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Jëan Ross: Good
morning, friends,
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and welcome to
Sabbath School Study Hour,
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coming to you here from
the Granite Bay Seventh-day
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Adventist Church in
Sacramento, California.
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We like to always mention where
we're recording these programs
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because there are folks watching
in the Sacramento area for years
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and they don't know that
we're located right here.
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So if you are in the Sacramento
area and would like to visit us,
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feel free to do so.
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We'd like to greet our
many friends who are joining us
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across the country
and around the world,
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as well as our regular church
members who are tuning in online
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and our online members.
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We're glad that you have chosen
to come study with us today.
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We have a very important lesson.
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We've just started
it a few weeks ago.
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It's on the book of
Isaiah in the Old Testament.
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Today we find ourselves on
lesson number four, and it's
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entitled, "The Hard Way."
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And we're going to
learn about that as we get
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into the book of Isaiah.
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We do have a free offer
we'd like to tell you about.
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It is a book entitled, "Remember
Lot's Wife," and if you'd like
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to receive this book,
we'll be happy to send it to you
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for free.
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All you need to do is call the
number 866-788-3966 and ask for
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offer number 108 and
we'll get it in the mail
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and send it to you.
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If you'd like a
digital download of the book,
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you can text the code "SH054" to
the number 40544 and you'll be
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able to get a digital download
of the book that's entitled,
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"Remember Lot's Wife."
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Well, before we get to
our study this morning,
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we have a treat.
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We're going to be
having a special musical item.
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I'd like to invite Jack
Fonslow to come forward.
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¤¤
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¤¤
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¤¤
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¤ I'll walk with God ¤
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¤ from this day on ¤
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¤ His helping hand ¤
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¤ I lean upon ¤
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¤ This is my prayer, ¤
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¤ my humble plea, ¤
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¤ may the Lord ¤
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¤ be ever with me ¤
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¤ There is no death, ¤
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¤ though eyes grow dim ¤
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¤ There is no fear ¤
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¤ when I'm near to Him ¤
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¤ I'll lean on Him forever, ¤
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¤ and He'll forsake me never ¤
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¤ He will not fail me ¤
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¤ as long as my
faith is strong ¤
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¤ Whatever road
I may walk along, ¤
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¤ I'll walk with God ¤
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¤ I'll take His hand ¤
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¤ I'll talk with God, ¤
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¤ He'll understand ¤
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¤ I pray to Him, ¤
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¤ each day to Him, ¤
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¤ and He'll hear
the words that I say ¤
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¤ His hand will
guide my throne and rod, ¤
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¤ and I'll never walk ¤
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¤ alone while I walk with God ¤
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Jëan: Appropriate song
for our study for today.
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Let's begin with
a word of prayer.
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Dear Father, we
are indeed so grateful
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for Your many blessings.
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Thank You for bringing
us through this past year
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and here we are at the
first Sabbath of the new year.
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We want to ask Your special
blessing to be with those who
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are joining us online and
those who are here in person.
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And Father, as we
open up Your Word,
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we always pray for the Holy
Spirit to come and guide our
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hearts and our minds.
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Impress upon us those
truths that we need to have and
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understand and know,
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for we ask this,
in Jesus's name, amen.
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Our lesson today is
going to be brought to us
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by our youth
pastor, Pastor Luccas Rodor.
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Luccas Rodor: It is a joy
to be in the house of the Lord
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this Sabbath, especially after
a year where we had a difficult
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time sometimes
coming to church, huh?
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So it's so good to be here
and to study the Word of God,
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especially the book of Isaiah
that is such a beautiful book
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in the Bible.
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I'm so glad that we're studying
this book, because there are so
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many lessons to be learned
through the study of this
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Old Testament Gospel.
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You know that the prophet
Isaiah is considered to be
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the evangelist prophet, and
so I'm just so happy that we're
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studying this lesson and
so, welcome to everyone here.
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Welcome to those
that are watching online.
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I do want to begin
with a word of prayer.
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I know Pastor Jëan just prayed
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but prayer is
never enough, right?
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So let's say a word of prayer.
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Dear Lord God, thank You so much
for Your blessings and thank You
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so much for bringing us here.
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For those that here--
that are here locally,
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Father, thank You because they
were able to come and those that
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are watching from
home or from wherever,
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Lord, perhaps
someone watching from church,
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a church service that
is streaming us right now,
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Lord, just please
bless them, guide them,
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fill them with
Your Holy Spirit, Lord,
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and just open our minds and our
hearts and our ears to learn the
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lesson that You have
from this difficult lesson.
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I thank You, in
Jesus's name, amen.
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The reason why I say
this is a difficult lesson,
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it's not so much in the complex
sense but in the message sense.
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The title of this
week's lesson is what?
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Who studied their
lesson and remembers the title
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of this week's lesson?
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"The Hard Way."
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"The Hard Way."
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And that hard
way, unfortunately,
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it's not something that is
exclusive to the children of
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Israel, but this is something
that all of us go through at
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one point or another in our
life, where we choose the harder
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way, the more difficult way.
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Instead of choosing the
better way that God provides,
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sometimes we do
choose the harder way.
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A harder way that might seem
simpler and easier at a first
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glance but that at hindsight we
see that it was more difficult.
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It brought more pain,
it caused more suffering.
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The memory verse for this
lesson is Isaiah chapter 8,
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verse 17, and it says:
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"I will wait on the Lord, who
hides His face from the house
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of Jacob, and I
will hope in Him."
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So this is a very, you know, at
a first glance it can seem kind
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of contradictory, because it's
saying that I'm going to wait
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in the Lord as He hides His
face from the house of Jacob.
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Now, wasn't Isaiah
part of the house of Jacob?
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He was, and so
it's a very deep verse.
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Now, the way that this lesson
is organized is that it studies
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Isaiah, part of chapter 7
all the way through chapter 8.
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And so basically, we're going to
go through each day as the text
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that it provides.
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So on the first day, we're going
to go through Isaiah chapter 7,
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verse so-and-so, and then that's
how we're going to study this
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lesson and emphasize the
different things that the
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lesson brought and
taught us this week.
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Now, before we start the lesson,
I would like to give a little
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bit of context because,
well, you know me by now,
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I like the context of
what we're talking about.
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And so we're on
the fourth lesson.
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The three lessons up to here
have been studying everything
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that's happening in the times of
Isaiah, and you must have read
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it already in the
lesson, but as you read Isaiah,
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you can kind of go through the
same chapters that are mentioned
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in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles,
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and we can kind of
see what's going on:
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Why is Isaiah
saying what he's saying?
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Why is God revealing
what He's revealing to Isaiah?
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Why is--what is the context
that is going on in Judah,
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especially Judah, and
at large in the Middle East
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in the times of Isaiah?
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And so you can kind
of do that correlation.
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But Isaiah is one of
the most beautiful books
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of the entire Bible.
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Isaiah lived
during the 8th century,
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before Christ, and he
is known as the evangelist
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prophet, as I've
already mentioned.
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Isaiah's considered
to be a representation,
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a symbol, of the entire Bible.
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You can divide his
book into two parts,
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into two segments.
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You can divide chapter 1 through
39, and that's kind of like the
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Old Testament.
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The message that is
coming, the revelations of God,
00:10:06.70\00:10:10.24
they're very similar.
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They're representative and
symbolic for the Old Testament.
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And then from
chapter 40 through 66,
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you'll find the
New Testament message,
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a message that is more
focused on a different reality,
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or it shifts in its message.
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And then you have 39 books
in that first segment for the 39
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books of the Old Testament, and
then you have the following 27
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books as kind of
the representation
00:10:30.33\00:10:32.59
of the New Testament.
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The portion of the
New Testament from verse--
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from chapter 40 onward, it
starts with four Gospels from
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chapter 40 through 43.
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You kind of find four Gospels
where we have referencing to the
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Savior, the Messiah,
the suffering servant,
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and everything that's
entailed in that message.
00:10:51.18\00:10:53.18
That's where we find the
foretelling of John the Baptist
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as one--as a voice who
cries out in the desert.
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That is where--that is
the portion of the Bible where
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that prophecy is provided.
00:11:01.96\00:11:04.46
The book ends at chapter
66 with a type of revelation,
00:11:04.49\00:11:09.06
a type of the book of Revelation
00:11:09.10\00:11:11.17
where we have a reference of a
new heaven and a new earth with
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an internal--an
eternal joy of Zion.
00:11:14.30\00:11:17.14
So, of course, not every
detail is exactly and absolutely
00:11:17.17\00:11:21.34
adjusted to those
proportions, but generally,
00:11:21.38\00:11:24.95
in general terms, that's kind
of what you get from the book
00:11:24.98\00:11:27.65
of Isaiah and its divisions.
00:11:27.68\00:11:29.75
And so this week's lesson is
a continuation from what we have
00:11:29.78\00:11:33.59
seen happening up to
now in the previous weeks.
00:11:33.62\00:11:37.53
As mentioned in
last week's lesson,
00:11:37.56\00:11:40.20
there is a prophecy, right?
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Isaiah, he provides a prophecy,
or God provides a prophecy about
00:11:41.76\00:11:45.70
someone named Immanuel and
it has to do with a problem,
00:11:45.73\00:11:49.97
with an issue, that is being
faced by the king at the time,
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which was King
Ahaz, the son of Jotham.
00:11:53.41\00:11:55.78
And so the small nation of
Judah was facing perilous days,
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very dangerous days.
00:11:58.81\00:12:00.45
Assyria was going--
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growing stronger by the day
and was becoming an even greater
00:12:01.82\00:12:06.02
threat, day by day, a greater
and a greater threat to all of
00:12:06.05\00:12:10.03
the smaller
nations that surrounded it.
00:12:10.06\00:12:13.13
The nations, the kingdoms,
including Judah and the nations
00:12:13.16\00:12:17.13
around it, they
survived on a very--
00:12:17.17\00:12:19.13
on a very delicate
balance of political power.
00:12:19.17\00:12:22.20
And now at this time,
Syria and Ephraim, which--
00:12:22.24\00:12:25.21
Ephraim was the kingdom of the
North, Israel, they attempted to
00:12:25.24\00:12:29.14
pressure, to you know, leverage,
Judah into joining their
00:12:29.18\00:12:33.25
coalition against
the king of Assyria.
00:12:33.28\00:12:36.28
And Ahaz, he had
refused to do so.
00:12:36.32\00:12:38.62
He refused to
join their coalition.
00:12:38.65\00:12:40.32
He refused to give in
to their peer pressure but,
00:12:40.36\00:12:42.72
unfortunately,
not for a good reason.
00:12:42.76\00:12:44.79
The thing is that he had
secretly come to an agreement
00:12:44.83\00:12:47.50
with the king Tiglath-pileser
III, which was, at the time,
00:12:47.50\00:12:51.83
the king of Assyria.
00:12:51.87\00:12:53.17
And you can find this
parallel in 2 Kings chapter 16,
00:12:53.20\00:12:56.87
verse 5 through 9.
00:12:56.91\00:12:58.21
And so the king, he was
entertaining political games
00:12:58.24\00:13:01.11
instead of trusting
in the power of God.
00:13:01.14\00:13:02.88
That's the problem that
we kind of studied last week.
00:13:02.91\00:13:07.55
You'll see here in
verse 6, chapter 7,
00:13:07.58\00:13:09.42
verse 6, that the
king was very worried
00:13:09.45\00:13:13.05
about what was happening.
00:13:13.09\00:13:14.52
It says here: "Let
us go up against Judah."
00:13:14.56\00:13:16.79
This is the kingdoms in
the north, Syria and Ephraim.
00:13:16.83\00:13:19.33
This is them saying this.
00:13:19.36\00:13:20.90
"Let us go up against Judah and
trouble it, and let us make a
00:13:20.93\00:13:24.23
gap in its wall for ourselves
and set a king over them,
00:13:24.27\00:13:28.37
the son of Tabeel."
00:13:28.40\00:13:29.87
And so, Syria and
Ephraim, they were--
00:13:29.90\00:13:31.84
they wanted to dethrone King
Ahaz, they wanted to put in his
00:13:31.87\00:13:35.24
place a puppet king,
and so Ahaz, he was--
00:13:35.28\00:13:39.15
he was just worried.
00:13:39.18\00:13:40.72
He was in panic.
00:13:40.75\00:13:42.12
He didn't know what
to do and, unfortunately,
00:13:42.15\00:13:44.49
his decision was to come
up and come into an alliance
00:13:44.52\00:13:47.72
with the king of Assyria.
00:13:47.76\00:13:49.06
And in this context,
this is the context where God,
00:13:49.09\00:13:52.19
He orders
Isaiah to take his son,
00:13:52.23\00:13:55.16
Shear-Jashub, which literally
means "a remnant shall return."
00:13:55.20\00:13:59.27
And again, this is
what we saw last week.
00:13:59.30\00:14:01.27
And to meet the king
at a well in Jerusalem.
00:14:01.30\00:14:04.84
Now, we know here that
Ahaz, he was unsettled.
00:14:04.87\00:14:07.88
The entire
people were unsettled.
00:14:07.91\00:14:09.28
Everyone was in a panic.
00:14:09.31\00:14:10.68
No one was knowing very
well what's going to happen.
00:14:10.71\00:14:12.88
Look, we don't have to go
very far to relate to what's--
00:14:12.91\00:14:16.28
to what was going on.
00:14:16.32\00:14:17.62
This last year that we
went through there was so much
00:14:17.65\00:14:19.39
unsettlement--unsettlement?
00:14:19.42\00:14:21.09
Unsettlement?
00:14:21.12\00:14:22.42
Everyone was unsettled.
Everyone was worried, right?
00:14:22.46\00:14:25.13
There was a sort of panic
in people's minds and hearts,
00:14:25.16\00:14:27.60
especially those that don't
really believe that there is
00:14:27.60\00:14:30.10
a God that is in
charge, that is in control.
00:14:30.13\00:14:32.83
People were
fearful, people were afraid.
00:14:32.87\00:14:35.64
No one knew very well what
was going to happen politically,
00:14:35.67\00:14:39.24
what was going
to happen socially,
00:14:39.27\00:14:41.64
what was going to
happen health-wise,
00:14:41.68\00:14:43.41
in the health world.
00:14:43.45\00:14:44.75
And so we can sort of--
of course, we don't have
00:14:44.78\00:14:48.05
an impending army coming
in to invade our country,
00:14:48.08\00:14:51.25
and that's exactly what was
happening here with Ahaz and
00:14:51.29\00:14:53.36
the children of Israel in Judah.
00:14:53.39\00:14:55.82
But we can kind of
understand their worrying.
00:14:55.86\00:14:58.46
Now, multiply that by a
lot, and that's what they
00:14:58.49\00:15:01.13
were going through.
00:15:01.16\00:15:03.30
Verse 2, chapter 7, verse
2, does provide a little bit of
00:15:03.33\00:15:06.40
what they were going through.
00:15:06.43\00:15:07.74
It says here: "And now it
was told to the house of David,
00:15:07.77\00:15:10.34
saying, Syria's forces
are deployed in Ephraim.
00:15:10.37\00:15:14.48
So his heart and the heart
of his people were moved as the
00:15:14.51\00:15:18.71
trees of the woods
are moved with the wind."
00:15:18.75\00:15:21.68
And so they were--they
were on shaky grounds.
00:15:21.72\00:15:25.52
No one knew what
was going to happen,
00:15:25.55\00:15:27.02
no one knew what they could do.
00:15:27.06\00:15:29.26
No one was in
control, apparently.
00:15:29.29\00:15:30.79
The king was a very weak king.
00:15:30.83\00:15:32.99
Interestingly,
King Ahaz, when he died,
00:15:33.03\00:15:35.00
he was, I believe,
the only king not to be--
00:15:35.03\00:15:37.27
or one of the only kings, not
to be buried in the tomb of his
00:15:37.30\00:15:40.57
fathers, because the people
simply didn't respect him.
00:15:40.60\00:15:43.77
And so they didn't have
confidence in their leader,
00:15:43.81\00:15:46.01
in their king.
00:15:46.04\00:15:47.34
They didn't have confidence
in what was happening.
00:15:47.38\00:15:49.04
And the people, they
were wayward, away from God.
00:15:49.08\00:15:51.55
They weren't trusting in God.
00:15:51.58\00:15:52.88
And so when you
have no foundation,
00:15:52.91\00:15:56.08
it's very easy to
become afraid and scared.
00:15:56.12\00:15:59.65
However, in the
middle of all this chaos,
00:15:59.69\00:16:02.06
in the middle of all
this fear and doom and gloom,
00:16:02.09\00:16:04.79
Isaiah comes with a
very tranquil message,
00:16:04.83\00:16:07.66
with a comforting
message, and verse 4 says:
00:16:07.73\00:16:10.13
"Take heed, and be quiet; do
not fear or be fainthearted."
00:16:10.17\00:16:14.80
This is another text in the
Bible where we see God coming
00:16:14.84\00:16:17.44
and saying, "Don't worry.
00:16:17.47\00:16:19.34
Trust in Me. Don't be fearful.
00:16:19.37\00:16:21.68
Be courageous."
00:16:21.71\00:16:23.01
You know, I was surprised--
00:16:23.04\00:16:24.35
I mentioned this in a sermon a
couple of weeks ago, that I was
00:16:24.38\00:16:27.15
surprised to find that the
most repeated, the most frequent
00:16:27.18\00:16:31.52
command of God is to,
first of all, is to rejoice.
00:16:31.55\00:16:37.13
Don't be fearful--
rejoice, be thankful.
00:16:37.16\00:16:39.63
And secondly, don't fear.
00:16:39.66\00:16:42.76
Don't be afraid.
00:16:42.80\00:16:44.63
So when I heard
this, I was thinking,
00:16:44.67\00:16:46.53
you know, what is the
most frequent command of God,
00:16:46.57\00:16:48.64
I was thinking, "Well, you know,
the most frequent command is
00:16:48.67\00:16:50.87
probably, you know, 'Don't
sin,' or 'Repent,'" you know?
00:16:50.91\00:16:54.48
That's where my mind was.
00:16:54.51\00:16:56.64
And then I was surprised that
God's most frequent command and
00:16:56.68\00:17:00.68
order to us, it's not
really something that has to do
00:17:00.72\00:17:03.52
with my failure.
00:17:03.55\00:17:05.22
It has to do with something
in recognizing who God is.
00:17:05.25\00:17:09.09
Rejoice in the Lord
always, and again I say rejoice.
00:17:09.12\00:17:11.66
And don't be
afraid. Do not be fearful.
00:17:11.69\00:17:13.60
This is God encouraging us.
00:17:13.63\00:17:15.23
And here, once again, in
the middle of the Old Testament,
00:17:15.26\00:17:17.77
in one of the most classical
prophets of the Old Testament,
00:17:17.80\00:17:20.57
we have this order
where God is saying,
00:17:20.60\00:17:22.74
"Don't be afraid. Don't worry.
00:17:22.77\00:17:25.27
Be strong. Be courageous."
00:17:25.31\00:17:26.78
Have you heard people before
saying that the Old Testament
00:17:26.81\00:17:28.81
is the testament of the
harsh God, of the hard God,
00:17:28.84\00:17:33.35
the disciplinary,
severe God, the cruel God?
00:17:33.38\00:17:36.99
Have you ever heard that before?
00:17:37.02\00:17:38.75
I've heard that a lot.
00:17:38.79\00:17:40.39
The Old
Testament God is a severe,
00:17:40.42\00:17:42.12
harsh God that wants
to punish His people,
00:17:42.16\00:17:44.99
and the God of the New
Testament is the God of grace,
00:17:45.03\00:17:47.03
of forgiveness.
00:17:47.03\00:17:48.26
Friends, that just reveals how
little people have read of the
00:17:48.30\00:17:51.50
Old Testament and how
wrong people have read
00:17:51.53\00:17:53.54
the New Testament.
00:17:53.57\00:17:55.04
Because the Old Testament is
filled with a plethora of texts
00:17:55.07\00:17:58.51
where God is saying,
00:17:58.54\00:17:59.84
"Don't be worried. Trust in Me.
00:17:59.87\00:18:02.78
Don't be fearful.
I will lead the way."
00:18:02.81\00:18:05.01
The Old Testament is literally
the God that opened the waters
00:18:05.05\00:18:07.98
of the sea to pave the
path for his children fleeing
00:18:08.02\00:18:10.85
from an army.
00:18:10.89\00:18:12.19
Who could have
expected that, that possibility?
00:18:12.22\00:18:15.02
And here, once again, the
same God is trying to tell
00:18:15.06\00:18:18.66
His people, "Don't worry.
00:18:18.69\00:18:20.00
How have you not
learned this yet?
00:18:20.03\00:18:22.33
How don't you know yet?
00:18:22.36\00:18:24.07
Look at everything that
I've done for you in the past.
00:18:24.10\00:18:26.50
Why are you worried right now?"
00:18:26.53\00:18:30.01
"Take heed, and be quiet; do
not fear or be fainthearted."
00:18:30.04\00:18:34.24
So how could
Ahaz find inner peace?
00:18:34.28\00:18:38.41
Believing in
the promises of God,
00:18:38.45\00:18:41.15
that the enemies of
Judah would be defeated.
00:18:41.18\00:18:46.62
But, verse 9, says:
"If you do not believe,
00:18:46.65\00:18:51.99
surely you will
not be established."
00:18:52.03\00:18:55.30
So here you find the condition,
and the condition isn't that God
00:18:55.33\00:18:58.00
doesn't want to
establish His people.
00:18:58.03\00:19:00.07
The condition isn't that
God doesn't want to be there for
00:19:00.10\00:19:02.57
them and reassure them.
00:19:02.60\00:19:03.97
The condition is that
God will respect everyone's
00:19:04.01\00:19:07.31
freedom of choice.
00:19:07.34\00:19:08.94
And so if I
choose not to believe,
00:19:08.98\00:19:10.55
if I choose not to walk on that
path of faith and in that path
00:19:10.58\00:19:13.21
of belief, well, then,
what can God do for me?
00:19:13.25\00:19:17.05
Because there is one place that
God only dominates and implants
00:19:17.09\00:19:24.19
His domain on a condition.
00:19:24.23\00:19:28.23
And that is in the human heart.
00:19:28.26\00:19:31.23
God will only control and only
guide and lead and protect when
00:19:31.27\00:19:36.34
we allow Him to, because
God is such a noble God that He
00:19:36.37\00:19:40.81
respects the freedom
that He granted to us.
00:19:40.84\00:19:45.01
Believing in
the Lord's promises,
00:19:45.05\00:19:46.58
friends, is the only way to find
peace in the midst of chaos.
00:19:46.61\00:19:51.55
It's the only way.
00:19:51.59\00:19:52.89
There is no other way.
00:19:52.92\00:19:54.22
If you base your peace,
if you base the foundation of
00:19:54.26\00:19:58.33
your life's contentment and
satisfaction on anything other,
00:19:58.36\00:20:02.20
on any other foundation
except this one, then you
00:20:02.23\00:20:04.67
will become disappointed,
00:20:04.70\00:20:06.00
simply because there
is no other foundation.
00:20:06.03\00:20:09.04
This is the only one.
00:20:09.07\00:20:11.47
Isaiah 26, verse
3, the same book,
00:20:11.51\00:20:13.98
has a similar promise and
it says: "You will keep him in
00:20:14.01\00:20:16.58
perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on You:
00:20:16.61\00:20:20.42
because he trusts in You."
00:20:20.45\00:20:21.98
And this is what Jesus
is talking about in the book
00:20:22.02\00:20:24.22
of John when later on He
says, "My peace I give you,
00:20:24.25\00:20:26.99
My peace I leave you, and it
is a peace that the world cannot
00:20:27.02\00:20:29.92
understand," because God's peace
has a different definition than
00:20:29.96\00:20:33.43
the peace of man.
00:20:33.46\00:20:34.73
Because the peace of
men, the peace of humans,
00:20:34.76\00:20:36.97
is a peace that
is circumstantial,
00:20:37.00\00:20:38.70
it is based on a circumstance.
00:20:38.73\00:20:41.34
If there is no
war, if I have money,
00:20:41.37\00:20:43.47
if I have work, if
I have contentment,
00:20:43.51\00:20:45.64
if my family is
healthy, if, if, if,
00:20:45.67\00:20:47.51
if, if, if, then
I will be in peace.
00:20:47.54\00:20:51.48
But the thing is is that
the definition of God's peace is
00:20:51.51\00:20:54.62
absolutely and
entirely different.
00:20:54.65\00:20:57.22
God's peace is incircumstantial.
00:20:57.25\00:21:01.36
It transcends circumstance.
00:21:01.39\00:21:03.53
The peace that comes from God is
a peace that is most prevalent
00:21:03.56\00:21:07.23
here in this world amidst chaos.
00:21:07.30\00:21:09.10
Isn't that ironic?
00:21:09.13\00:21:12.10
God's peace is a peace that is
most prevalent when things are
00:21:12.13\00:21:16.20
going contrary to what
someone would deem peace-like.
00:21:16.24\00:21:21.04
And that's because it's
in the middle of the darkness
00:21:21.08\00:21:23.61
that light shines the
most, and shines the brightest.
00:21:23.65\00:21:28.55
And this is what God
is calling the children
00:21:28.58\00:21:31.02
of Israel to go through.
00:21:31.05\00:21:32.35
In God's eyes, the two threats,
these two kings in the north,
00:21:32.39\00:21:35.99
Syria and Ephraim, they were
nothing but two stubs of smoking
00:21:36.02\00:21:40.36
fire brands,
according to verse 4,
00:21:40.40\00:21:42.43
that would exit
the scene very shortly.
00:21:42.46\00:21:44.70
And true enough, both
perished just two years--
00:21:44.73\00:21:47.40
a couple of years later.
00:21:47.44\00:21:49.37
What's more, in the
span of about 25 years,
00:21:49.40\00:21:51.71
the kingdom in the north of
Israel would cease to exist,
00:21:51.74\00:21:57.11
wouldn't even be in
the equation anymore.
00:21:57.15\00:21:59.08
This year, the year in which
Isaiah is giving this prophecy
00:21:59.11\00:22:02.82
of Immanuel, is
the year 734 BC and,
00:22:02.85\00:22:07.19
sure enough, all these things
that he had foretold occurred
00:22:07.22\00:22:12.33
in the following two years.
00:22:12.36\00:22:13.66
Assyria was defeated by Syria.
00:22:13.70\00:22:15.96
So don't mix the two names:
00:22:16.00\00:22:17.23
Assyria defeated Syria in the
year 732 BC and then 12 years
00:22:17.27\00:22:22.54
later, and we're going to
see why these 12 years are
00:22:22.57\00:22:24.04
so significant, 12 years later
they invaded Israel in 722 BC,
00:22:24.07\00:22:29.51
with their capital in Samaria.
00:22:29.54\00:22:31.65
And what happened
is that the Assyrians,
00:22:31.68\00:22:35.25
they deported
many of the Israelites,
00:22:35.28\00:22:37.45
they took them away and they
implanted them in another place
00:22:37.49\00:22:40.46
and they imported many Gentiles.
00:22:40.49\00:22:42.79
So much so that the
people lost their identity.
00:22:42.82\00:22:45.76
So 1000 years later
almost, 800 years later,
00:22:45.79\00:22:48.36
when you come to the times of
Jesus and we find those people
00:22:48.40\00:22:51.07
called the Samaritans,
that's what was left of Israel.
00:22:51.10\00:22:54.67
They were hybrid
Jews, hybrid Israelites.
00:22:54.70\00:22:57.31
And that's why they were so
hated by those that considered
00:22:57.34\00:23:00.18
themselves to be
the pure lineage,
00:23:00.21\00:23:02.14
the original lineage,
because they had become hybrid.
00:23:02.18\00:23:05.75
Instead of having their
holy mountain on Mount Zion,
00:23:05.78\00:23:08.85
now their holy
mountain was Mount Gerizim.
00:23:08.88\00:23:11.19
And while they
considered, you know, the well--
00:23:11.22\00:23:14.22
the springs of David to be
their main springs, or main
00:23:14.26\00:23:19.49
source of water, the Samaritans
considered the wing of--
00:23:19.53\00:23:22.56
sorry, the well of
Jacob to be their main well.
00:23:22.60\00:23:26.37
And so there were many of these
small differences that made them
00:23:26.40\00:23:29.57
so different and so hated
and it all began here in 722 BC.
00:23:29.60\00:23:34.84
In the year 6-6-9, 669 BC,
00:23:34.88\00:23:38.28
65 years later, the nation
did not exist at all anymore.
00:23:38.31\00:23:43.49
They had been--they had been
sucked in to another nation.
00:23:43.52\00:23:48.76
From verses 10
through 16 of chapter 7,
00:23:48.79\00:23:51.66
we find that if Ahaz had
believed in the promises of God,
00:23:51.69\00:23:55.43
he would have broken
his treaty with Assyria,
00:23:55.46\00:23:58.10
he would have broken
everything that he had--
00:23:58.13\00:24:01.60
that he had said that he would
do with them, he would have
00:24:01.64\00:24:05.74
called on his people to pray and
to worship God, but the king,
00:24:05.77\00:24:10.48
King Ahaz, he
persisted in his unbelief.
00:24:10.51\00:24:13.35
And noticing, and this is where
we say the greatness of Isaiah,
00:24:13.38\00:24:16.82
because when Isaiah notices that
the king had become weak and
00:24:16.85\00:24:20.39
unfaithful, Isaiah, he
offered a sign of encouragement.
00:24:20.42\00:24:24.46
He said, "Look,
King, choose something."
00:24:24.49\00:24:26.46
And this is God
speaking through Isaiah.
00:24:26.49\00:24:27.86
He says, "Look,
choose any sign."
00:24:27.86\00:24:29.86
How many of us wouldn't
love an offering like this?
00:24:29.90\00:24:32.70
What if God
came to you and said,
00:24:32.73\00:24:34.07
"Look, you can ask for anything
as a sign that I am with you"?
00:24:34.10\00:24:38.97
Isn't that kind of
what God did to Solomon?
00:24:39.01\00:24:42.98
And Solomon answered
wisely, "Lord, give me wisdom."
00:24:43.01\00:24:47.15
But Ahaz, he
chooses to tempt the Lord,
00:24:47.18\00:24:50.22
exactly by saying
not to tempt the Lord.
00:24:50.25\00:24:53.69
Verse 12 says: "Ahaz
said, 'I will not ask,
00:24:53.72\00:24:56.96
nor will I test the Lord!'"
And this is a moment of false
00:24:56.99\00:25:01.50
modesty, false piety.
00:25:01.53\00:25:05.00
Knowing that he was secretly
allied to the king of Assyria,
00:25:05.03\00:25:08.84
how could he honestly ask a
symbol, or a sign, from God?
00:25:08.87\00:25:12.97
How could he honestly do that?
00:25:13.01\00:25:14.78
And so instead of asking for
a sign that any of us would love
00:25:14.81\00:25:20.08
to ask God for a sign.
00:25:20.12\00:25:21.42
How many of us
haven't done that already?
00:25:21.45\00:25:23.28
I know that as a
child, I did that a lot.
00:25:23.32\00:25:25.29
I remember, "Lord, if
You're with me right now,
00:25:25.32\00:25:27.66
then do this."
00:25:27.69\00:25:28.99
And I remember
being disappointed a lot,
00:25:29.02\00:25:30.99
simply because we can't
really force God's hand.
00:25:31.03\00:25:33.26
Doesn't work that way.
00:25:33.29\00:25:34.56
But here, this is
God saying, "Look,
00:25:34.60\00:25:36.13
you can ask for a
sign, anything, anything."
00:25:36.16\00:25:39.70
There are no limits to what God
had provided for him to ask for,
00:25:39.73\00:25:43.00
and yet the king,
weak-minded and weak-hearted,
00:25:43.04\00:25:46.41
he decides not to.
00:25:46.44\00:25:49.54
And so instead of
speaking privately to the king,
00:25:49.58\00:25:53.88
which he had
already tried, Isaiah,
00:25:53.92\00:25:55.35
now he speaks to
the whole nation.
00:25:55.38\00:25:56.85
He speaks to the children
of Israel and then in verse 13
00:25:56.89\00:25:59.75
and 14, this is what
he says: "Then he said,
00:25:59.79\00:26:02.02
'Hear now, O house of David!'"
So Isaiah stops speaking to the
00:26:02.06\00:26:05.76
king, and he starts
speaking to the people.
00:26:05.79\00:26:08.63
"Is it a small thing
for you to weary men,
00:26:08.66\00:26:10.73
but will you weary God also?"
00:26:10.77\00:26:12.47
And this is in reference
to the king's false piety.
00:26:12.50\00:26:19.14
God becomes tired
of our false piety.
00:26:19.17\00:26:22.44
There's this story.
00:26:22.48\00:26:24.21
There's this story
of a small-town church,
00:26:24.25\00:26:26.98
and every so often, every year,
there would be an evangelistic
00:26:27.02\00:26:30.49
series, you know, one of those
series, about a month, where a
00:26:30.52\00:26:32.99
pastor would come and he
would teach about revelation and
00:26:33.02\00:26:35.79
similar to what we had
here in "Revelation Now."
00:26:35.82\00:26:37.89
And there was this older
gentleman that every time
00:26:37.93\00:26:41.43
the pastor would make
an altar call, the old man,
00:26:41.46\00:26:44.10
he would go up,
and he would say,
00:26:44.13\00:26:45.67
"Fill me up, Lord. Fill me up.
00:26:45.70\00:26:47.60
Fill me up, Lord. Fill me up."
00:26:47.64\00:26:49.34
Every time, every
year, year after year,
00:26:49.37\00:26:52.44
and he would say,
"Fill me up, Lord."
00:26:52.47\00:26:55.58
In one of the later years, he
was doing it again and someone
00:26:55.61\00:26:58.85
heard an older lady in
the church that had known that
00:26:58.88\00:27:03.22
man for a very long time,
and the thing is that that man,
00:27:03.25\00:27:06.25
after he said,
"Fill me up, Lord,
00:27:06.29\00:27:08.02
fill me up," he would
go back to his old ways,
00:27:08.06\00:27:09.76
to his old life.
00:27:09.79\00:27:11.09
Nothing would really change.
00:27:11.13\00:27:12.43
And so that
older lady, she said--
00:27:12.46\00:27:15.43
she was heard
saying, "Don't do it, Lord.
00:27:15.46\00:27:17.07
He leaks."
00:27:17.10\00:27:19.03
Friends, that is
true about us many times.
00:27:19.07\00:27:22.67
We--our false
piety, our false modesty,
00:27:22.70\00:27:26.51
we're here
saying, "Lord, fill me up,
00:27:26.54\00:27:28.14
fill me up," but we're leaking
and the Lord grows weary and
00:27:28.18\00:27:31.91
tired of that.
00:27:31.95\00:27:33.25
Who wouldn't?
00:27:33.28\00:27:35.78
And this is a message for me
too, but God does grow weary.
00:27:35.82\00:27:40.12
God has a very long patience.
00:27:40.16\00:27:42.42
God has a lot of
patience, but it's not infinite.
00:27:42.46\00:27:47.03
That aspect about
God isn't infinite.
00:27:47.03\00:27:49.80
God becomes tired of
our false piety and modesty,
00:27:49.83\00:27:52.93
and this is what we have here:
00:27:52.97\00:27:54.27
"Hear now, O house of David!
00:27:54.30\00:27:55.84
Is it a small thing
for you to weary men,
00:27:55.87\00:27:58.94
but will you now
also weary my God also?
00:27:58.97\00:28:01.58
Therefore, the Lord
Himself will give you a sign:
00:28:01.61\00:28:04.08
Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a Son,
00:28:04.11\00:28:06.72
and shall call
His name Immanuel."
00:28:06.75\00:28:10.42
Without a doubt, the fulfillment
of this prophecy in its complete
00:28:10.45\00:28:14.79
sense is in Jesus Christ,
who truly is "God with us."
00:28:14.82\00:28:19.49
And we find this in
the book of Matthew.
00:28:19.53\00:28:20.96
We find this in
the book of Luke.
00:28:21.00\00:28:22.30
We find this,
generally, in the Gospels.
00:28:22.33\00:28:23.80
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.
00:28:23.83\00:28:27.30
The virginal birth of Jesus is
a key doctrine because if He did
00:28:27.34\00:28:31.61
not come sinless,
in flesh and blood,
00:28:31.64\00:28:37.41
then we would have no Savior.
00:28:37.45\00:28:39.31
It was essential for
Jesus to be born of the virgin.
00:28:39.35\00:28:42.15
Separate from human
generation, because He
00:28:42.18\00:28:44.72
existed even before His mother.
00:28:44.75\00:28:46.72
You remember when Jesus
says in the book of John,
00:28:46.76\00:28:49.92
or the book of Matthew.
00:28:49.96\00:28:51.26
I think it's the book
of John, where Jesus says,
00:28:51.29\00:28:52.89
"Even before Abraham was, I am."
00:28:52.93\00:28:57.70
Jesus existed before His mother.
00:28:57.73\00:29:01.94
But here, in this
context of the book of Isaiah,
00:29:01.97\00:29:06.41
this prophecy had also
an immediate fulfillment,
00:29:06.44\00:29:10.21
an immediate meaning for
Ahaz and the people of Judah.
00:29:10.25\00:29:13.92
Now, I'm going to say something
that you don't have to really
00:29:13.95\00:29:16.65
remember, because it's
a more technical thing,
00:29:16.69\00:29:18.75
but for full disclosure, there
is a technical term in theology
00:29:18.79\00:29:22.49
that is called "sensus plenior."
00:29:22.52\00:29:24.53
Sensus plenior.
00:29:24.56\00:29:25.86
And basically, what
sensus plenior means,
00:29:25.89\00:29:27.56
it's a Latin term and it
means the complete sense of--
00:29:27.60\00:29:31.50
the complete meaning
of a prophecy, right?
00:29:31.53\00:29:35.17
And so, the sensus
plenior of a prophecy,
00:29:35.20\00:29:37.67
it might have
several fulfillments, right?
00:29:37.71\00:29:40.88
So here, right now, we
have one immediate fulfillment,
00:29:40.91\00:29:44.78
a short-term
fulfillment for this prophecy,
00:29:44.81\00:29:46.85
but the sensus plenior of this
prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus
00:29:46.88\00:29:50.79
Christ, 800 years
later, God with us.
00:29:50.82\00:29:54.22
Does that make sense?
00:29:54.26\00:29:55.56
So there are many--
00:29:55.59\00:29:56.89
in many prophecies, you'll
find multiple fulfillments,
00:29:56.93\00:29:59.66
because God is just that big.
00:29:59.69\00:30:02.06
God might be saying something
here right now that makes sense
00:30:02.10\00:30:04.60
to this immediate
context, but in a wider,
00:30:04.63\00:30:07.07
broader sense, it
applies maybe thousands of years
00:30:07.10\00:30:10.47
down the road.
00:30:10.51\00:30:11.81
We find this many times in the
prophecies of Daniel where there
00:30:11.84\00:30:14.38
is an immediate fulfillment,
but later on, we know 2300 years
00:30:14.41\00:30:18.65
later, there is
another fulfillment.
00:30:18.68\00:30:20.28
We have the fulfillment of the
70 years where Jerusalem would
00:30:20.32\00:30:23.08
be destroyed, but then that same
prophecy in Matthew chapter 24,
00:30:23.12\00:30:27.42
you have the fulfillment that
is speaking of the end of time.
00:30:27.46\00:30:30.06
So that is the sensus
plenior of a prophecy.
00:30:30.09\00:30:32.39
It is the full, the entire,
meaning of a prophecy that can
00:30:32.43\00:30:35.86
be fulfilled in stages.
00:30:35.90\00:30:38.30
Does that make sense?
00:30:38.33\00:30:39.63
So here, for Isaiah
in his immediate context,
00:30:39.67\00:30:42.64
there was an
immediate fulfillment for this
00:30:42.67\00:30:45.71
prophecy of Immanuel.
00:30:45.74\00:30:50.15
A virgin, a young-- and
the word here for "virgin"
00:30:50.18\00:30:52.28
is a young woman
of marriageable age.
00:30:52.31\00:30:54.85
She would be married, and she
would conceive and give birth
00:30:54.88\00:30:57.75
to a son who would be called,
or who would live, or fulfill,
00:30:57.79\00:31:02.02
Immanuel, God with us.
00:31:02.06\00:31:03.76
Now, last week's
lesson, if you studied it,
00:31:03.79\00:31:06.23
you'll remember that it provided
at least four or five different
00:31:06.26\00:31:08.70
possible interpretations
for this prophecy.
00:31:08.73\00:31:11.73
Now, I am more--most
partial to one of them and,
00:31:11.77\00:31:14.74
again, this here, it's
not a matter of salvation,
00:31:14.77\00:31:17.81
so it's very well and fine if
you have another interpretation
00:31:17.84\00:31:21.51
that you prefer, but the
one that I see that makes most
00:31:21.54\00:31:24.31
sense is that this
is Isaiah's second wife.
00:31:24.35\00:31:30.39
The first wife most likely died
at the birth of Shear-Jashub,
00:31:30.42\00:31:34.12
and there are a lot of texts
that give evidence to this in
00:31:34.16\00:31:36.46
the book of Isaiah,
and that his second--
00:31:36.49\00:31:39.16
that his second
son received two names.
00:31:39.19\00:31:42.56
The first name is a very
difficult name that I don't
00:31:42.60\00:31:44.67
want to butcher,
but I'm going to try it.
00:31:44.70\00:31:46.43
It's Maher-shalal-hash-baz
and that's his name.
00:31:46.47\00:31:50.37
So the lesson said can
you imagine playing soccer
00:31:50.41\00:31:52.77
with that kid?
00:31:52.81\00:31:54.64
It wouldn't be very easy.
00:31:54.68\00:31:56.75
But that he received
this name and he received a
00:31:56.78\00:31:58.91
prophetic name: Immanuel.
00:31:58.95\00:32:00.55
And you'll remember that
names are very significant
00:32:00.58\00:32:02.68
in the Bible.
00:32:02.72\00:32:04.02
God Himself has more
than 100 names in the Bible.
00:32:04.05\00:32:07.36
Jesus is called so
many-- He's called Immanuel.
00:32:07.39\00:32:09.66
He is called Michael.
00:32:09.69\00:32:12.36
We have Yahweh.
00:32:12.39\00:32:13.70
We have El Shaddai, El Shaddai--
00:32:13.73\00:32:16.20
There are just so
many names for God.
00:32:16.23\00:32:19.00
It's because names
are very significant.
00:32:19.03\00:32:21.57
You'll find that many of the
main characters in the Bible,
00:32:21.60\00:32:23.97
their name is changed,
or switched, to provide more
00:32:24.01\00:32:27.78
meaning to what
they would become.
00:32:27.81\00:32:29.24
We have Abram
that becomes Abraham.
00:32:29.28\00:32:31.11
We have Jacob
that becomes Israel.
00:32:31.15\00:32:33.92
We have Sarai
that becomes Sarah.
00:32:33.95\00:32:36.25
And so you have many of
these names that are changed
00:32:36.28\00:32:38.52
to emphasize a reality
in the life of that person.
00:32:38.55\00:32:42.32
And so here we find a
very specific name, which
00:32:42.36\00:32:45.53
is Maher-shalal-hash-baz
that we'll get to the meaning of
00:32:45.56\00:32:49.36
that, but then we
have Immanuel also.
00:32:49.40\00:32:51.60
And the reason why I prefer this
interpretation is because in
00:32:51.63\00:32:54.54
chapter 8, verse 1 through
4, referencing this second son,
00:32:54.57\00:32:59.44
this boy Maher-shalal--I'm
going to call him Maher.
00:32:59.47\00:33:02.11
I'm going to call him Baz, okay?
00:33:02.14\00:33:04.81
So when I say "Baz," you know
that I'm speaking of this boy,
00:33:04.85\00:33:07.32
because the name's just too big.
00:33:07.35\00:33:09.12
And in speaking of him, so you
have from verse 1 through 4 in
00:33:09.15\00:33:12.62
chapter 8, you have
the reference of this boy,
00:33:12.65\00:33:15.19
and then speaking of him in
verses 8 and 10 of chapter 8,
00:33:15.22\00:33:20.43
the name Immanuel is used
in verse 8, and its meaning is
00:33:20.46\00:33:23.50
applied in verse 10.
00:33:23.53\00:33:24.83
So here in
verse 8 you will have,
00:33:24.87\00:33:26.17
"He will pass through Judah,
he will overflow and pass over,
00:33:26.20\00:33:29.24
he will reach up to the neck;
and the stretching out of his
00:33:29.27\00:33:31.97
wings will fill the breadth
of your land, O Immanuel."
00:33:32.01\00:33:35.61
And then in verse 10 you
have, "Take counsel together,
00:33:35.64\00:33:38.11
but it will come to
nothing; speak the word,
00:33:38.15\00:33:40.55
but it will not
stand, for God is with us."
00:33:40.58\00:33:44.42
And so in any case, in
any case, both of these boys,
00:33:44.45\00:33:47.69
they became
true sons of the law.
00:33:47.72\00:33:49.49
When a Hebrew boy,
when an Israelite boy,
00:33:49.52\00:33:51.73
he came of age, and that was--
00:33:51.76\00:33:53.63
how old was he
when he came of age?
00:33:53.66\00:33:55.76
Twelve. Twelve years old.
00:33:55.80\00:33:58.33
Then he was called a true
son of the law, all right?
00:33:58.37\00:34:02.24
He was called a
true son of the law.
00:34:02.27\00:34:03.57
So both of these
boys at the age of 12
00:34:03.61\00:34:05.64
became true sons of the law.
00:34:05.67\00:34:08.18
And this is a--this special son
was a reminder that by the time
00:34:08.21\00:34:12.41
he became a true son of the law,
by the time he became of age,
00:34:12.45\00:34:16.35
Syria and Israel,
the kingdom in the north,
00:34:16.38\00:34:19.39
Ephraim, would disappear.
00:34:19.42\00:34:22.12
So in the next 12 years, the
kingdom of these two kingdoms,
00:34:22.16\00:34:25.16
they wouldn't be
in the scene anymore.
00:34:25.19\00:34:28.10
Isaiah
transmitted this prophecy--
00:34:28.13\00:34:29.86
he provided this prophecy coming
from God in the year 734 as
00:34:29.90\00:34:33.23
we've already mentioned
and, sure enough, by 732,
00:34:33.27\00:34:37.57
Syria was defeated
and 12 years later,
00:34:37.61\00:34:40.94
in 722, Assyria invaded
the kingdom of the north,
00:34:40.98\00:34:44.61
Israel fulfilling this prophecy.
00:34:44.65\00:34:46.72
God is precise. God is exact.
00:34:46.75\00:34:51.09
The Bible says
that at the right time,
00:34:51.12\00:34:52.55
in the plenitude of time.
00:34:52.59\00:34:54.26
The word "plenitude"
is at the right moment.
00:34:54.29\00:34:57.46
When the times were fulfilled.
00:34:57.49\00:34:58.86
And the thing about
God is that the time--
00:34:58.89\00:35:01.03
the time is
never on our timeline.
00:35:01.06\00:35:02.93
We have this--humans
have this innate desire
00:35:02.96\00:35:08.77
to control everything.
00:35:08.80\00:35:10.87
I'm sure you can
relate to this, 'cause I can.
00:35:10.91\00:35:14.14
We like to be in control.
00:35:14.18\00:35:15.78
The problem is that
we can't control God.
00:35:15.81\00:35:17.71
It's not much of a problem when
you trust and believe in God,
00:35:17.75\00:35:20.35
but if we let our emotions
get a, you know, get a hold
00:35:20.38\00:35:23.35
of us, then we
want to control God.
00:35:23.39\00:35:24.99
And the thing is that
God is not a tame God.
00:35:25.02\00:35:27.46
You can't really put Him in
your pocket or blackmail him.
00:35:27.49\00:35:29.79
He's going to do things the
way that He wants to do things.
00:35:29.82\00:35:32.26
So God here is a
precise God and things happen
00:35:32.29\00:35:34.93
when He wants them to happen.
00:35:34.96\00:35:37.43
But here, instead of
trusting in the Lord,
00:35:37.47\00:35:40.00
Ahaz continue to trust
in the king of Assyria,
00:35:40.04\00:35:42.34
even though Isaiah warned him
that Assyria would eventually
00:35:42.37\00:35:46.24
turn on Judah.
00:35:46.27\00:35:47.58
The Assyrians invaded Judah.
00:35:47.61\00:35:49.14
They did indeed invade Judah,
and they destroyed the land to
00:35:49.18\00:35:51.95
the point where the agriculture
ceased and the people had
00:35:51.98\00:35:54.88
to depend on
only dairy to survive.
00:35:54.92\00:35:57.62
So it would be very difficult
for you to be vegan back then,
00:35:57.65\00:36:01.06
or even vegetarian.
00:36:01.09\00:36:03.12
Here we find, chapter
7, verse 15, that says:
00:36:03.16\00:36:05.59
"Curds and honey, he
shall eat that he may know to
00:36:05.63\00:36:09.33
refuse the evil
and choose the good."
00:36:09.36\00:36:10.97
And then verse
21, 22, and 23 says:
00:36:11.00\00:36:12.97
"It shall be in that day that a
man will keep alive a young cow
00:36:13.00\00:36:17.11
and two sheep; so it shall be,
from the abundance of milk that
00:36:17.14\00:36:20.78
they give, that he will
eat curds; for curds and honey
00:36:20.81\00:36:24.58
everyone will eat
who is left in the land.
00:36:24.61\00:36:27.38
It shall happen in that day,
that wherever there could be
00:36:27.42\00:36:31.69
a thousand vines worth a
thousand shekels of silver,
00:36:31.72\00:36:35.16
it will be for
briers and thorns."
00:36:35.19\00:36:36.59
So here we see that the whole
agricultural system--and they
00:36:36.62\00:36:39.46
were an agricultural people, it
was so destroyed by the Assyrian
00:36:39.49\00:36:42.93
invasion, it would be so
destroyed by the Assyrian
00:36:42.96\00:36:44.93
invasion, that they would need
to eat milk and honey or from
00:36:44.97\00:36:48.60
the production
of milk and honey.
00:36:48.64\00:36:50.54
Their rich crops
would be devastated,
00:36:50.57\00:36:52.64
the people would be forced
to hunt wild animals for food.
00:36:52.67\00:36:55.48
It would be a time of
great humiliation and suffering.
00:36:55.51\00:36:58.35
Verse 20 says: "In the same day
the Lord will shave with a hired
00:36:58.38\00:37:02.28
razor, with those
from beyond the River,
00:37:02.32\00:37:04.79
with the king of Assyria, the
head and the hair of the legs,
00:37:04.82\00:37:07.99
and will also remove the beard."
00:37:08.02\00:37:09.46
So this terminology, you know,
when we read in the Bible that
00:37:09.49\00:37:12.16
someone shaves his head,
it's a sign of humiliation.
00:37:12.19\00:37:14.66
We find this with
Daniel. We find this with Job.
00:37:14.73\00:37:16.87
Remember, when
they shaved their head,
00:37:16.90\00:37:18.27
they put on sackcloth,
it's the same terminology.
00:37:18.30\00:37:20.87
What happens here is
that they're in a moment,
00:37:20.90\00:37:22.87
in a period, of humiliation.
00:37:22.90\00:37:25.27
Now, all of this
could have been avoided.
00:37:25.31\00:37:28.08
All of this could have
been avoided if only the leaders
00:37:28.11\00:37:31.88
had placed their trust in God.
00:37:31.91\00:37:33.98
But in any case, as
we mentioned before,
00:37:34.02\00:37:36.12
here Isaiah, he
marries a virgin.
00:37:36.15\00:37:37.82
That is referenced as
the prophetess, right?
00:37:37.85\00:37:40.86
She's called the prophetess in
chapter 8, and now we're going
00:37:40.89\00:37:44.16
to what would be
chapter 8, verse 1 through 10,
00:37:44.19\00:37:47.56
equivalent to Tuesday.
00:37:47.60\00:37:48.86
So we're still on Tuesday.
00:37:48.90\00:37:50.20
Let's see how far we'll get.
00:37:50.23\00:37:51.53
So as we
mentioned before, Isaiah,
00:37:51.57\00:37:52.90
he married a virgin, and she's
referenced as the prophetess
00:37:52.93\00:37:56.81
and the legal
documents will record--
00:37:56.84\00:37:58.91
were duly recorded and sealed.
00:37:58.94\00:38:01.58
And he even announced the
name of his son before the
00:38:01.61\00:38:03.68
boy was even born:
Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
00:38:03.71\00:38:07.75
better known, a.k.a. Baz.
00:38:07.78\00:38:10.89
And his name means, literally,
00:38:10.92\00:38:13.15
"Speed the spoil
and hasten the plunder."
00:38:13.19\00:38:15.56
So taking into account that the
names of his sons, or that his
00:38:15.59\00:38:19.39
sons and his own life, they were
symbols and signs to the people,
00:38:19.43\00:38:22.50
and this is according
to chapter 8, verse 18.
00:38:22.53\00:38:24.50
Look at what verse
18 in chapter 8 says.
00:38:24.53\00:38:26.53
It says: "Here I am with--
00:38:26.57\00:38:28.04
here I am and the children
whom the Lord has given me!
00:38:28.07\00:38:31.54
We are for signs and wonders in
Israel from the Lord of hosts,
00:38:31.57\00:38:35.94
who dwells in Mount Zion."
00:38:35.98\00:38:37.28
So you see here that Isaiah
himself recognizes that him
00:38:37.31\00:38:40.08
and his family, they are for
signs and wonders for Israel.
00:38:40.12\00:38:43.39
The name was very meaningful.
00:38:43.42\00:38:45.05
It referred to this future
judgment when Assyria would
00:38:45.09\00:38:48.29
conquer Syria and Israel
and Judah and even when Babylon
00:38:48.32\00:38:53.86
would later take
Judah into exile.
00:38:53.90\00:38:56.60
A child begins to
form his first phrases,
00:38:56.63\00:38:58.93
at least the intelligible
phrases, about when he's
00:38:58.97\00:39:01.47
two years of age.
00:39:01.50\00:39:03.07
I came later.
00:39:03.10\00:39:04.34
I was about two and a half, I
think, when I started talking.
00:39:04.37\00:39:06.21
I took a while. My
parents were worried.
00:39:06.24\00:39:08.58
I think they're
still kind of worried.
00:39:08.61\00:39:10.45
But in any case, a child begins
to form his phrases by the time
00:39:10.48\00:39:13.25
he's two years
old and, sure enough,
00:39:13.28\00:39:15.92
two years after Isaiah's son
is born, both Pecca and Rezin,
00:39:15.95\00:39:20.12
which were the kings
in the north, they died.
00:39:20.16\00:39:23.46
Assyria conquered
Syria and invaded Israel,
00:39:23.49\00:39:25.96
and its army did, indeed, hasten
its plunder and speed its spoil.
00:39:25.99\00:39:30.83
The rest of chapter 8, and this
is where we would kind of go
00:39:30.87\00:39:34.00
into the conclusion of the
lesson, and this is me trying
00:39:34.04\00:39:36.60
to fit it in into ten minutes.
00:39:36.64\00:39:38.14
But the rest of chapter 8 is
really Isaiah providing three
00:39:38.17\00:39:43.88
very vivid contrasts that
he used to show the leaders in
00:39:43.91\00:39:48.92
Judah the mistake that they were
making by trusting in the king
00:39:48.95\00:39:52.19
of Assyria rather
than in the King of heaven.
00:39:52.22\00:39:55.36
So there are three very vivid
contrasts, and you'll find this
00:39:55.39\00:39:58.49
in the lesson of
Tuesday, Thursday--
00:39:58.53\00:40:01.20
sorry, Tuesday, Wednesday,
and Thursday, all right?
00:40:01.23\00:40:03.53
These three
very vivid contrasts.
00:40:03.57\00:40:05.73
The first is that
they chose a deluge.
00:40:05.77\00:40:08.44
They chose a flood
instead of a tranquil water,
00:40:08.47\00:40:10.97
a tranquil
stream, or a soft stream.
00:40:11.01\00:40:13.68
Verse 6, chapter
8, verse 6 and 7 says:
00:40:13.71\00:40:16.44
"Inasmuch as these people
refused the waters of Shiloah
00:40:16.48\00:40:19.88
that flow softly, and rejoice
in Rezin and in Remaliah's son;
00:40:19.91\00:40:25.42
now therefore,
behold, the Lord brings upon--
00:40:25.45\00:40:28.09
up over them the waters of
the River, strong and mighty."
00:40:28.12\00:40:32.69
And so the pro-Assyrian
faction in Judah, they
00:40:32.73\00:40:35.16
rejoiced in the fact
that Assyria defeated
00:40:35.20\00:40:38.13
Syria and Israel.
00:40:38.17\00:40:40.10
They rejoiced when
both Pecca and Rezin died.
00:40:40.14\00:40:43.34
These victories seemed to
prove that their allegiance
00:40:43.37\00:40:45.67
with Assyria was
the right way to go.
00:40:45.71\00:40:47.54
I mean, look, if my ally
has just defeated my enemies,
00:40:47.58\00:40:50.55
doesn't that mean
that I'm doing pretty good?
00:40:50.58\00:40:52.88
Yeah, it seemed to
be going well for them,
00:40:52.91\00:40:56.28
instead of trusting in God.
00:40:56.32\00:40:58.49
And here, God references Himself
as "the waters of Shiloah that
00:40:58.52\00:41:03.66
flow softly," as
we find in verse 6.
00:41:03.69\00:41:06.13
They sought out the great river,
the great chaotic and tumultuous
00:41:06.16\00:41:11.60
river of Assyria.
00:41:11.63\00:41:14.10
What they didn't notice, what
they didn't really consider,
00:41:14.14\00:41:16.64
is that this river would
later come down and flood them.
00:41:16.67\00:41:21.81
God offered His people peace,
00:41:21.84\00:41:25.58
but in their
incredulity they chose war.
00:41:25.61\00:41:28.35
They lived according
to what they could see,
00:41:28.38\00:41:30.95
not by what they
could believe in.
00:41:30.99\00:41:33.69
And, friends, this is a
great temptation for us.
00:41:33.72\00:41:37.09
We are often tempted
to live by what we can see
00:41:37.13\00:41:40.33
because it's easier, isn't it?
00:41:40.36\00:41:42.00
If I can see it,
if I can touch it,
00:41:42.03\00:41:43.33
if I can smell
it, if I can taste it,
00:41:43.37\00:41:46.20
well, that means it's real.
00:41:46.23\00:41:48.40
But the Bible tells us that
we should believe rather in what
00:41:48.44\00:41:51.47
we cannot see,
because the things
00:41:51.51\00:41:53.58
that we cannot see
are things from above.
00:41:53.61\00:41:57.81
It's harder but,
boy, is it worthwhile.
00:41:57.85\00:42:03.45
Isaiah, however, he did not--
00:42:03.49\00:42:05.75
he did not foretell a permanent
victory for this invading army.
00:42:05.79\00:42:08.96
Even though the people were
choosing this rather than the
00:42:08.99\00:42:12.26
better of the
choices, Isaiah even then,
00:42:12.29\00:42:15.36
Isaiah through God,
or God through Isaiah,
00:42:15.40\00:42:17.93
provides a sliver of hope.
00:42:17.97\00:42:24.54
After all, they were
invading the land of Immanuel,
00:42:24.57\00:42:28.28
and God was with His
people and would deliver them
00:42:28.31\00:42:31.11
for the love of His name.
00:42:31.15\00:42:32.91
Assyria could plan their
strategy, but the Lord would
00:42:32.95\00:42:35.98
frustrate each of those plans.
00:42:36.02\00:42:38.05
The army of Sennacherib later
on camped around Jerusalem,
00:42:38.09\00:42:42.36
certain of their victory.
00:42:42.39\00:42:43.89
This is one of my
favorite stories in the Bible.
00:42:43.93\00:42:46.59
Letters before the Lord,
00:42:46.63\00:42:49.13
my first sermon
here at Granite Bay,
00:42:49.16\00:42:50.83
or my second sermon.
00:42:50.87\00:42:52.33
But the Lord God did
eliminate that problem,
00:42:52.37\00:42:55.14
the problem of Sennacherib with
one swift blow, and you could
00:42:55.17\00:42:58.11
read about it in
Isaiah chapter 37.
00:42:58.14\00:43:01.11
We're going to get
there in this lesson.
00:43:01.14\00:43:02.71
Kind of wish I was
the one teaching that one,
00:43:02.74\00:43:04.21
but we'll see when we get there.
00:43:04.25\00:43:06.28
The second contrast that we
find here that Isaiah provides,
00:43:06.31\00:43:09.98
this is chapter 8,
verse 11 through 15,
00:43:10.02\00:43:12.35
is that they chose a
trap instead of a sanctuary.
00:43:12.39\00:43:16.49
And you will find this in
verse 13 through 15 that says:
00:43:16.52\00:43:18.66
"The Lord of hosts,
Him you shall hallow;
00:43:18.69\00:43:21.16
let Him be your fear,
and let Him be your dread.
00:43:21.20\00:43:24.03
He will be as a sanctuary, but a
stone of stumbling and a rock of
00:43:24.07\00:43:28.70
offense to both
the house of Israel,
00:43:28.74\00:43:30.77
as a trap and a snare to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
00:43:30.81\00:43:33.68
And many among
them shall stumble;
00:43:33.71\00:43:35.88
they shall fall and be broken,
be snared and taken away."
00:43:35.91\00:43:40.25
God warned Israel not to follow
the crowd that believed that
00:43:40.28\00:43:43.72
Assyria would be
the better way out.
00:43:43.75\00:43:46.65
And even though
Isaiah, because of his choice,
00:43:46.69\00:43:49.66
was considered a traitor,
because of what he was choosing
00:43:49.69\00:43:53.29
here, because of what
he was saying, Isaiah,
00:43:53.33\00:43:56.77
he opposed all the foreign
coalitions and called the
00:43:56.80\00:43:59.50
people out for
their unfaithfulness.
00:43:59.53\00:44:03.74
Even though he
was called a traitor,
00:44:03.77\00:44:05.24
he still was faithful.
00:44:05.27\00:44:06.61
So here, you find at least
one example in time of chaos
00:44:06.64\00:44:09.31
of someone
maintaining his faith.
00:44:09.34\00:44:10.98
While all these
political leaders,
00:44:11.01\00:44:12.61
they asked themselves--and
this is also very modern.
00:44:12.65\00:44:15.32
You could apply this to our day.
00:44:15.35\00:44:17.72
Look at what I'm going to say.
00:44:17.75\00:44:19.05
While the leaders then
were asking themselves,
00:44:19.09\00:44:21.39
"Is this what the people want?
00:44:21.42\00:44:22.86
Is this politically correct?
00:44:22.89\00:44:24.23
Is this safe for me?"
00:44:24.26\00:44:26.96
Isaiah was asking himself,
"Is this the will of God?
00:44:27.00\00:44:30.87
Is this the right thing to do?"
00:44:30.90\00:44:34.54
This is a lesson that
we have to apply also.
00:44:34.57\00:44:37.31
It's not about
what will save face.
00:44:37.34\00:44:40.34
It's about what will save.
00:44:40.38\00:44:43.75
When you fear God,
friends, you never need
00:44:43.78\00:44:45.68
to fear people or circumstances.
00:44:45.71\00:44:47.55
Much later, the apostle Peter
made reference to this passage
00:44:47.58\00:44:49.82
when he writes in
1 Peter 3:14 and 15.
00:44:49.85\00:44:52.35
He says: "But even if you should
suffer for righteousness' sake,
00:44:52.39\00:44:55.99
you are blessed and do not
be afraid of their threats,
00:44:56.02\00:44:58.86
nor be troubled, but sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts."
00:44:58.89\00:45:02.13
Isaiah compared the
Lord to a sanctuary,
00:45:02.16\00:45:05.03
the rock that is the
refuge to all that believe.
00:45:05.07\00:45:07.44
But that is a trap to
those that rebel, or that rebel.
00:45:07.47\00:45:12.77
And this is a very frequent
comparison to God in the Bible.
00:45:12.81\00:45:16.01
The Lord God is a rock, one that
breaks the unfaithful but one
00:45:16.04\00:45:19.41
that protects those who
place their trust in Him.
00:45:19.45\00:45:23.02
The third contrast, to use the
last contrast used by Isaiah in
00:45:23.05\00:45:26.29
chapter 8, verse 16 through
22, is that they chose darkness
00:45:26.32\00:45:30.03
rather than light.
00:45:30.06\00:45:32.46
The nation of Israel rejected
the message of Isaiah but they--
00:45:32.49\00:45:37.17
that did not mean that
his ministry was in vain.
00:45:37.20\00:45:40.30
And that is something
that I have to remind myself as
00:45:40.34\00:45:42.40
a pastor a lot.
00:45:42.44\00:45:44.51
Sometimes, your words are
rejected, but that doesn't
00:45:44.54\00:45:46.64
mean that your
ministry is in vain.
00:45:46.68\00:45:48.84
And Isaiah, he proved that.
00:45:48.88\00:45:51.15
The true disciples of God, they
receive His Word in their heart,
00:45:51.18\00:45:54.58
and, by faith, this prophet was
willing to patiently await the
00:45:54.62\00:45:58.29
fulfillment of God's Word.
00:45:58.32\00:45:59.85
And although the people
paid little attention to what he
00:45:59.89\00:46:02.59
had to say, Isaiah
himself and his family,
00:46:02.62\00:46:05.63
they were living prophecy.
00:46:05.66\00:46:07.40
Isn't that a great
thing to be a living prophecy?
00:46:07.40\00:46:09.86
That's what the
Adventist Church is.
00:46:09.90\00:46:12.27
We are a living
prophecy, friends.
00:46:12.30\00:46:14.00
This movement is
a living prophecy,
00:46:14.04\00:46:16.04
and that's exactly what
Isaiah and his family was.
00:46:16.07\00:46:18.41
They were a living prophecy.
00:46:18.44\00:46:20.51
And no one
could ignore the fact.
00:46:20.54\00:46:22.38
The name of Isaiah means
Jehovah is salvation, God saves.
00:46:22.41\00:46:28.82
And this reminded the
people that they should
00:46:28.85\00:46:30.45
trust in Jehovah to save them.
00:46:30.49\00:46:33.02
The name of his
eldest son, Shear-Jashub,
00:46:33.05\00:46:35.26
which means literally,
"a remnant shall return,"
00:46:35.29\00:46:37.49
a word of promise in a
moment where, apparently,
00:46:37.53\00:46:40.30
the nation was
about to be destroyed.
00:46:40.33\00:46:42.43
And, in fact, later on when the
exiled Israelites returned to
00:46:42.46\00:46:46.00
Judah, after the
exile in Babylon,
00:46:46.03\00:46:48.87
they were
comforted by these words,
00:46:48.90\00:46:50.67
by the chapters 40
through 66 of Isaiah.
00:46:50.71\00:46:54.04
The name of his youngest son,
00:46:54.08\00:46:56.11
Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
that means, "speed--"
00:46:56.14\00:46:59.75
I didn't really use
his nickname much, did I?
00:46:59.78\00:47:03.02
I kind of like saying
his name. It's catchy.
00:47:03.05\00:47:05.69
But his name means "speed the
spoil and hasten the plunder,"
00:47:05.72\00:47:09.29
and that pointed to the
fall of Syria and Ephraim.
00:47:09.32\00:47:14.56
So in their moments of despair
and the moments of crisis,
00:47:14.56\00:47:17.27
instead of turning to
God, the people themselves,
00:47:17.30\00:47:21.04
they consulted, and this is the
darkest moment in this period
00:47:21.07\00:47:24.97
of the children of Israel, that
they went back to consulting
00:47:25.01\00:47:27.38
occultism,
familiar spirits and demons,
00:47:27.41\00:47:31.75
which only plunged
them into a deeper moral
00:47:31.78\00:47:34.42
and spiritual darkness.
00:47:34.45\00:47:35.98
Friends, the growth of occultism
in our days is proof that people
00:47:36.02\00:47:42.86
are deliberately rejecting
the Word of God and returning to
00:47:42.89\00:47:46.23
the lies of Satan.
00:47:46.26\00:47:47.86
And we see the rise in this in
the movies that we have in the
00:47:47.86\00:47:50.87
world around us, in the series,
in the music and the songs,
00:47:50.90\00:47:54.40
in the live TV.
00:47:54.44\00:47:57.11
We see it everywhere.
00:47:57.14\00:47:58.91
It's not even weird anymore.
00:47:58.94\00:48:00.61
It's not even strange.
00:48:00.64\00:48:02.21
And this is the symbol of
a world that is rejecting the
00:48:02.24\00:48:06.72
truth of God and
falling more and more into the
00:48:06.75\00:48:10.19
lies of the devil.
00:48:10.22\00:48:11.72
The leaders of Judah here, they
anxiously awaited the dawn of a
00:48:11.75\00:48:15.22
new day, but they
only spiraled deeper
00:48:15.26\00:48:17.69
into a deep pit of darkness.
00:48:17.73\00:48:19.89
The truth, friends, is that the
human heart is a very powerful
00:48:19.93\00:48:22.83
factory of idols, which is
why we must be very cautious
00:48:22.86\00:48:27.74
and very aware of
anything that come--
00:48:27.77\00:48:30.11
that can come
between us and our God.
00:48:30.14\00:48:33.84
In the case of Israel here, it
was fear and doubt that led to
00:48:33.88\00:48:37.31
unfaithfulness
and then to occultism.
00:48:37.35\00:48:40.95
Consulting spirits that
they could see and touch rather
00:48:40.98\00:48:43.95
than the powerful God of heaven.
00:48:43.99\00:48:48.32
Now, the Word of God,
friends, and this is--
00:48:48.36\00:48:49.86
this is where we leave off.
00:48:49.89\00:48:51.19
We know that the
Word of God is true light.
00:48:51.23\00:48:54.56
It is the only trustworthy
light in this world of darkness.
00:48:54.60\00:48:57.97
I mean, don't we
know Psalm 119:105?
00:48:58.00\00:49:01.50
"Your word is a--" What is it?
00:49:01.54\00:49:06.37
"A lamp and a
light unto my path."
00:49:06.41\00:49:10.01
2 Peter 1:19 through 21 says:
00:49:10.05\00:49:12.38
"And so we have the prophetic
word confirmed, which you do
00:49:12.41\00:49:15.95
well to heed as a light that
shines in a dark place, until
00:49:15.98\00:49:20.06
the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts;
00:49:20.09\00:49:23.09
knowing this first, that
no prophecy of Scripture is of
00:49:23.12\00:49:25.66
any private interpretation, for
prophecy never came by the will
00:49:25.69\00:49:28.70
of man, but holy men of
God spoke as they were moved by
00:49:28.73\00:49:31.67
the Holy Spirit."
00:49:31.70\00:49:33.00
I love it where it says that
it is a "light that shines in
00:49:33.03\00:49:36.00
a dark place until the day dawns
and the morning star rises in
00:49:36.04\00:49:40.18
your hearts."
00:49:40.21\00:49:41.51
Who is the morning star?
00:49:41.54\00:49:42.84
Jesus is the morning star.
00:49:42.88\00:49:45.21
So may He rise in your
heart day by day, friend.
00:49:45.25\00:49:47.48
I know it might be hard
sometimes to live by faith,
00:49:47.52\00:49:50.65
because that means living by not
by what you see but by what you
00:49:50.69\00:49:55.32
know in God.
00:49:55.36\00:49:56.93
So may God bless you as you
study this lesson of Isaiah.
00:49:56.96\00:50:00.40
Please remember to study it.
00:50:00.43\00:50:02.03
Please remember
to pray about it.
00:50:02.06\00:50:03.57
It is a powerful lesson, and I'm
sure that God will bless you.
00:50:03.60\00:50:06.70
I do hope that you can
join us next week for our
00:50:06.74\00:50:10.11
Sabbath School Study Hour.
00:50:10.14\00:50:11.51
We have a very exciting study
next week, and I would like to
00:50:11.54\00:50:13.81
finish with a word of prayer.
00:50:13.84\00:50:15.18
Dear Lord God, thank
You so much for Your power.
00:50:15.21\00:50:17.85
Thank You so much for
Your control and for giving us
00:50:17.88\00:50:20.68
so many lessons in Your Word,
in Your light that shines in our
00:50:20.72\00:50:24.25
heart that allows us to
understand that although
00:50:24.29\00:50:26.92
the darkness may be
great out there in the world,
00:50:26.96\00:50:29.79
we know that the light
in the universe is greater
00:50:29.82\00:50:32.36
because You are there.
00:50:32.39\00:50:33.70
You are that light, and
light shines the brightest while
00:50:33.73\00:50:36.90
it is dark.
00:50:36.93\00:50:38.23
Lord, allow us to
be that light also,
00:50:38.27\00:50:39.97
be a reflection of who
You are, and like Isaiah,
00:50:40.00\00:50:42.44
be living
prophecy to bring comfort,
00:50:42.47\00:50:45.07
to bring knowledge, to bring
love and hope to people that
00:50:45.11\00:50:48.68
are living in a dark world.
00:50:48.71\00:50:50.41
Please bless us now, I
ask in Jesus's name, amen.
00:50:50.45\00:50:53.65
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00:51:18.84\00:51:22.58
Amazing Facts
wherever and whenever you want,
00:51:22.61\00:51:25.38
and most important,
to share it with others.
00:51:25.41\00:51:35.09
Dee: My parents got divorced
when I was three or four,
00:51:35.12\00:51:37.19
and then I was basically
unchurched most of my life.
00:51:37.23\00:51:40.73
I had a girlfriend in high
school tell me that she had
00:51:40.76\00:51:42.70
to break up with me
because I wasn't a Christian.
00:51:42.73\00:51:44.20
I thought, "That's weird.
00:51:44.23\00:51:45.53
I believe in God.
Why would she say that?"
00:51:45.57\00:51:47.10
Not realizing I was
living a horrible life with foul
00:51:47.14\00:51:49.64
language, was
mean, and other stuff.
00:51:49.67\00:51:51.54
And that kind of
challenged me initially.
00:51:51.57\00:51:54.74
And then my dad, 9/11 woke him
up that he wasn't ready to meet
00:51:54.78\00:51:58.05
his Lord, though he
was a man that I valued
00:51:58.08\00:52:00.18
and knew he loved me.
00:52:00.22\00:52:01.68
Didn't doubt that.
00:52:01.72\00:52:03.02
But he just knew he needed
more, so he started watching TV
00:52:03.05\00:52:05.42
ministries first,
Baptist preachers and others,
00:52:05.45\00:52:08.59
and he was kind of intrigued
by what he was learning.
00:52:08.62\00:52:12.46
And so when he
turned me on to this,
00:52:12.49\00:52:13.96
this television station, first
thing that I got access to was
00:52:14.00\00:52:17.87
Doug Batchelor's "Most Amazing
Prophecy" series that he did
00:52:17.90\00:52:20.57
in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
00:52:20.60\00:52:22.74
And I remember when
I first watched this,
00:52:22.77\00:52:24.54
my background was
Baptist-ish of sorts,
00:52:24.57\00:52:27.31
but I remember when I
first watched this series,
00:52:27.34\00:52:30.28
I remember thinking, "I've never
heard that before about the
00:52:30.31\00:52:32.91
state of the dead or about the
Sabbath or the commandments or
00:52:32.95\00:52:35.62
the Rapture," or other things.
00:52:35.65\00:52:37.25
And I remember
thinking to myself,
00:52:37.29\00:52:38.59
"I've never heard that before,
but that's what the text says."
00:52:38.62\00:52:41.86
And that kept happening.
00:52:41.89\00:52:43.19
And I had this experience
of just wondering, like,
00:52:43.22\00:52:45.63
"Well, what else have I believed
that isn't as it is," you know?
00:52:45.66\00:52:48.63
And the more I watched,
the more helpful it became,
00:52:48.66\00:52:51.77
but again, he kind of
took a different perspective
00:52:51.80\00:52:53.84
on the messages.
00:52:53.87\00:52:55.24
It was fresh to me, but I just--
00:52:55.27\00:52:56.91
these things I'd never
heard before--and I just
00:52:56.94\00:52:59.41
realized, like, there's so much
stuff in the Bible that no one's
00:52:59.44\00:53:04.05
talking about and
that people need to know.
00:53:04.08\00:53:06.41
And so I ended up in this
awkward situation that some
00:53:06.45\00:53:08.98
of my friends who didn't believe
what I was coming to believe,
00:53:09.02\00:53:12.75
I didn't know how to
communicate with them,
00:53:12.79\00:53:14.52
and so one of the things
that helped me initially was the
00:53:14.56\00:53:18.36
SabbathTruth.com website,
TheTruthAboutHell.com and
00:53:18.39\00:53:22.00
TheTruthAboutDeath and some
of those resource websites that
00:53:22.03\00:53:25.10
Amazing Facts had put
together that were just
00:53:25.13\00:53:27.34
full of resources.
00:53:27.37\00:53:28.80
If I needed an answer to
something that someone brought
00:53:28.84\00:53:31.14
up, there would be a 95% chance
that Amazing Facts would have
00:53:31.17\00:53:35.38
something that I could use.
00:53:35.41\00:53:37.15
It makes witnessing
even easier in that sense.
00:53:37.18\00:53:39.58
The Amazing Facts Prophecy Study
Bible was my first real Bible
00:53:39.61\00:53:43.39
that I had of a
more trusted translation.
00:53:43.42\00:53:46.49
The Bible Study Guides
were in the back of it.
00:53:46.52\00:53:48.32
They had a lot of other
resources that were helpful.
00:53:48.36\00:53:50.76
If you can hand a book
to somebody and you can pick
00:53:50.79\00:53:52.89
up a phone and
call Amazing Facts,
00:53:52.93\00:53:54.20
you have everything you need.
00:53:54.23\00:53:55.53
And so I was just
printing off stuff
00:53:55.56\00:53:56.87
and handing it
to people, you know?
00:53:56.90\00:53:58.27
Like, "Here's what
I'm coming to realize.
00:53:58.30\00:53:59.83
This is true.
It's in the Bible."
00:53:59.87\00:54:01.94
And it was a huge blessing to me
and a real help just to kind of
00:54:01.97\00:54:06.21
help me to better understand
what the message was and
00:54:06.24\00:54:09.58
understand it for myself
and have resources to put in the
00:54:09.61\00:54:11.81
hands of other people.
00:54:11.85\00:54:13.15
It was invaluable.
00:54:13.18\00:54:14.48
Some time went by.
00:54:14.52\00:54:15.82
I eventually went to a school
of evangelism and was baptized.
00:54:15.85\00:54:18.02
And then I had this amazing
opportunity that after being
00:54:18.05\00:54:21.09
in ministry for
about five or six years,
00:54:21.12\00:54:23.09
Doug Batchelor was going to
be the main speaker at a youth
00:54:23.12\00:54:25.19
event, and I was actually
going to be doing a seminar
00:54:25.23\00:54:27.86
at this youth event.
00:54:27.86\00:54:29.16
And it was just this amazing
kind of full-circle experience
00:54:29.20\00:54:31.53
that the first person I came
in contact with in Adventism,
00:54:31.57\00:54:35.04
to hear the message,
to have it make sense,
00:54:35.07\00:54:36.81
to be able to do ministry
together with him in whatever
00:54:36.84\00:54:39.87
role possible, just
meant the world to me,
00:54:39.91\00:54:42.21
and to be able to tell
him my story and tell him
00:54:42.24\00:54:43.91
thank you was invaluable.
00:54:43.95\00:54:45.85
And so God just gave me a
precious gift in affording
00:54:45.88\00:54:49.55
that opportunity, and
I'll never forget that.
00:54:49.58\00:54:51.75
Dee: My name is Dee.
00:54:51.79\00:54:53.09
Thank you for changing my life.
00:54:53.12\00:54:54.72
¤¤
00:54:54.76\00:55:04.70
announcer: Amazing
Facts, Changed Lives.
00:55:04.73\00:55:12.61
Roy: I grew up
here in New York City,
00:55:12.64\00:55:15.11
I guess, dealing with all the
temptations that you would have
00:55:15.14\00:55:18.38
in a big city.
00:55:18.41\00:55:19.71
Everything that you could
imagine that you could run into,
00:55:19.75\00:55:23.39
drugs, crime, was always here.
00:55:23.42\00:55:27.16
When I was at a young age, I
actually got into trouble with
00:55:27.19\00:55:30.23
the law, and my only out was
to join the military at the time
00:55:30.26\00:55:35.06
in order to not do time.
00:55:35.10\00:55:37.13
So I left New York and traveled
the world a little bit while I
00:55:37.17\00:55:41.10
was in the military.
00:55:41.14\00:55:43.30
Eventually, I came back.
00:55:43.34\00:55:45.44
Having grown up
as a hip hop kid,
00:55:45.47\00:55:47.84
I eventually
found myself working
00:55:47.88\00:55:49.88
in the music business actually.
00:55:49.91\00:55:51.75
I worked at a couple of major
radio stations, hip hop, reggae.
00:55:51.78\00:55:55.05
I was at all the big
reggae shows, working them.
00:55:55.08\00:55:57.69
No matter what I did
to try and satisfy myself,
00:55:57.72\00:56:00.36
nothing really worked.
00:56:00.39\00:56:03.43
I remember I used to play
at this one club in Manhattan.
00:56:03.46\00:56:06.90
We used to play
there every Friday night.
00:56:06.93\00:56:09.23
So I came home one Saturday
morning after leaving the club,
00:56:09.26\00:56:13.20
and I turned on the video
channel like I usually do.
00:56:13.23\00:56:16.64
So there was this guy in the
video channel talking, and he
00:56:16.67\00:56:18.97
was definitely out of place, but
the things that he was saying
00:56:19.01\00:56:23.35
just totally amazed me.
00:56:23.38\00:56:25.51
I had never heard anyone speak
00:56:25.55\00:56:27.48
about the Bible
like this before.
00:56:27.52\00:56:29.38
So I started coming home early
on Saturday mornings just to
00:56:29.42\00:56:32.55
catch this show.
00:56:32.59\00:56:33.89
I found the things that he
was saying absolutely amazing,
00:56:33.92\00:56:37.76
to the point where it literally
made me stop and start to think
00:56:37.79\00:56:42.60
about how I was living my life.
00:56:42.63\00:56:44.90
So I found that all of these
things that I had been doing
00:56:44.93\00:56:47.34
to try and find
happiness were actually
00:56:47.37\00:56:50.41
not making me happy at all.
00:56:50.44\00:56:52.24
But were really just
leaving me empty inside.
00:56:52.27\00:56:55.21
When I started reading the Bible
and it started to make sense,
00:56:55.24\00:56:58.41
I started to make changes.
00:56:58.45\00:57:00.75
I even tried to
keep the Sabbath,
00:57:00.78\00:57:03.25
which I failed at miserably.
00:57:03.28\00:57:05.69
So I was actually invited
by Amazing Facts to go to see a
00:57:05.72\00:57:09.46
live series at one of the local
churches, but after going the
00:57:09.49\00:57:13.90
first night, I ended up going
another night and another night.
00:57:13.93\00:57:17.37
I stayed for the entire series.
00:57:17.40\00:57:19.23
That was the day I made
a decision that changed the
00:57:19.27\00:57:21.04
rest of my life forever.
00:57:21.07\00:57:23.04
I gave my life to Christ,
00:57:23.07\00:57:24.84
and everything was
different after that.
00:57:24.87\00:57:27.04
I made a decision to
give up the music business,
00:57:27.08\00:57:29.34
stop hanging out
at all of the clubs.
00:57:29.38\00:57:31.08
I made a decision
that was eternal for me
00:57:31.11\00:57:33.58
and for my family.
00:57:33.62\00:57:36.42
I started going to church.
00:57:36.45\00:57:39.45
I got a position in church where
I was actually in charge of the
00:57:39.49\00:57:42.96
personal ministries department.
00:57:42.99\00:57:45.06
And the same Amazing Facts
studies that changed my life,
00:57:45.09\00:57:48.63
I actually got to share them
with people and sit down with
00:57:48.66\00:57:51.87
them and tell them about Jesus.
00:57:51.90\00:57:55.00
¤¤
00:57:55.04\00:57:56.44
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