubt that
Christ spent a lot of time
00:18:40.53\00:18:45.01
in the book of Isaiah.
00:18:45.22\00:18:47.34
There are three
principal illusions
00:18:47.64\00:18:51.84
and many minor ones
00:18:52.14\00:18:54.80
showing who and what
Christ was going to be and do
00:18:55.00\00:18:59.89
and it's found in
the book of Isaiah.
00:19:00.02\00:19:01.80
I need to tell you: Isaiah
is the prince of prophecy.
00:19:01.90\00:19:05.99
He is one of the most
fabulous prophetic writers
00:19:07.55\00:19:11.40
in the Word of God.
00:19:11.60\00:19:12.97
And when they dug
up the Dead Sea scrolls
00:19:13.10\00:19:15.21
Isaiah was one of the
books translated the most
00:19:16.34\00:19:19.18
and one of the ones from which
many, many manuscripts came.
00:19:19.48\00:19:24.28
Perhaps Isaiah's prophetic
utterances were to them
00:19:24.41\00:19:27.69
among the clearest
indicators of the manner,
00:19:27.89\00:19:30.58
message, and mission of Jesus.
00:19:30.69\00:19:32.99
And how wonderfully providential
ladies and gentlemen
00:19:33.19\00:19:35.93
that Isaiah's prophetic
word was given at the absolute
00:19:36.13\00:19:40.65
nadir, the absolute bottom,
the absolute lowest point,
00:19:40.86\00:19:44.40
the absolute pit, the rock
bottom of Israel's experience
00:19:44.60\00:19:48.39
with their own God.
00:19:48.59\00:19:50.57
So many see the Old
Testament as a gospel of law
00:19:50.97\00:19:55.00
and the New
Testament as a gospel of grace,
00:19:55.14\00:19:58.28
but let me
correct that this night.
00:19:58.38\00:20:01.46
Because the truth is in
00:20:01.76\00:20:04.19
looking at the history of God's
dealing with His own people
00:20:04.39\00:20:07.68
pre first Advent it is
one of colossal, gelatinous,
00:20:07.89\00:20:13.21
over-arching
radical, aggressive,
00:20:13.42\00:20:16.27
persistent,
consistent, irresistible grace.
00:20:16.47\00:20:20.46
Old Testament.
00:20:21.36\00:20:23.43
In Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah,
00:20:23.94\00:20:28.50
Ezekiel we see
grace that takes a licking
00:20:28.70\00:20:32.77
and keeps on ticking.
00:20:32.97\00:20:35.89
History affirms that when
God's people are at their worst
00:20:38.80\00:20:43.33
the people's God is at His best.
00:20:43.63\00:20:47.18
Amen.
00:20:47.68\00:20:49.25
Now we could make a left turn
and stay on that for 20 minutes.
00:20:49.45\00:20:51.84
Because if it's good
for them it's good for you.
00:20:53.57\00:20:55.45
When you're at your worst -
00:20:55.55\00:20:58.34
um-hmm -
00:20:58.64\00:21:00.78
God is at His best. Amen!
00:21:00.98\00:21:03.14
And you see that in bold
relief in the book of Isaiah.
00:21:04.19\00:21:07.62
Note to self: even
when my lifestyle indicates
00:21:07.92\00:21:12.63
before the
universe that I am a fool
00:21:12.73\00:21:15.70
God remains faithful.
00:21:15.90\00:21:18.72
II Timothy 2:13 says:
00:21:22.36\00:21:24.55
"If we are
faithless, He remains faithful;
00:21:24.75\00:21:27.94
He cannot deny Himself. "
00:21:28.15\00:21:30.77
Now that's for good
or ill. It simply says
00:21:31.07\00:21:34.69
the promises of God are true
whether you are true or not.
00:21:34.89\00:21:38.39
Now that's for good or ill.
00:21:38.70\00:21:40.39
That does not counteract
or contramand Galatians 6:7
00:21:40.49\00:21:43.32
It is true: what
you sow you reap.
00:21:43.52\00:21:46.36
But the promises
of God are true -
00:21:46.56\00:21:49.45
Amen? Amen -
00:21:49.65\00:21:51.61
and are not dependent upon you
00:21:51.81\00:21:53.32
because God swears by Himself.
00:21:53.52\00:21:55.15
When God says: "If
we confess our sins
00:21:55.35\00:21:58.08
He is faithful
and just to forgive"
00:21:58.38\00:22:00.45
you'll forgive my
pejorative English
00:22:00.65\00:22:02.47
"that ain't got
nothing to do with you. "
00:22:02.67\00:22:05.13
God made that
promise because He's God.
00:22:05.33\00:22:08.38
So anybody who
confesses their sins...
00:22:08.58\00:22:12.13
He is faithful and just to
forgive anybody their sins.
00:22:12.33\00:22:17.30
Doesn't matter who you are.
00:22:17.53\00:22:19.26
God didn't make that
promise just for you.
00:22:19.46\00:22:21.62
He made it for
everybody and anybody.
00:22:21.82\00:22:24.34
Why? Because He's God!
00:22:24.54\00:22:26.16
Amen!
00:22:26.36\00:22:27.73
So He's faithful...
cannot deny Himself.
00:22:28.85\00:22:31.62
Show you something really cute.
00:22:32.89\00:22:34.26
Lamentations chapter 3 verse 22.
00:22:34.40\00:22:36.48
Lamentations 3:22.
00:22:36.78\00:22:38.72
You've got to realize... and
a lot of this stuff in Isaiah,
00:22:39.12\00:22:42.64
Lamentations,
Jeremiah, the strength comes
00:22:42.85\00:22:45.39
because of the context. Not
so much the words themselves -
00:22:45.59\00:22:48.74
though the words are powerful
- it's the context in which
00:22:48.87\00:22:51.00
they are written. Look at
Lamentations chapter 3 verse 22.
00:22:51.10\00:22:54.95
This is written... To
get a handle on this...
00:22:55.16\00:22:57.93
this is written after
the northern kingdom has been
00:22:58.03\00:23:03.18
erased for 100 years.
00:23:03.38\00:23:04.94
Nebuchadnezzar had
already begun to dismantle
00:23:05.14\00:23:08.12
the kingdom of Judah.
00:23:08.33\00:23:09.73
Most of the rich and
affluent were deported
00:23:09.93\00:23:14.41
and he was coming
back to get the rest.
00:23:14.61\00:23:17.05
And Jeremiah writes:
"Through the Lord's mercy
00:23:18.15\00:23:24.05
we are not consumed. "
00:23:24.25\00:23:26.00
You see the context?
00:23:28.45\00:23:29.96
We are going into captivity
but through His mercies
00:23:30.16\00:23:32.95
we are not consumed.
00:23:33.06\00:23:34.43
"They are new every morning;
00:23:34.55\00:23:38.89
great is Your
faithfulness. " Amen!
00:23:39.09\00:23:42.77
Now ladies and gentlemen,
that rolls off the tongue
00:23:42.97\00:23:45.14
fairly easily when
you've got money in the bank,
00:23:45.35\00:23:47.92
and you've got a nice house,
00:23:48.13\00:23:49.99
and the kids
are doing all right,
00:23:50.19\00:23:51.85
and you've got health,
and you've got a good family,
00:23:52.05\00:23:54.97
and you've got good friends.
00:23:55.07\00:23:56.44
You know, that is
easy to talk that way.
00:23:56.47\00:23:59.41
But when you're broke
00:23:59.81\00:24:03.91
or bankrupt, unemployed,
00:24:08.84\00:24:12.59
homeless, sick, dysfunctional,
00:24:12.79\00:24:15.93
your children are misbehaving,
00:24:16.13\00:24:17.85
and you're on your way to prison
00:24:18.06\00:24:20.80
that's kind of a
hard statement to make!
00:24:21.00\00:24:23.48
And ladies and
gentlemen, that is precisely
00:24:24.95\00:24:28.32
where Israel was going.
They were facing a 70-year
00:24:28.52\00:24:32.69
prison sentence -
Lemuel - in Babylon.
00:24:32.89\00:24:35.65
Seventy-year bit.
00:24:35.85\00:24:38.75
And yet the prophet
could say: "Your compassion
00:24:40.11\00:24:45.56
fails not.
00:24:45.96\00:24:48.01
Your mercies are
new every morning.
00:24:48.31\00:24:52.11
Great is Your faithfulness. "
00:24:52.31\00:24:56.42
You see, we...
God is not good...
00:24:57.12\00:25:01.39
God is not good in
response to your goodness.
00:25:01.69\00:25:04.90
Need I belabor that point?
00:25:06.69\00:25:08.83
God is good
because He's God! Amen!
00:25:10.01\00:25:14.14
God was good before you
ever thought about being good.
00:25:14.38\00:25:19.39
He's not good in
response to your being good...
00:25:22.18\00:25:24.30
He's good 'cause
that's what God is.
00:25:24.50\00:25:26.38
In fact, it is His goodness
00:25:26.68\00:25:28.14
that brings out
the goodness in you.
00:25:28.34\00:25:30.89
Amen.
00:25:31.09\00:25:32.48
And nobody does that better.
00:25:37.01\00:25:38.83
Nobody does a better
job of making that point
00:25:39.23\00:25:41.95
than does Isaiah's
Messianic prophecies.
00:25:42.15\00:25:46.23
And there's some good stuff
in here, and I hope time doesn't
00:25:46.33\00:25:49.48
become my enemy. Well
it's my enemy already.
00:25:49.68\00:25:51.80
You know the Bible says
the last enemy that is slain
00:25:53.19\00:25:56.37
is going to be death.
00:25:56.47\00:25:57.84
One of those
enemies will be time.
00:25:57.87\00:25:59.66
When you've got all eternity
you can preach forever, John.
00:26:03.83\00:26:06.15
Isaiah
highlights... he underscores
00:26:07.43\00:26:09.71
a love driven by desperation.
00:26:09.91\00:26:12.44
We see a new picture of
God in the book of Isaiah.
00:26:12.64\00:26:15.12
We see this desperate,
radical, all-encompassing,
00:26:15.32\00:26:18.96
clinging love of God.
00:26:19.16\00:26:20.85
The challenge is: "God's
love for us is concomitant with
00:26:21.05\00:26:25.61
His hatred for sin.
00:26:25.71\00:26:27.65
I told some guys in a
maximum security prison...
00:26:29.92\00:26:33.17
We were trying to
tape some... some uh...
00:26:33.27\00:26:37.97
a little of the new
Free Indeed! program.
00:26:38.17\00:26:41.22
And I told the guys:
"You know, sometimes I almost
00:26:41.43\00:26:43.90
feel sorry for God.
00:26:44.10\00:26:45.47
To love that much and
be treated like that...
00:26:45.70\00:26:50.19
that's rough. "
00:26:50.59\00:26:52.95
Because the amount of pain you
receive is directly proportional
00:26:53.15\00:26:55.92
to the amount of
love that you invest.
00:26:56.02\00:26:57.78
If you take a girl out one time,
00:26:58.08\00:27:00.34
spend a little money, and she
says: "Don't call me again...
00:27:00.54\00:27:03.37
I didn't like the date. "
Well one date; couple bucks;
00:27:03.57\00:27:05.45
couple hours. Not a big deal.
00:27:05.65\00:27:07.31
But if you've been
dating for five years
00:27:08.61\00:27:10.85
and she says "Later, "
00:27:17.39\00:27:19.17
that hurts a little bit
00:27:20.49\00:27:21.86
because the pain is directly
proportional to the investment.
00:27:22.03\00:27:27.90
And if you love a lot,
00:27:28.10\00:27:30.39
rejection hurts a lot.
00:27:30.59\00:27:34.92
And God is infinite love.
00:27:35.22\00:27:37.59
So how does He
feel when He's rejected?
00:27:38.19\00:27:40.95
I told the guys in prison:
"I almost feel pity for God,
00:27:41.15\00:27:44.76
but God doesn't need
my pity... I need His. "
00:27:44.96\00:27:47.17
So do you.
00:27:49.73\00:27:51.90
Some of us may have an
idea of how much God loves us
00:27:56.79\00:28:02.38
because He shows us that
love 1,000 days 1,000 ways.
00:28:02.78\00:28:07.96
I think there are times when I
can really feel the love of God.
00:28:08.16\00:28:11.73
Anybody else? You
KNOW God loves you.
00:28:11.83\00:28:14.81
Because God wants you to
know how much He loves you.
00:28:15.31\00:28:20.17
But I contend that human beings
have absolutely no concept
00:28:20.41\00:28:26.00
of God's hatred of sin.
00:28:26.20\00:28:28.97
There's no way you can
know how much God hates sin.
00:28:29.94\00:28:32.65
You can't. Because of our nature
00:28:32.85\00:28:36.72
there is nothing in
this world that we hate
00:28:36.85\00:28:40.69
as much as God hates sin.
00:28:40.99\00:28:45.47
You can know how
much He loves you
00:28:45.77\00:28:48.54
but you will never
know His antipathy to sin.
00:28:48.94\00:28:54.89
Cannot know because
we were born in sin.
00:28:55.19\00:28:58.59
We've got to fight
our own sinful nature.
00:28:58.79\00:29:00.78
God has none of that.
00:29:00.88\00:29:02.25
We will never know
how much God hates sin.
00:29:02.28\00:29:03.99
So how can we truly understand?
00:29:07.80\00:29:10.20
And if we had any
idea, we would run from sin
00:29:11.21\00:29:15.98
like the plague.
00:29:16.18\00:29:18.72
Now let me make a left turn
00:29:19.12\00:29:21.45
'cause I want to get into Isaiah
through the New Testament.
00:29:21.95\00:29:25.55
Show you something kind of cute.
00:29:25.75\00:29:27.61
Um, I want to look at Isaiah
through the Messianic prophecies
00:29:27.91\00:29:33.32
and I've got to
dash through this.
00:29:33.52\00:29:35.02
Matthew chapter 12 verse 39.
00:29:35.22\00:29:36.68
Write it down; I'll
tell you what it says
00:29:38.54\00:29:40.87
or I'll give you a
digest of what it says.
00:29:41.07\00:29:42.89
Matthew 12 verse 39.
00:29:42.99\00:29:44.43
One of the smart
aleck Scribes and Pharisees
00:29:44.63\00:29:47.51
asked Christ for a sign.
00:29:47.71\00:29:49.59
Remember that?
00:29:49.99\00:29:51.62
"Give us a sign. "
00:29:51.82\00:29:53.46
Jesus says: "An evil
and adulterous generation
00:29:53.86\00:29:58.68
seeks after a sign. "
00:29:58.88\00:30:01.17
But in Isaiah chapter 7
when Israel's cup of sin is
00:30:03.87\00:30:09.04
overflowing... In fact, it is
so bad... Look at the language
00:30:09.24\00:30:11.94
in chapter 1
verses 3 through 20.
00:30:12.04\00:30:14.51
You've got to write that down.
Had I more time I would read
00:30:14.71\00:30:16.81
all that for you
and walk you through it.
00:30:16.91\00:30:18.43
But here is a digest of what's
happening in Isaiah chapter 1
00:30:18.63\00:30:21.38
verses 3 through 20.
00:30:21.48\00:30:22.85
God says: "I
hate your lifestyle.
00:30:22.88\00:30:25.11
Your worship is unacceptable.
00:30:26.72\00:30:28.87
Your sacrifices are futile.
00:30:29.07\00:30:31.56
Your prayers? An abomination.
00:30:31.76\00:30:34.02
I cannot hear you anymore.
00:30:34.22\00:30:36.41
When you lift up
your hands in worship
00:30:36.61\00:30:38.83
I will cover My eyes. "
00:30:39.04\00:30:41.81
So there is no question
that the relationship between
00:30:42.31\00:30:45.76
God and His people is fractured
if not outright destroyed.
00:30:45.96\00:30:50.28
The
relationship has broken down.
00:30:50.68\00:30:53.66
It doesn't really exist anymore.
00:30:53.87\00:30:56.38
And so God says to Isaiah:
00:30:56.58\00:30:58.31
"Go tell Ahaz the
king: 'ask me for a sign. ' "
00:30:58.51\00:31:02.87
He said: "Ask Me for a sign. "
00:31:05.24\00:31:07.63
An evil and adulterous king
00:31:09.63\00:31:14.10
of an evil and adulterous people
00:31:14.30\00:31:17.98
"Ask for a sign. "
00:31:18.59\00:31:20.83
Now get my point:
signs, ladies and gentlemen,
00:31:21.03\00:31:24.34
are not for
believers... are they?
00:31:24.54\00:31:27.56
They're not.
Believers have what?
00:31:27.76\00:31:31.72
Faith. Faith. Thank you.
00:31:32.02\00:31:33.82
You don't need
signs... you've got faith.
00:31:34.02\00:31:36.16
Faith supersedes signs.
00:31:36.46\00:31:40.63
Faith is better than signs.
00:31:42.29\00:31:44.91
Faith is stronger than signs.
00:31:45.11\00:31:48.27
Signs can be
counterfeited by the devil...
00:31:48.47\00:31:52.25
faith cannot! Amen!
00:31:52.45\00:31:55.80
You've heard the story
of Isaac and Jacob and Esau?
00:31:57.23\00:32:02.53
He put on the rough
skins and he felt it.
00:32:04.48\00:32:08.08
And he figured: "OK, that's
got to be the right kid. "
00:32:08.28\00:32:12.12
You see, signs
can be counterfeited.
00:32:12.52\00:32:16.84
Faith cannot.
00:32:18.29\00:32:19.84
Faith is better than signs.
00:32:21.36\00:32:23.56
Faith is stronger than signs.
00:32:23.86\00:32:25.72
Sometimes even
in these last days
00:32:25.92\00:32:29.11
because of some of the
tricks Satan's going to pull
00:32:29.31\00:32:31.85
you won't be able to
believe your own senses.
00:32:32.05\00:32:35.19
All you will have is your faith.
00:32:35.39\00:32:38.78
So God in love goes against
the grain of His own paradigm.
00:32:41.87\00:32:46.05
You've got to
stick with me here.
00:32:46.25\00:32:47.62
He suspends the
rules of engagement;
00:32:47.65\00:32:49.88
subordinates Himself to a people
who should have but had no
00:32:50.08\00:32:54.65
faith; and in deference
to a king and country who
00:32:54.76\00:32:58.96
have rejected Him, Jehovah
God says: "Ask Me for a sign. "
00:32:59.06\00:33:05.00
And what does this
smart aleck king say?
00:33:06.78\00:33:09.14
"No!
00:33:11.25\00:33:13.27
Not asking You for a sign.
00:33:13.57\00:33:15.34
I don't feel like
asking You for a sign. "
00:33:15.44\00:33:18.79
Now God is suspending the rules.
00:33:20.20\00:33:21.90
He's gone against the grain,
His own trajectory and says
00:33:21.93\00:33:24.27
"I'm going to let
you ask Me for a sign...
00:33:24.47\00:33:27.03
I'm asking you to
ask Me for a sign.
00:33:27.23\00:33:29.08
Faith ought to be
enough but I will bow to you.
00:33:29.28\00:33:32.74
Ask Me for a sign. "
00:33:32.94\00:33:34.52
And the king says:
"Not going to do it. "
00:33:34.82\00:33:37.12
So God told him: "I'm
going to give you a couple signs
00:33:39.94\00:33:42.00
anyway. Number 1: you're
looking over here at Syria.
00:33:42.10\00:33:44.83
Syria's not your problem.
00:33:45.03\00:33:46.40
Your problem is
over here... Assyria.
00:33:46.54\00:33:49.89
And I want you to know
65 years from now nobody's
00:33:51.34\00:33:53.66
going to think about
Syria. Your problem is Assyria.
00:33:53.76\00:33:57.73
My Word should be sufficient. "
00:33:58.03\00:34:00.93
Now let me take
another left turn.
00:34:01.13\00:34:03.45
Elijah... or
rather Isaiah and Hosea
00:34:04.98\00:34:09.79
are contemporaries.
00:34:09.99\00:34:11.84
They are
prophesying at the same time.
00:34:12.04\00:34:14.39
Even their names
display this desperate, radical,
00:34:14.59\00:34:20.58
uncompromising love of God
00:34:20.78\00:34:23.06
and His desire
to be with His own.
00:34:23.26\00:34:25.83
I was talking with Irma
the other night and I said:
00:34:25.93\00:34:27.38
"You know, it's almost as though
the God we see in the book
00:34:27.48\00:34:29.71
of Isaiah is schizophrenic"
and she jumped up on the bed
00:34:29.81\00:34:31.85
and said: "Don't you
call God schizophrenic! "
00:34:31.95\00:34:33.78
But you see this dichotomy.
00:34:36.92\00:34:40.70
God wants to be
with His people so bad
00:34:40.91\00:34:43.05
yet you also see this
absolute hatred of sin...
00:34:43.25\00:34:46.10
and they exist
together at the same time.
00:34:46.31\00:34:50.31
Hosea's name
means Yahweh has saved.
00:34:51.83\00:34:54.60
You need to hold onto that.
Isaiah means Jehovah will save.
00:34:54.70\00:34:58.12
Point: God loves His people.
00:34:58.42\00:35:03.78
Counterpoint: God hates sin.
00:35:05.09\00:35:09.44
So Hosea has two children...
00:35:09.74\00:35:12.63
they're not really his
but we'll say they're his.
00:35:12.83\00:35:16.68
One is Lo-Ruhamah: not
pitied or no more mercy.
00:35:16.99\00:35:21.59
So the father's name
is... The father's name is
00:35:21.89\00:35:24.97
Yahweh has saved
but the son's name is
00:35:25.17\00:35:27.86
No more mercy.
00:35:28.06\00:35:29.43
The second son, Lo-Ammi,
his name is Not My people.
00:35:29.46\00:35:34.60
Isaiah's name is
Jehovah will save.
00:35:36.91\00:35:40.40
His first son is Shear-Jashuh
00:35:40.60\00:35:44.55
which means A
remnant shall return.
00:35:44.75\00:35:47.93
His second son is
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
00:35:48.24\00:35:52.32
Now say that twenty times quick.
00:35:52.52\00:35:53.89
His name means Speed the
spoil; hasten the plunder
00:35:56.66\00:36:00.53
or in short
Destruction is coming quickly.
00:36:00.73\00:36:04.13
Isaiah says himself in
Isaiah chapter 8 verse 18
00:36:05.80\00:36:10.37
"I and my children - or
the children the Lord gave me -
00:36:10.51\00:36:13.51
are for signs and wonders. "
00:36:13.61\00:36:15.60
In other words, God didn't
just give these names randomly
00:36:15.80\00:36:19.82
or capriciously or accidentally.
00:36:20.02\00:36:21.95
Those names were
signs and sermons.
00:36:22.15\00:36:25.96
They were not just
put there to prophesy
00:36:26.17\00:36:30.12
they were
prophecies. Do you follow?
00:36:30.15\00:36:33.62
Those names were God's
feelings about God's people.
00:36:33.85\00:36:39.74
So get this now:
00:36:40.14\00:36:41.86
God sent a man, two men,
00:36:42.06\00:36:46.85
whose names were
signs with two sets of sons
00:36:47.05\00:36:52.66
who were additional signs
00:36:52.86\00:36:55.77
and they were
predictions of the most ghastly
00:36:57.22\00:37:00.34
predictions in
the Old Testament.
00:37:00.54\00:37:02.65
God was saying: "The
Syrians can't hurt you
00:37:02.85\00:37:05.69
but the
Assyrians will destroy you.
00:37:05.89\00:37:08.34
You will become slaves to the
most vicious nation on earth.
00:37:08.64\00:37:14.14
They will take you;
they will displace you;
00:37:14.38\00:37:17.81
they will enslave you;
they will murder your men;
00:37:18.01\00:37:22.33
ravish your women;
sweep away your children;
00:37:22.53\00:37:26.08
mercilessly
slaughter your old seniors;
00:37:26.28\00:37:30.25
and when they are done
00:37:30.45\00:37:32.40
ten of the twelve
tribes will be gone forever. "
00:37:32.60\00:37:38.42
That's a radical prophecy.
00:37:38.92\00:37:41.07
When the Assyrians are done...
00:37:41.37\00:37:43.75
If you want to read something
that will just make your blood
00:37:44.05\00:37:46.96
curdle, read the
history of Assyrian conquest.
00:37:47.07\00:37:50.55
The Assyrians were
the original terrorists.
00:37:50.75\00:37:52.54
They were blood-thirsty people.
00:37:52.74\00:37:54.44
God is saying "When
the Assyrians come through
00:37:54.65\00:37:58.28
not 50%, not
60%... 10 of the 12 tribes
00:37:58.48\00:38:03.12
will be gone...
never to exist again. "
00:38:03.32\00:38:08.35
"And when they come you
will no longer have a country
00:38:12.13\00:38:16.86
to call your own.
00:38:17.06\00:38:18.52
No visible assurance
that you are the chosen.
00:38:18.92\00:38:21.70
You can't rock back on
this promise given to Abraham
00:38:21.91\00:38:24.33
that we are the chosen.
00:38:24.53\00:38:26.00
When the Assyrians come
you won't look like the chosen;
00:38:26.20\00:38:29.74
you won't feel like the chosen;
00:38:29.95\00:38:32.22
you won't live like the chosen.
00:38:32.43\00:38:34.62
You will feel abandoned,
alien, alone, forsaken...
00:38:34.82\00:38:40.48
and all you will have is
something that you didn't want;
00:38:40.68\00:38:45.89
that you don't deserve;
00:38:46.09\00:38:48.75
and yet I will
give you one more sign
00:38:48.95\00:38:52.63
because when the Assyrians
come you will need it. "
00:38:52.83\00:38:57.99
Isaiah 7:14
00:38:58.19\00:39:00.98
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive
00:39:01.19\00:39:05.90
and bear a Son
00:39:06.30\00:39:09.16
and you shall call His name
00:39:09.36\00:39:13.71
God with us.
00:39:13.91\00:39:18.06
And so when the Assyrians come
00:39:19.74\00:39:21.70
and you watch your children
slaughtered and enslaved,
00:39:21.90\00:39:25.60
your women raped and tortured,
00:39:25.80\00:39:28.44
your men cut to shreds,
00:39:28.64\00:39:31.34
you're going to need
to hold onto the fact
00:39:31.54\00:39:34.86
that a virgin shall
conceive and bear a Son.
00:39:35.45\00:39:41.36
And even though it
looks like God is far away
00:39:42.94\00:39:46.11
God is going to be with you. "
00:39:46.41\00:39:48.26
And as I alluded to
this is the first of three
00:39:49.98\00:39:54.84
major prophetic
utterances that give assurance
00:39:54.94\00:39:58.11
that God's eternal
purpose will come to pass.
00:39:58.31\00:40:02.98
From the first
prophecy in Genesis 3:15
00:40:03.18\00:40:06.24
to the last words of
Jesus in Revelation 22:12
00:40:06.44\00:40:10.00
"Behold I come quickly"
00:40:10.20\00:40:11.63
God is saying: "Regardless
of what things look like
00:40:11.83\00:40:14.62
you must resist the
evidence of your own senses
00:40:14.82\00:40:17.78
and hold on by faith to
the prophetic Word of God -
00:40:17.99\00:40:21.34
which is surer
than your senses. "
00:40:21.54\00:40:23.73
The picture is that
the plan of God will stand.
00:40:23.93\00:40:27.22
The picture that is given of God
00:40:30.28\00:40:35.67
in the book of Isaiah
reaches unparalleled heights.
00:40:35.88\00:40:40.27
It is in Isaiah that the
love of God and the heart of God
00:40:40.57\00:40:44.73
is exposed... as it
were, stripped bare.
00:40:44.94\00:40:47.77
We see a God in Isaiah
that we see nowhere else
00:40:47.97\00:40:51.16
in the Word of God.
00:40:51.26\00:40:52.63
We see a transcendent and a
holy God... a righteous God.
00:40:53.05\00:40:57.96
Lord over a profligate
and hypocritical people.
00:40:58.16\00:41:02.28
And yet we see a glorious,
patient, temperate God.
00:41:02.48\00:41:06.72
The term Holy One of Israel
00:41:06.95\00:41:08.95
which talks about
the majesty of God
00:41:09.25\00:41:11.66
appears in the Old
Testament 32 times.
00:41:11.86\00:41:14.37
Do you know that 26 of those
times is in the book of Isaiah?
00:41:14.98\00:41:18.95
Because he's giving them a
picture of a holy, lofty Lord
00:41:19.25\00:41:23.91
who loves His people
00:41:24.11\00:41:25.57
and speaks of his
understanding of a God
00:41:25.78\00:41:28.85
and what Christ is and
what Christ's mission is
00:41:30.10\00:41:34.17
and what His people
were bringing on and doing
00:41:34.37\00:41:38.32
to themselves. Make no mistake
about it brothers and sisters,
00:41:38.52\00:41:40.83
Isaiah ministers in rough times.
00:41:41.03\00:41:44.41
Times of great national crisis.
00:41:44.61\00:41:47.18
God's people were as far away
from Him as they ever would be.
00:41:47.38\00:41:50.65
And God in His love sent Isaiah,
00:41:53.32\00:41:55.94
murdered by Manasseh.
00:41:56.24\00:41:59.00
He sent Micah; He sent Amos;
00:41:59.50\00:42:04.38
He sent Hosea. Later on
He sent Jeremiah and Ezekiel
00:42:04.58\00:42:10.26
to warn them, to encourage them.
00:42:10.46\00:42:13.37
We see a love that
gushes from the heart of God.
00:42:13.77\00:42:17.53
A love, though unrequited,
00:42:17.73\00:42:20.61
simply would not
let His people go.
00:42:20.81\00:42:25.46
Some of the most
beautiful and sublime passages
00:42:26.06\00:42:28.75
in all of scripture are born
in the conceit of that love.
00:42:28.95\00:42:33.28
But a love whose end
and aim and ultimate purpose
00:42:35.20\00:42:40.70
is continually hindered by sin.
00:42:40.90\00:42:45.39
Israel is stripped
bare in the book of Isaiah.
00:42:45.89\00:42:49.33
Sin is stripped bare
in the book of Isaiah...
00:42:49.63\00:42:52.45
but so is God.
00:42:52.65\00:42:54.21
Some of the most
beautiful, powerful, endearing,
00:42:54.41\00:42:57.65
and enduring passages in all
of scripture are found in Isaiah
00:42:57.75\00:43:02.50
consonant with some of the most
sober and arresting and somber
00:43:02.71\00:43:07.54
texts in the Bible. Give
you an example: Isaiah 28.
00:43:07.64\00:43:10.18
Time is getting away from me
so I don't have time to read it
00:43:10.39\00:43:11.82
all, but if you
go to Isaiah 28:15
00:43:12.02\00:43:14.11
God speaks about a covenant
that the leaders of Israel
00:43:14.31\00:43:17.42
are making with death.
00:43:17.62\00:43:19.29
We get a chance to see
as much as humans can endure
00:43:21.69\00:43:25.14
the psychology of God.
00:43:25.34\00:43:27.36
The psychology of divinity.
00:43:27.56\00:43:29.57
He said: "You have
made lies your refuge. "
00:43:29.97\00:43:33.12
You are lying to yourselves.
00:43:33.32\00:43:35.34
You have made this
covenant with death.
00:43:35.44\00:43:37.34
But in verse 18 of that
same chapter - 28:18- He says:
00:43:37.54\00:43:41.96
"But I God have annulled
your covenant with death. "
00:43:41.99\00:43:45.44
Your agreement with
hell has been cancelled.
00:43:46.63\00:43:49.71
The destruction that you
are calling upon yourself
00:43:49.91\00:43:53.43
I guarantee you
you're going to feel.
00:43:53.93\00:43:57.24
You think you're Teflon.
00:43:57.44\00:43:59.47
You think it's not
going to touch you.
00:43:59.67\00:44:02.19
You think death is going to
go by you, but I guarantee you
00:44:02.40\00:44:06.13
that the travesty, the drama
00:44:06.33\00:44:10.48
that you cause upon this kingdom
00:44:10.68\00:44:12.52
is not going to
pass by your own head.
00:44:12.72\00:44:14.40
Now we see this thing that I
call the schizophrenia of God
00:44:14.80\00:44:18.40
that my wife doesn't
like and I apologize for that.
00:44:18.50\00:44:20.32
Because right in the
middle of that invective,
00:44:22.40\00:44:25.34
right in the middle of God,
as it were, spanking His people,
00:44:25.54\00:44:29.01
He tucks a little caveat...
00:44:29.21\00:44:34.50
a little love note.
00:44:34.71\00:44:36.15
It's as though He bares
His breast and bares His soul.
00:44:36.35\00:44:40.00
So right in the
middle of the spanking
00:44:40.20\00:44:41.96
verse 16 He says:
"Behold I lay in Zion
00:44:42.26\00:44:46.22
a stone, a foundation, a
tried and precious stone. "
00:44:46.32\00:44:49.53
Now who is that talking about?
00:44:49.63\00:44:51.00
Talking about Jesus.
00:44:51.03\00:44:52.91
So right in the middle of the
spanking it's as though He says
00:44:53.11\00:44:57.72
"This is going to hurt me
00:44:57.75\00:45:00.84
worse than it hurts you. "
00:45:01.44\00:45:04.90
Now my Mother used
to pull out that line.
00:45:05.30\00:45:07.08
And I didn't buy it then...
00:45:09.23\00:45:11.50
I don't buy it now.
00:45:13.48\00:45:14.99
But when you're
dealing with God, it's true.
00:45:15.29\00:45:18.09
So right in the middle of
saying "Your covenant with death
00:45:19.29\00:45:23.81
has been annulled...
you are going to die...
00:45:23.91\00:45:26.89
by the way, Jesus is
coming and I still love you
00:45:27.53\00:45:33.39
and I've laid a foundation stone
00:45:33.59\00:45:35.67
that nobody is going
to be able to remove. "
00:45:35.87\00:45:39.22
You see the power of
that? Even in the spanking
00:45:39.52\00:45:42.56
God stops to say:
"I still love you. "
00:45:42.76\00:45:44.62
There's a text in
Isaiah where God says: "Listen,
00:45:44.82\00:45:47.07
tell those people I'm
not your God any more.
00:45:47.27\00:45:49.79
I'm done. Tell them
to find some other God. "
00:45:49.99\00:45:53.79
And then one chapter
later: "Oh, by the way,
00:45:54.09\00:45:56.77
tell them I love them. "
00:45:56.87\00:45:58.24
You see a love that will...
you see God on the stretch.
00:46:00.56\00:46:03.74
You see a picture
of God as never before.
00:46:03.94\00:46:06.17
You see a God who is
hurt but He just can't let go
00:46:06.37\00:46:10.70
because He loves so much.
00:46:12.18\00:46:13.57
So He re-affirms yet again
00:46:15.41\00:46:18.26
"You have broken your word
but I have not broken Mine.
00:46:18.46\00:46:21.74
You have broken your covenant
00:46:22.04\00:46:23.89
but My covenant
remains unbroken. "
00:46:24.09\00:46:25.80
These allusions to Christ
are set against a backdrop
00:46:26.10\00:46:29.49
of national apostasy.
00:46:29.70\00:46:31.22
The major
continuing problem is this:
00:46:32.38\00:46:34.52
pernicious sinful living that
reveals itself in God's people
00:46:34.72\00:46:39.25
trusting in wrong
things - just like today -
00:46:39.45\00:46:41.79
seeking after other
gods - just like today -
00:46:41.99\00:46:43.79
unethical and
illegitimate alliances,
00:46:43.99\00:46:47.27
unjust, unfaithful,
and treacherous leadership.
00:46:47.47\00:46:49.99
So the people were bad
and so were the leaders.
00:46:50.19\00:46:52.06
Um-hmm.
00:46:54.67\00:46:56.05
And each and every time
God enumerates their sins
00:46:56.55\00:47:00.90
or enunciates a complaint
00:47:01.10\00:47:03.21
or contemplates a punishment
00:47:03.41\00:47:05.55
He reiterates that His
purpose through the prophecies
00:47:05.75\00:47:09.57
though grounded and
founded in that time
00:47:09.77\00:47:12.88
are directly focusing to Jesus
00:47:13.08\00:47:16.38
and, by extension, to us.
00:47:16.58\00:47:18.99
Within the matrix
Isaiah couches what I call
00:47:20.00\00:47:24.89
four Messianic missives.
00:47:25.09\00:47:27.53
I discovered this the other
day. I call them the Messianic
00:47:27.63\00:47:30.01
missives. And I've
got to run real fast.
00:47:30.11\00:47:31.55
Four times when he lifts
up Jesus not as conqueror
00:47:31.75\00:47:35.51
but as servant Lord.
00:47:35.54\00:47:36.91
And this is a picture
you get of Christ and God
00:47:37.03\00:47:39.03
in the book of Isaiah. You
don't get a conquering king.
00:47:39.13\00:47:41.35
You get a servant Savior.
00:47:41.55\00:47:42.99
You get a servant Lord.
00:47:43.19\00:47:44.56
The Israel... rather, the Jews
of old shouldn't have missed
00:47:44.65\00:47:48.84
this. That's why
I said earlier on
00:47:48.94\00:47:52.20
that the pain that Cleopas
and his buddy were feeling
00:47:52.40\00:47:54.34
was self-induced?
Because it's plain what Jesus
00:47:54.54\00:47:57.72
was going to do. It's
plain what Jesus was going to be
00:47:57.82\00:48:00.42
about. It's plain the kind
of life Jesus was going to live.
00:48:00.52\00:48:03.74
It shouldn't have been missed.
00:48:03.94\00:48:05.40
Had they read this
and understood this
00:48:05.60\00:48:07.36
they would have
rejoiced even in their sadness
00:48:07.56\00:48:10.54
that Christ had
gone to the cross.
00:48:10.74\00:48:12.11
Because the promise is
that He's going to die one day
00:48:12.25\00:48:14.68
and three days later that temple
was going to be resurrected.
00:48:14.78\00:48:19.32
Isaiah 42 verses 1-7:
the first Messianic missive.
00:48:22.23\00:48:26.73
The second:
Isaiah 49 verses 1-13.
00:48:26.93\00:48:29.45
The third Messianic
missive: Isaiah 50:4-11.
00:48:29.65\00:48:33.96
And the fifth... the fourth
rather: Isaiah chapters 52
00:48:34.26\00:48:38.66
and all the way through 53.
00:48:38.76\00:48:40.13
We don't have
time to read them all.
00:48:40.18\00:48:41.55
I've got to try to
pull them all together
00:48:41.58\00:48:43.66
and do it really fast.
00:48:43.76\00:48:45.13
They're all put in
the last 1/3 of the book
00:48:45.16\00:48:48.74
when Israel's
fate had been sealed.
00:48:48.94\00:48:52.41
Israel - the ten
northern tribes - were gone
00:48:52.71\00:48:56.38
and Judah was going.
00:48:56.62\00:48:58.44
And yet we find these
four Messianic missives
00:48:58.64\00:49:02.60
tucked in the last
part of this marvelous book.
00:49:02.80\00:49:06.11
Isaiah 43 verses 1-7.
00:49:06.32\00:49:08.24
I'll give you a digest.
He says... he starts out
00:49:08.45\00:49:10.65
the first line:
"Behold My servant. "
00:49:10.75\00:49:14.23
So we see that we're
talking about a servant King.
00:49:14.43\00:49:17.27
Verse 3... love this:
00:49:18.06\00:49:20.29
"He will be careful not
to cut off one bruised branch
00:49:20.49\00:49:24.44
or blow out one
flickering flame. "
00:49:24.64\00:49:27.54
That's not a picture
of a conquering king.
00:49:27.94\00:49:31.38
That's a picture of a
saving servant Savior.
00:49:32.40\00:49:37.79
God is saying: "If
you come crawling to Jesus
00:49:39.17\00:49:43.28
with your last
ounce of strength,
00:49:43.41\00:49:45.20
Jesus is not going to throw
or kick sand in your face. "
00:49:45.50\00:49:49.55
Amen? Amen. If
you come with Him...
00:49:49.75\00:49:52.62
If you've got one
little flame flickering,
00:49:52.82\00:49:55.44
you know what He's going to do?
00:49:55.64\00:49:57.01
He's going to put
some wood on that flame.
00:49:57.17\00:49:59.00
He's not going to blow it out.
00:49:59.20\00:50:00.71
That's a
Savior... that's a servant!
00:50:00.91\00:50:03.86
That's not a conquering king.
00:50:04.06\00:50:05.67
If you can get to Jesus,
00:50:07.18\00:50:08.83
if you've got
enough sense to call,
00:50:08.86\00:50:11.27
He's got enough love to answer.
00:50:11.47\00:50:13.26
That's the first
Messianic missive.
00:50:16.51\00:50:18.93
The second Messianic
missive is Isaiah 49:1-13.
00:50:19.13\00:50:22.48
Verse 3 is the one I
want to highlight right now.
00:50:23.63\00:50:25.71
He says: "See My
servant... " again servant.
00:50:25.91\00:50:29.19
The Christ content is
this: it focuses on the Redeemer
00:50:29.49\00:50:33.97
of Israel as their Holy
One. There's that term again.
00:50:34.07\00:50:36.94
He says: "To whom man despises,
00:50:37.44\00:50:41.13
who the nation abhors,
00:50:41.33\00:50:44.24
is the servant of rulers. "
00:50:44.44\00:50:46.17
Again, we've got
this servant mentality.
00:50:46.27\00:50:48.96
Christ didn't come
to Lord it over us.
00:50:49.17\00:50:50.92
He came to be a servant.
00:50:51.12\00:50:52.49
He's serving us even today!
00:50:52.52\00:50:54.24
Third Messianic
missive: Isaiah 50:4-11.
00:50:56.79\00:51:00.77
Verse 4: God says:
"Show Me the divorce papers. "
00:51:00.97\00:51:06.18
I call this the
still-married missive.
00:51:06.28\00:51:08.54
God is saying: "Show
Me the divorce papers.
00:51:08.74\00:51:11.86
You are acting
like you're single.
00:51:13.25\00:51:15.08
You're acting like
you don't have a husband.
00:51:15.28\00:51:17.65
You're acting like I'm
not still your husband.
00:51:18.05\00:51:20.88
Show Me the divorce papers.
00:51:21.08\00:51:23.91
I didn't sign anything.
00:51:24.11\00:51:26.57
I didn't sell
you; I didn't rent you;
00:51:26.78\00:51:30.17
I didn't loan you; and
I didn't give you away.
00:51:30.37\00:51:33.37
In effect, you're still Mine. "
00:51:33.57\00:51:35.55
Amen. "Your problem
is of your own making
00:51:35.75\00:51:38.97
not My inability to save you. "
00:51:39.18\00:51:42.02
Now that's a sermon in itself.
00:51:42.22\00:51:44.34
The upside is: if you follow God
00:51:44.54\00:51:48.80
stuff is gonna go good.
00:51:49.00\00:51:52.42
Amen? If you don't follow God
00:51:52.62\00:51:55.65
stuff is gonna go bad.
00:51:55.85\00:51:59.21
Amen. Amen.
00:51:59.42\00:52:02.29
That's what He's trying to say.
00:52:02.49\00:52:03.86
"You're getting ready to
go into captivity not because
00:52:03.89\00:52:06.63
I couldn't keep
you from captivity
00:52:06.73\00:52:08.68
but because you insist
on following your own ways
00:52:08.88\00:52:13.33
and those ways are
leading to captivity.
00:52:13.53\00:52:16.67
"There is a way
that seemeth right...
00:52:16.88\00:52:19.92
but the end
thereof? Ways of death. "
00:52:20.12\00:52:23.83
So God says: "I didn't
sign any divorce papers...
00:52:26.53\00:52:28.96
you're still mine. "
00:52:29.16\00:52:30.63
The fourth Messianic missive
00:52:30.94\00:52:33.45
is also the third
major Christ allusion.
00:52:33.65\00:52:38.03
It is Isaiah 52:13
through Isaiah 53:12.
00:52:38.24\00:52:42.17
And I don't have
time to go into this,
00:52:42.37\00:52:44.58
but I have a little
thing that I found in Isaiah.
00:52:44.78\00:52:46.36
I call them the He's us,
the Jesus, or the Me's us.
00:52:46.46\00:52:49.97
He's us is
something that Isaiah wrote
00:52:51.46\00:52:54.95
that dealt directly with him
00:52:55.15\00:52:58.93
but has futuristic implications.
00:52:59.14\00:53:01.98
The Jesus is those
parts of the Messianic missive
00:53:02.28\00:53:07.09
that point directly to Jesus.
00:53:07.29\00:53:09.36
And the Me's us are those things
that Isaiah wrote about Christ
00:53:09.56\00:53:14.68
that I can take as mine.
00:53:14.88\00:53:16.61
Amen? They go for me and us.
00:53:16.81\00:53:20.41
So Isaiah is full of He's us,
00:53:20.61\00:53:24.56
Jesus, and Me's us.
00:53:24.86\00:53:28.08
And I've got about ten
He's us, Jesus, Me's us,
00:53:28.38\00:53:30.57
but time is
getting away from me.
00:53:30.67\00:53:32.04
I can't do the
He's us, Jesus, Me's us.
00:53:32.07\00:53:33.96
I guarantee you: it's in there.
00:53:34.16\00:53:35.59
Amen.
00:53:38.59\00:53:40.42
"Who hath believed our report? "
00:53:41.86\00:53:43.45
Powerful statement, rather.
"And to whom has the arm of
00:53:43.65\00:53:47.30
the Lord been revealed? "
00:53:47.40\00:53:48.77
The most revealing of the
several glimpses of Christ
00:53:48.87\00:53:51.86
is followed by a
re-affirmation of this perpetual
00:53:52.06\00:53:54.73
covenant of peace. And
then Isaiah closes with
00:53:54.83\00:53:57.47
what I call the crown jewel...
these diamonds in the rough.
00:53:57.57\00:54:01.60
Don't have time to
read them. Isaiah 55:5-7,
00:54:01.80\00:54:05.51
Isaiah 55:6-9,
Isaiah 58:6-9 God says:
00:54:05.71\00:54:11.17
"Here I am. " Isaiah 59:21,
00:54:11.30\00:54:13.65
Isaiah chapter 60 where he
talks about everlasting life.
00:54:13.85\00:54:16.90
He says: "You folk are
trying to follow your own light
00:54:17.10\00:54:18.82
but your light is black
light it's not real light.
00:54:18.92\00:54:21.16
If you want real
light come to Me.
00:54:21.26\00:54:22.69
I am the giver of
light. And if I give you light
00:54:22.90\00:54:24.48
you'll never be
in darkness again. "
00:54:24.68\00:54:26.05
Amen. Powerful,
powerful. Isaiah 61:1-3...
00:54:26.20\00:54:29.68
this was the text that Christ
quoted in Luke chapter 4:15
00:54:29.88\00:54:33.34
when they tried to
pick up stones and kill Him
00:54:33.48\00:54:35.29
when He talked about the
acceptable year of the Lord.
00:54:35.49\00:54:37.19
How the arms of God are
open. And you've got to realize
00:54:37.39\00:54:39.98
this is written against a
backdrop of a people who had
00:54:40.18\00:54:42.41
turned their backs on God,
who didn't want God anymore,
00:54:42.51\00:54:45.50
and were going into captivity.
And God is saying with them:
00:54:45.70\00:54:48.31
"the door is still open. "
00:54:48.41\00:54:50.35
So that's Isaiah 61:1-3.
00:54:53.33\00:54:55.33
And I want to close with one
of the most cherished scriptures
00:54:56.64\00:55:01.71
in the Word of God. I
want you to find it with me:
00:55:01.91\00:55:03.97
Isaiah chapter 40.
00:55:04.07\00:55:05.44
Isaiah chapter 40.
00:55:06.88\00:55:08.50
I'm looking at my time
but I want to close with this.
00:55:08.80\00:55:11.15
I suspect this
scripture has given more hope
00:55:15.33\00:55:19.95
to the downtrodden
00:55:20.15\00:55:22.61
and to those who are sad.
00:55:22.81\00:55:26.85
Isaiah chapter 40 verse 28.
00:55:28.25\00:55:30.61
I read now from
the New King James.
00:55:30.71\00:55:35.58
"Have you not known?
00:55:36.78\00:55:38.35
Have you not heard?
00:55:39.47\00:55:40.84
The everlasting God, the
Lord, the Creator of the ends
00:55:41.02\00:55:44.17
of the earth neither
faints nor is weary. "
00:55:44.27\00:55:47.71
Praise God! Amen.
00:55:47.91\00:55:49.28
"His
understanding is unsearchable.
00:55:49.43\00:55:51.38
He gives power to the weak
00:55:51.78\00:55:55.33
and to those who have no might
00:55:55.53\00:55:59.07
He increases strength.
00:55:59.27\00:56:02.84
Even the youth shall
faint and be weary... "
00:56:04.43\00:56:09.06
Back in the days when we
were at the Bethel Church
00:56:09.26\00:56:11.34
Pastor Lomacang and I
would go and play basketball
00:56:11.54\00:56:13.21
all Sunday.
00:56:13.41\00:56:15.03
All Sunday.
00:56:15.23\00:56:16.88
All day 'cause you're young.
00:56:17.08\00:56:18.67
Figure you're
never going to get old.
00:56:18.88\00:56:20.80
Now I play once a year.
00:56:22.00\00:56:24.50
"Even your youth
shall faint and be weary
00:56:28.88\00:56:31.30
and the young men
shall utterly fail
00:56:31.50\00:56:33.15
but they that wait on the Lord
00:56:33.35\00:56:37.38
shall renew their strength.
00:56:39.29\00:56:42.91
They shall mount up
with wings as eagles. "
00:56:44.18\00:56:48.45
Glory to God. "They shall run...
00:56:49.86\00:56:54.73
not get weary.
00:56:55.03\00:56:57.19
They shall walk and not faint. "
00:56:58.87\00:57:03.97
Amen. And I suspect that
promise has given more hope
00:57:04.27\00:57:07.52
to discouraged souls
than any in the Word of God.
00:57:07.72\00:57:11.52
And it's right there
in the book of Isaiah,
00:57:12.66\00:57:14.33
written at a time when God's
people have said to their own
00:57:14.83\00:57:19.47
God: "We don't want You. "
00:57:19.57\00:57:23.34
And yet God's promise was sure.
00:57:23.64\00:57:27.07
"If you wait on the
Lord, I'll be there. "
00:57:27.27\00:57:31.82