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Jean Ross: Good
morning, friends.
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We'd like to welcome you
to Sabbath School Study Hour,
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coming to you here
from the Granite Bay
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Seventh-day Adventist Church
in Sacramento, California.
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We'd like to welcome
those who are joining us online
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across the country
and around the world.
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We're meeting under some
strange circumstances with
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the coronavirus and
still needing to limit
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our actual
contact, person to person,
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interacting in corporate
worship, but we are glad
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you're joining us to study.
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We know the Spirit of God is not
limited to a place or a time,
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but He is everywhere and He is
willing to dwell in the hearts
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of those who are
seeking His presence.
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So we'd like to
welcome all of you to our
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Sabbath School program.
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As many of you know, those who
have been tuning in regularly,
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we've been studying
through the book of Isaiah.
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Today we have a
very important lesson.
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If you don't have
a "Lesson Quarterly,"
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we want to
encourage you to go to--
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you can actually find it
at the Amazing Facts website,
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the lesson for today.
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Or you can contact your
neighborhood Seventh-day
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Adventist church and ask them
for a "Lesson Quarterly" so that
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you can study along with us.
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We have a free offer
we'd like to tell you about.
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It's a book entitled
"From Stress to Joy,"
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and this is our free offer.
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We'll be happy to send this
to anyone who calls and asks.
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The number is 866-788-3966
and ask for offer number 705.
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We'll be happy to get that in
the mail and send it to you in
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North America or you can request
a digital copy of the book
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by texting the code
"SH031" to the number 40544.
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You'll be able to get a
digital download of the book,
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"From Stress to Joy,"
and what a timely book
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for everything that's
happening in our world today.
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Well, before we
get to our lesson,
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we do have a
special musical item.
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We want to encourage you to sing
along with us as we look at one
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of these great hymns of
comfort and encouragement
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that we find in Jesus.
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female: We invite you to join
us in singing hymn number 189,
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"All That Thrills My Soul."
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¤¤¤
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Jean: Let's begin
with a word of prayer.
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Dear Father, once again how
grateful we are to be able to
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gather in Your presence wherever
we might be, recognizing that
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where two or three are
gathered together in Your name,
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that's where You are.
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And so Father, we invite Your
Holy Spirit, come and speak to
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us through Your Word, as we look
at a very inspiring passage of
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Scripture found in the Old
Testament in the book of Isaiah.
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For we ask this in
Jesus's name, amen.
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As mentioned earlier, our lesson
study this entire quarter is
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on the book of Isaiah.
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Today, we're on lesson
number five that's entitled,
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"Noble Prince of Peace."
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And I think you know who that
is referencing, so we invite
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Pastor Doug to lead
us in our study today.
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Doug Batchelor: Good morning.
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Want to welcome everybody
that is watching us online.
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We know we've got folks that
are watching us on a variety of
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satellite networks as
well as watching it live on the
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Internet, and we're just so
thankful that you're able to
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study with us here at the
Granite Bay Hilltop Church.
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I have a few people that are
part of our online production
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crew that are
here with us today.
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And I'm really excited to
get into our lesson today.
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We've got a big assignment.
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We're going to be studying
Isaiah chapter 9, 10, 11,
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and 12, and there's a
lot of material in there.
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I don't know that we're going
to get through it all, so I hope
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you'll extend
some grace and mercy.
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Sometimes people write us
letters that say, "You didn't
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get through the
lesson," but you've got to know
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we tried our best.
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Now, today, I'm using this
microphone because my other
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microphone was having some
technical problems, so I just
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wanted to explain that.
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Also I've got some notes
spread out here that I'm going
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to need to use.
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You know, I think it would be
a good place to start to get the
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background for the time
in which Isaiah is writing.
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If you have your Bibles
handy, turn to the second book
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of Kings chapter 16.
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Now, you know, in the very
beginning of Isaiah, it tells us
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that he was a prophet
during the reign of many kings.
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And it's in particular during
the time of Ahaz that I think
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some of the events we're going
to study today are transpiring.
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So if you turn to
Isaiah chapter 16 and--
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I'm sorry, 2 Kings 16,
and I'll start with verse 1:
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"In the 17th year of
Pekah the son of Remaliah,
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Ahaz the son of Jotham,
king of Judah, began to reign.
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Ahaz was 20 years old when he
became king, and he reigned 16
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years in Jerusalem; and he
did not do what was right in the
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sight of the Lord his God,
as David his father had done.
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But he walked in the
way of the kings of Israel."
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The kings of Israel had turned
to idolatry and they had a
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golden calf at Dan and
they also had one in Samaria.
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And he had begun to get involved
in the idolatry of these--
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of the northern kingdom.
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"He made his son
pass through the fire."
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And it also says
later Manasseh did that.
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He became involved in
some of the child sacrifice.
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Now, you can tell God didn't
bless Ahaz very much because he
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started reigning when he was
20, and he was done in 16 years.
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Makes him how old?
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Thirty-six.
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So it was a time
of great apostasy
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in the southern kingdom.
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"According to the abominations
of the nations whom the Lord had
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cast out before
the children of Israel.
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And he sacrificed, and he burned
incense on the high places,
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and on the hills," and they had
idols in these different places,
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"and under every green tree.
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Then Rezin, the king of Syria
and Pekah the son of Remaliah,
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king of Israel, came up to
Jerusalem to make war; and they
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besieged Ahaz but they
could not overcome him."
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All right, now, let me give you
just a little geography lesson
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here and a little history.
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Israel, when they first
inhabited the Promised Land the
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12 tribes were all one nation
and they stayed one nation
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through the time of the judges.
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They stayed one nation through
the time of King Saul, David,
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and Solomon.
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After Solomon had a son, and
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, did not
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make some good decisions, and
he ended up losing the kingdom,
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broke off into a civil war.
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They didn't want to pay the high
taxes they had paid to Solomon,
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and so you had roughly
ten tribes in the north
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and they were called Israel.
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The southern
kingdom was called Judah.
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Sometimes they called the north
Ephraim, because it was the
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biggest tribe and they would
call the southern tribe, they'd
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say Jerusalem, Samaria, so there
are several terms, but Israel,
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for the rest of their
history, was north and south
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because of this
terrible civil war.
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North of Israel, the
ten tribes, you have Syria,
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their capital is Damascus there
on the Mediterranean coast.
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And of course,
Damascus is still there today.
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Then inland was a
great empire called Assyria.
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I know when I first
started reading the Bible, I got
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confused by Syria, Assyria.
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I said, "Are
they the same thing?"
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Assyria is a different kingdom
and even though they finally
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conquered Syria and they ended
up owning some of that same
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territory, their
capital was in Nineveh.
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You remember Jonah went
to preach to the Ninevites.
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And so you need to understand
that as we read now what
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happened and this all plays
into Isaiah and his prophecies
00:11:07.30\00:11:10.17
that he makes.
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So the king of Israel, Rezin,
he got together with Pekahlia,
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the son--Pekah, the son of
Remaliah, the king of Syria.
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They attacked.
They got a confederacy.
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They attacked
Judea and Jerusalem.
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They tried to conquer Jerusalem.
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They couldn't conquer the city
because it was a great fortress,
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but they did take
several cities of Judah.
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And it says that
"they went to make war;
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they besieged Ahaz but
they could not overcome him.
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And at that time Rezin king of
Syria captured Elath and Syria,
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and drove away the
men of Judah from Elath.
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Then the Edomites went to
Elath, and they dwell there
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to this day."
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So a lot of territory
was lost and changed hands.
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"So Ahaz," instead of turning to
the Lord and repenting, he sends
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"messengers to Tiglath-Pileser
the king of Assyria, saying,
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'I am your servant and your son.
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Come and save me from
the hand of the king of Syria
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and from the hand of
the king of Israel,'"
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who is Pekah,
the son of Remaliah,
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"'who rise up against me.'
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And Ahaz took the silver, and
the gold that was found in the
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house of the Lord, and the
treasures of the king's house,
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and he sent it as a present," he
sent millions of dollars to help
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fund or subsidize a war so that
they would fight against his
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enemy, "So the king of Assyria
listened to him; and the king
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of Assyria went
up against Damascus,"
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that's the capital of Syria,
"and he took it, and he carried
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its people captive to
Kir, and he killed Rezin."
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That was the king of Syria.
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All right, and then
it says: "Now King Ahaz,"
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to thank the king of
Assyria for fighting for him,
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he goes up to Assyria to
thank him, he goes to Damascus,
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he sees an altar there.
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He thinks, "What
a beautiful altar."
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He then begins to model the
altar in the house of the Lord
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after the altar in
Nineveh, or Damascus, rather.
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And so you just see that they're
really losing their identity.
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Ahaz was not a good king.
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They're being attacked from
the north, and Israel lost--
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or Judah lost territory.
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Now, before I go any
farther, history repeats itself.
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What you had is you
had one nation of Israel,
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but part of the nation
turned to idolatry in the north.
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They began to make idols
at Bethel and Dan in Samaria
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and Dan up in the north.
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That happened under
the time of Jeroboam.
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His nickname was Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat who did cause
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Israel to sin.
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Then for a while, the
southern kingdom was faithful,
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the sons of David.
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But gradually, they began
to compromise until the whole
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nation compromised.
00:13:55.23\00:13:57.47
That history is repeated
after the time of Christ in what
00:13:57.50\00:14:01.57
happened to the church.
00:14:01.60\00:14:03.77
The church gave
itself over to idolatry.
00:14:03.81\00:14:06.27
You had the faithful, those who
protested that, starting with
00:14:06.31\00:14:09.44
the Waldenses, and the Hussites,
all the way through Huss
00:14:09.48\00:14:12.68
and Luther, and
they were resisting that.
00:14:12.71\00:14:15.82
They were trying to bring
about revival, but finally, the
00:14:15.85\00:14:18.72
daughters of Babylon
ended up copying the mother
00:14:18.75\00:14:21.76
and then judgment came.
00:14:21.79\00:14:23.66
That's what's
happening to the church today.
00:14:23.69\00:14:25.93
The protestants are losing their
identity just like Judah lost
00:14:25.96\00:14:30.13
its identity and everybody's
just saying, you know,
00:14:30.17\00:14:33.17
"Hey, what they're
doing looks pretty good.
00:14:33.20\00:14:34.87
Let's model our
worship after theirs.
00:14:34.90\00:14:36.77
See what he has then?"
00:14:36.81\00:14:38.57
Say "Oh yeah, I kind of
like the way they worship--
00:14:38.61\00:14:40.61
the worship of the north."
00:14:40.64\00:14:42.41
He's worshiping like the
people in the northern kingdom.
00:14:42.44\00:14:44.48
Then he's going to
worship like the Syrians.
00:14:44.51\00:14:48.12
And there's great
religious compromise.
00:14:48.15\00:14:50.15
So these
judgments begin to come.
00:14:50.19\00:14:52.52
That gives us a backdrop for
what Isaiah is talking about.
00:14:52.55\00:14:55.69
So let's go to Isaiah chapter
9, and we have a memory verse.
00:14:55.72\00:15:00.53
And the memory verse
comes to us from Isaiah 9.
00:15:00.56\00:15:02.90
This is lesson 5, it's
called "Noble Prince of Peace."
00:15:02.93\00:15:06.63
And again, our mission is
to study Isaiah 9 all the way
00:15:06.67\00:15:09.90
through Isaiah 12.
00:15:09.94\00:15:11.91
So I'll be hopping
around a little bit.
00:15:11.94\00:15:14.21
In Isaiah 9:6, our memory verse:
"For unto us a Child is born,
00:15:14.24\00:15:17.91
and unto us a Son is
given; and the government
00:15:17.95\00:15:20.75
shall be upon His shoulder.
00:15:20.78\00:15:22.95
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
00:15:22.98\00:15:26.76
God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."
00:15:26.79\00:15:31.33
Now, when it says
Wonderful, Counselor,
00:15:31.36\00:15:34.23
some people
think that Wonderful,
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.60
then you see in the
King James it says comma
00:15:36.63\00:15:38.80
Counselor.
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Probably in the original,
you've got four titles here:
00:15:41.00\00:15:42.90
Wonderful Counselor is one.
00:15:42.94\00:15:45.11
What kind of Counselor?
A wonderful counselor.
00:15:45.14\00:15:47.11
Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.
00:15:47.14\00:15:51.08
Those four titles sort of
represent something universal:
00:15:51.11\00:15:53.85
north, south, east,
west, that God is King of all.
00:15:53.88\00:15:57.32
And so and
that's our memory verse.
00:15:57.35\00:16:00.89
And then it talks about
these wars in these chapters
00:16:00.92\00:16:03.39
that we're dealing with.
00:16:03.43\00:16:05.69
In the Sabbath School lesson it
makes an interesting note that
00:16:05.73\00:16:08.60
in all the time of recorded
history there's only about 8%
00:16:08.63\00:16:13.00
of the time that the world
has not been at war in one way
00:16:13.03\00:16:16.47
or the other.
00:16:16.50\00:16:18.71
Now, in chapter 9,
our section here says:
00:16:18.74\00:16:22.11
"The end of gloom
for the Gentiles."
00:16:22.14\00:16:25.01
And these are the Gentiles that
are living north of Judah around
00:16:25.05\00:16:27.65
the Sea of Galilee that used
to be the territory of Israel,
00:16:27.68\00:16:30.52
the ten tribes.
00:16:30.55\00:16:32.69
And it's--keep in mind, as we're
talking about the gloom, the
00:16:32.72\00:16:36.76
chapters that you find in
your Bible, a man did that.
00:16:36.79\00:16:40.73
They're not necessarily
divinely picked where they put
00:16:40.76\00:16:43.80
a chapter line.
00:16:43.83\00:16:46.10
And so to understand
about the gloom in Isaiah 9:1
00:16:46.13\00:16:48.64
you've got to go back one verse.
00:16:48.67\00:16:51.57
Look at Isaiah 8:22.
00:16:51.61\00:16:53.44
It says: "Then they will look to
the earth, and see trouble and
00:16:53.48\00:16:56.68
darkness, gloom and
anguish; and they'll be driven
00:16:56.71\00:17:00.25
into darkness."
00:17:00.28\00:17:02.35
Next verse, Isaiah 9:1:
"Nevertheless the gloom will not
00:17:02.38\00:17:05.79
be upon her who is distressed,
as when at first He lightly
00:17:05.82\00:17:09.62
esteemed the land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali, and
00:17:09.66\00:17:13.23
afterward more heavily oppressed
her, by the way of the sea,
00:17:13.26\00:17:16.56
in the Jordan, in the
Galilee of the Gentiles."
00:17:16.60\00:17:20.34
So he's saying that I
know that the land of Israel
00:17:20.37\00:17:24.21
has suffered a
terrible judgment.
00:17:24.24\00:17:26.54
You know, it was during the
time of Isaiah that the king of
00:17:26.57\00:17:30.45
Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser,
who had temporarily joined Ahaz
00:17:30.48\00:17:35.18
to fight against Syria, he
later got down, and he says,
00:17:35.22\00:17:38.09
"Yeah, Jerusalem's
got a lot of money.
00:17:38.12\00:17:40.12
I think I'll
just take them too."
00:17:40.16\00:17:42.36
And so he thought, "Hey,
will you be my friend and fight
00:17:42.39\00:17:45.73
against my enemies,"
and what ended up happening
00:17:45.76\00:17:48.03
is that king came down, he said,
00:17:48.06\00:17:50.03
"I'm powerful enough
to take the whole thing."
00:17:50.07\00:17:51.87
So he became their enemy.
00:17:51.90\00:17:53.64
He conquered the northern
tribes of Israel at first.
00:17:53.67\00:17:56.20
He took them away captive.
00:17:56.24\00:17:58.07
Now, don't forget this, friends.
00:17:58.11\00:18:00.38
You're talking about
over 500 years before Jesus.
00:18:00.41\00:18:03.85
The ten tribes in the northern
kingdom, southern kingdom had
00:18:03.88\00:18:07.68
Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites
were the priests so they didn't
00:18:07.72\00:18:10.89
count so much as a tribe.
00:18:10.92\00:18:12.92
They were really for everybody,
but you really had Benjamin,
00:18:12.95\00:18:15.92
Judah, and Levy.
00:18:15.96\00:18:17.86
The ten tribes, Ephraim,
Manasseh, Zebulun, Naphtali,
00:18:17.89\00:18:20.86
who lived around the Galilee,
they're carried off to Assyria.
00:18:20.90\00:18:26.10
He conquered the land
of the northern empire,
00:18:26.13\00:18:28.70
carried them to Assyria.
00:18:28.74\00:18:30.81
The people of Judah,
after Babylon conquered them,
00:18:30.84\00:18:33.44
they came back.
00:18:33.48\00:18:35.31
The ones who were conquered
by Syria never came back.
00:18:35.34\00:18:37.85
So when you read in Revelation
chapter 7, and it says that
00:18:37.88\00:18:41.98
God's going to get 12,000 from
the 12 tribes of Israel, 12,000
00:18:42.02\00:18:45.89
from Naphtali, Ephraim, Zebulun,
are they literal Israelites?
00:18:45.92\00:18:51.69
They can't be.
00:18:51.73\00:18:53.56
Long before Jesus was born,
you'd be hard-pressed to find
00:18:53.60\00:18:56.26
ten people that were purebred,
pure blood from Issachar
00:18:56.30\00:19:00.30
or from Zebulun.
00:19:00.34\00:19:02.70
So to say you've got 12,000
of them now in the last days,
00:19:02.74\00:19:06.34
it's obviously there's
a spiritual meaning there.
00:19:06.37\00:19:08.94
See what I'm saying?
00:19:08.98\00:19:10.75
The ten tribes never came back.
00:19:10.78\00:19:12.48
The southern kingdom,
when they were conquered,
00:19:12.51\00:19:14.35
they did come back
then because Jesus came
00:19:14.38\00:19:17.15
from the southern
kingdom, through Judah.
00:19:17.19\00:19:19.22
They not only came back
after the Babylonian captivity,
00:19:19.25\00:19:21.56
the southern kingdom came back
in 1948, and now we talk about
00:19:21.59\00:19:25.36
the Jews, we're not
talking about Israelites.
00:19:25.39\00:19:29.00
The Jews are really
from the tribe of Judah.
00:19:29.03\00:19:31.30
That's the name that was used.
00:19:31.33\00:19:33.47
So, it ends up that the king of
Assyria ended up attacking them.
00:19:33.50\00:19:36.57
They went through great
judgments, and Isaiah's saying,
00:19:36.60\00:19:39.57
"Look, the darkness that you
suffered, the land being taken
00:19:39.61\00:19:43.48
over," he said, "God is
going to show you mercy."
00:19:43.51\00:19:47.65
And if you can read in 2 Kings
15:29: "In the days of Pekah the
00:19:47.68\00:19:54.82
king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser
king of Assyria came, and he
00:19:54.86\00:19:59.26
took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah,
Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead,
00:19:59.29\00:20:05.97
Galilee, and the
land of Naphtali;
00:20:06.00\00:20:08.37
and he carried them
captive to Assyria."
00:20:08.40\00:20:11.07
Now, they never came back.
00:20:11.11\00:20:13.38
They intermarried with the
Assyrians, they did not maintain
00:20:13.41\00:20:16.14
their distinct identity.
00:20:16.18\00:20:18.05
Do you know why
the Jews maintained
00:20:18.08\00:20:19.61
the distinct identity?
00:20:19.65\00:20:21.48
The Bible.
00:20:21.52\00:20:23.52
They still had the Scriptures.
00:20:23.55\00:20:25.52
They were going
by the Scriptures.
00:20:25.55\00:20:27.19
It told them who they were.
00:20:27.22\00:20:28.76
It told them their heritage.
00:20:28.79\00:20:30.49
It gave them their language.
00:20:30.53\00:20:32.23
A Jew today who's educated
can read some of the Dead Sea
00:20:32.26\00:20:34.36
Scrolls, even though
the text is very difficult.
00:20:34.40\00:20:36.43
It's like you and I
reading the original King James.
00:20:36.46\00:20:39.20
You can kind of fight
through it, but they're still
00:20:39.23\00:20:42.10
the same people.
00:20:42.14\00:20:43.97
The ten tribes in the north
had given up the Scriptures.
00:20:44.01\00:20:46.07
They did not have the temple.
00:20:46.11\00:20:47.74
They lost their identity.
00:20:47.78\00:20:49.54
They intermarried with the
Assyrians, and if you do a DNA
00:20:49.58\00:20:52.38
test, many of the Assyrians,
they're all Semitic people,
00:20:52.41\00:20:55.65
they'll have some Jewish blood.
00:20:55.68\00:20:57.85
It came back
from the ten tribes.
00:20:57.89\00:21:00.16
But what happened then is after
Tiglath-Pileser carried the ten
00:21:00.19\00:21:04.89
tribes north, you know what
the people of Judah did during
00:21:04.93\00:21:08.40
the time of Hezekiah,
and the king just before him?
00:21:08.43\00:21:12.57
They began to move north.
00:21:12.60\00:21:15.07
So when Jesus is living,
who is it that when Jesus
00:21:15.10\00:21:19.21
is ministering around Galilee,
are they the ten tribes,
00:21:19.24\00:21:22.18
or are they Judah?
00:21:22.21\00:21:23.98
The people of Judah had come and
inhabited some of the northern
00:21:24.01\00:21:27.28
kingdom at that time.
00:21:27.32\00:21:29.22
All right, hope
that all makes sense.
00:21:29.25\00:21:31.45
So with that, you've got--it
says: "Zebulun, Naphtali, and
00:21:31.49\00:21:37.33
Manasseh, that is the country of
Galilee all around Gennesaret,
00:21:37.36\00:21:41.80
was part of that principal
that suffered under the Assyrian
00:21:41.83\00:21:44.73
invasion under Tiglath-Pileser,"
that we just read about.
00:21:44.77\00:21:48.64
Now what is the promise
Isaiah makes in verse 2?
00:21:48.67\00:21:51.41
Isaiah 9, verse 2: "People
who walked in darkness have seen
00:21:51.44\00:21:55.38
a great light; and those who
dwelt in the land of the shadow
00:21:55.41\00:21:59.15
of death, upon
them light has shined."
00:21:59.18\00:22:02.58
Now, Matthew applies
this to the ministry of Jesus.
00:22:02.62\00:22:06.39
Did Jesus begin his ministry in
Bethlehem, or did he begin his
00:22:06.42\00:22:09.99
ministry in the country of
Zebulun, Naphtali, Manasseh,
00:22:10.03\00:22:13.76
around Galilee?
00:22:13.80\00:22:15.86
And that was the
great light that had shined.
00:22:15.90\00:22:18.27
Yes, they'd been through
some time of gloom and darkness,
00:22:18.30\00:22:20.57
but God said a light is
going to come to this territory.
00:22:20.60\00:22:24.44
And you can
look in John 1:43-44.
00:22:24.47\00:22:28.94
Says: "The following day
Jesus wanted to go to Galilee,
00:22:28.98\00:22:31.41
and He found Philip
and He said, 'Follow Me.'
00:22:31.45\00:22:33.72
Now Philip was from Bethsaida,
the city of Andrew and Peter."
00:22:33.75\00:22:36.82
All of the early--not all.
00:22:36.85\00:22:39.09
Most of the early apostles came
from the regions around Galilee.
00:22:39.12\00:22:42.22
You remember when Peter was
denying Christ at his trial,
00:22:42.26\00:22:46.13
the girl said,
"You're a Galilean.
00:22:46.16\00:22:48.33
You've got an
accent of a Galilean.
00:22:48.36\00:22:50.57
Your speech betrays you.
00:22:50.60\00:22:52.47
We know the followers of
Jesus are largely from Galilee."
00:22:52.50\00:22:54.94
And so that prophecy was
fulfilled that a lot of Jesus's
00:22:54.97\00:22:58.07
ministry was in
the land of Galilee.
00:22:58.11\00:23:00.61
He knew He'd have so much
resistance from the priests
00:23:00.64\00:23:03.85
in Jerusalem in the
temple to His teaching.
00:23:03.88\00:23:06.85
And so He went to where
the poor people were working
00:23:06.88\00:23:09.45
up around the sea.
00:23:09.48\00:23:11.85
You look in Isaiah 60, verse 2,
talking about darkness and gloom
00:23:11.89\00:23:15.72
and light: "For behold, the
darkness will cover the land
00:23:15.76\00:23:18.39
and deep darkness the people;
but the Lord will arise over
00:23:18.43\00:23:21.86
you, and His glory
will be seen on you."
00:23:21.90\00:23:25.57
All right, let's go
to Isaiah 9, verse 4:
00:23:25.60\00:23:28.20
"For You have broken
the yoke of his burden,
00:23:28.24\00:23:30.61
and the staff of his shoulder,
the rod of the oppressor,
00:23:30.64\00:23:33.44
as in the day of Midian."
00:23:33.48\00:23:35.71
He's saying that God is going
to set them free from the land
00:23:35.74\00:23:38.01
of the oppressor.
00:23:38.05\00:23:39.95
Now, the liberation that
Isaiah's talking about from
00:23:39.98\00:23:43.79
the enemy, is he talking about
the Syrians, or the Assyrians,
00:23:43.82\00:23:47.99
or the Romans,
or the Babylonians?
00:23:48.02\00:23:50.63
Or is he now when Jesus
preaches, is he talking about
00:23:50.66\00:23:53.03
a different kind of liberation?
00:23:53.06\00:23:55.36
It's a liberation from the
devil who was the real enemy.
00:23:55.40\00:24:00.24
And he describes in
the days of--he says:
00:24:00.27\00:24:03.47
"As in the days of Midian."
00:24:03.51\00:24:05.51
He's talking about
Gideon, and the Judges,
00:24:05.54\00:24:07.84
the Midianites were
oppressing the people of Israel.
00:24:07.88\00:24:11.11
And just a
handful of Israelites,
00:24:11.15\00:24:15.02
Gideon had how many men?
00:24:15.05\00:24:17.49
Three hundred men.
00:24:17.52\00:24:19.35
They went against an army
of, like, you know, 800,000
00:24:19.39\00:24:21.92
and they won.
00:24:21.96\00:24:24.09
And what they used, they
used a trumpet which is a symbol
00:24:24.13\00:24:28.00
for the Bible.
00:24:28.03\00:24:30.00
"Lift up your
voice like a trumpet."
00:24:30.03\00:24:31.77
They used a lamp.
00:24:31.80\00:24:33.80
"The Word is a lamp unto my
feet," a symbol of the Bible.
00:24:33.84\00:24:36.20
They used a sword.
00:24:36.24\00:24:38.24
They said, "The sword of
the Lord in Gideon," so they had
00:24:38.27\00:24:40.48
swords, a symbol of the Bible.
00:24:40.51\00:24:42.14
So how did they
overcome the enemy?
00:24:42.18\00:24:43.78
With the Word.
00:24:43.81\00:24:45.58
And so that's why he
said, "As in the days of Midian,
00:24:45.61\00:24:47.55
it is going to be God
that will give you the victory,
00:24:47.58\00:24:49.78
and free you
from the oppressor."
00:24:49.82\00:24:51.95
So this is what
Isaiah is referring to here.
00:24:51.99\00:24:54.72
And then he
goes on, and he says,
00:24:54.76\00:24:58.66
"You've broken the
yoke of the burden."
00:24:58.69\00:25:02.03
Well, what is
that talking about?
00:25:02.06\00:25:03.93
Jesus says in Matthew
11:29: "Take My yoke upon you."
00:25:03.97\00:25:07.14
So it's talking of breaking
free from the yoke of the devil.
00:25:07.17\00:25:10.61
The light of Jesus's
teaching sets them free.
00:25:10.64\00:25:13.48
"Learn from Me, for I am
gentle and lowly in heart,
00:25:13.51\00:25:16.14
and you will find
rest for your souls."
00:25:16.18\00:25:18.25
Now go to Isaiah 5, verse
9: "For every warrior's sandal
00:25:18.28\00:25:22.28
from the noisy battle, and
the garments rolled in blood,
00:25:22.32\00:25:25.29
will be used for
burning and fuel of fire."
00:25:25.32\00:25:28.52
I know that may seem a little
difficult when you first read it
00:25:28.56\00:25:31.03
but you look other places,
and Isaiah talks about things
00:25:31.06\00:25:34.00
that were made for
war being used for peace.
00:25:34.00\00:25:37.33
He said they'll take their
spears and they'll shape them
00:25:37.37\00:25:40.70
into pruning
hooks for the garden.
00:25:40.74\00:25:43.04
And they'll beat their
swords and turn them into plows.
00:25:43.07\00:25:45.97
In other words, they won't use
the iron for weapons, they'll
00:25:46.01\00:25:49.34
use the iron for farming
because it's a time of peace.
00:25:49.38\00:25:52.48
And so here these garments are
going to just be used for fuel;
00:25:52.51\00:25:55.25
they're not going to be
used for fighting anymore.
00:25:55.28\00:25:57.89
And so he's saying this land of
Naphtali you're going to have,
00:25:57.92\00:26:01.32
the yoke of the oppressor is
removed, great light is going
00:26:01.36\00:26:04.69
to shine in your gloom,
and you're going to find peace.
00:26:04.73\00:26:07.50
That's talking about the
ministry of Christ that would
00:26:07.50\00:26:09.63
come to that area.
00:26:09.66\00:26:11.80
Isaiah's--he's called--Isaiah's
called the Old Testament
00:26:11.83\00:26:14.14
messianic prophet.
00:26:14.17\00:26:16.30
So much what of Isaiah
says talks about Jesus.
00:26:16.34\00:26:19.44
All right, let's move on here.
00:26:19.47\00:26:21.71
In--then he goes on,
and he says, let's see here.
00:26:21.74\00:26:26.45
Start with Isaiah
chapter 9, verse 6:
00:26:26.48\00:26:29.18
"For unto us a Child is born."
00:26:29.22\00:26:31.99
Who is that talking
about? That's Jesus, right?
00:26:32.02\00:26:35.19
"Unto us a Son is given."
00:26:35.22\00:26:37.76
"For God so loved the world
He gave His only begotten Son,"
00:26:37.79\00:26:42.73
that's Jesus, "that
we might not perish."
00:26:42.76\00:26:46.03
And it says, and now, just
so you know, some of the Jews
00:26:46.07\00:26:51.21
when they read this,
they say, "Well, yeah,
00:26:51.24\00:26:53.41
that was
talking about Hezekiah."
00:26:53.44\00:26:55.64
Hezekiah became a very godly
king and when the Assyrians
00:26:55.68\00:26:58.28
attacked the northern kingdom,
they tried to attack Hezekiah,
00:26:58.31\00:27:00.72
but Isaiah said, "God
is not going to let them
00:27:00.75\00:27:02.92
even fire an arrow here."
00:27:02.95\00:27:04.85
God delivered that little
kingdom of Jerusalem and Judea
00:27:04.89\00:27:08.29
from the great Assyrian empire.
00:27:08.32\00:27:10.49
God fought for them,
185,000 Assyrians died
00:27:10.53\00:27:13.93
in one night.
00:27:13.96\00:27:16.00
Now, I'm getting
ahead; that's later in Isaiah.
00:27:16.03\00:27:18.17
But some people say, "Well,
Hezekiah was the promised Son."
00:27:18.20\00:27:21.54
Not so.
00:27:21.57\00:27:23.27
When this prophecy is written,
Hezekiah's already born.
00:27:23.30\00:27:25.67
And so it's not
talking about Hezekiah.
00:27:25.71\00:27:27.58
Hezekiah was a type of Christ,
but it's ultimately talking
00:27:27.61\00:27:30.55
about Jesus.
00:27:30.58\00:27:32.65
"And the government
will be on His shoulder."
00:27:32.68\00:27:35.42
Now, I think it's talking
about more than an earthly king.
00:27:35.45\00:27:38.55
What does it mean,
"The government will be
00:27:38.59\00:27:40.36
on His shoulder"?
00:27:40.39\00:27:42.02
Doesn't say shoulders,
like He's holding it up.
00:27:42.06\00:27:43.96
Kings back then often
carried--they wore a banner that
00:27:43.99\00:27:48.00
would go across and on
the shoulder hung a badge
00:27:48.03\00:27:51.27
or a key showing their
authority, their signet.
00:27:51.30\00:27:54.80
And that was representing that
he would have the authority.
00:27:54.84\00:27:57.44
Let me give you an example
from Isaiah that shows that.
00:27:57.47\00:27:59.61
Go to Isaiah 22:22,
if you can find that.
00:27:59.64\00:28:02.74
Isaiah 22:22.
00:28:02.78\00:28:05.08
It says: "The key of the
house of David I will lay
00:28:05.11\00:28:08.65
upon His shoulder."
00:28:08.68\00:28:10.52
Does that make it clear?
00:28:10.55\00:28:12.49
Saying that this
person would have that key.
00:28:12.52\00:28:14.52
Now go to
Revelation chapter 3, verse 7.
00:28:14.56\00:28:18.43
"He has the key of David.
00:28:18.46\00:28:21.30
He who opens and
no one can shut."
00:28:21.33\00:28:23.70
So there both it talks about the
key of David in Revelation and
00:28:23.73\00:28:26.33
Isaiah, and if you read in this
prophecy it's saying that He's
00:28:26.37\00:28:29.94
got--it says a child, the son
of David that is going to have
00:28:29.97\00:28:33.38
the authority of the kingdom.
00:28:33.41\00:28:35.21
So do we need to guess who it
is that lifts the gloom that's
00:28:35.24\00:28:38.18
talked about in Isaiah 9?
00:28:38.21\00:28:40.58
It's talking about the ministry
of Christ, and you compare
00:28:40.62\00:28:42.98
Scripture with Scripture.
00:28:43.02\00:28:45.09
It goes on to say that it says:
"He's got the key and He opens
00:28:45.12\00:28:48.39
and no one can shut.
00:28:48.42\00:28:50.43
And He shuts and
no one can open."
00:28:50.46\00:28:52.59
Now, does Jesus say something
in His teaching about sharing
00:28:52.63\00:28:56.23
those keys with believers?
00:28:56.26\00:28:59.40
He does.
00:28:59.43\00:29:01.44
He says, "I give you
the keys to the kingdom."
00:29:01.47\00:29:03.44
He wasn't talking about Peter;
00:29:03.47\00:29:05.21
He's talking
about every believer.
00:29:05.24\00:29:06.81
And what you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven.
00:29:06.84\00:29:08.61
How do you and I have the key?
00:29:08.64\00:29:11.35
We don't really own the key.
00:29:11.38\00:29:13.08
Christ is the key, the truth is
the key, but in knowing Christ
00:29:13.11\00:29:15.85
we get to share it.
00:29:15.88\00:29:19.19
Does Jesus say you are
the light of the world?
00:29:19.22\00:29:22.39
He does.
00:29:22.42\00:29:24.03
But doesn't Jesus say, "I
am the light of the world"?
00:29:24.06\00:29:26.06
So do we have any light of
our own, or do we really glow
00:29:26.09\00:29:28.40
because of Christ?
00:29:28.43\00:29:30.07
So as we share Christ, we
also are the light of the world.
00:29:30.10\00:29:32.70
See what I'm saying?
00:29:32.73\00:29:34.40
And so it's His key.
00:29:34.44\00:29:37.11
I remember a funny
story a friend told me.
00:29:37.14\00:29:40.71
I think I may have
shared this in church before.
00:29:40.74\00:29:43.71
He flew to see his brother,
I won't tell you his name,
00:29:43.75\00:29:47.18
in Montana.
00:29:47.22\00:29:50.19
And he had a nightmare of a
travel experience, so the next
00:29:50.22\00:29:52.95
day he was exhausted
but his brother had to go
00:29:52.99\00:29:55.09
to the dentist, and the
dentist office was at this--
00:29:55.12\00:29:57.33
the biggest mall in Montana.
00:29:57.36\00:30:00.16
And my friend, he walked around
for a minute in the mall, and he
00:30:00.20\00:30:03.20
just got so tired, and he
went to his brother and said,
00:30:03.23\00:30:05.13
"Look, give me
the key to the car.
00:30:05.17\00:30:06.87
I've got to get a
nap. I'm exhausted.
00:30:06.90\00:30:08.50
I'm going to lay down in
the car until you're done
00:30:08.54\00:30:10.17
with your dentist appointment."
00:30:10.21\00:30:11.67
He went to the parking lot and
have you ever done this before
00:30:11.71\00:30:13.41
where you weren't paying real
close attention to where you
00:30:13.44\00:30:15.14
parked when you went
into the parking lot?
00:30:15.18\00:30:18.25
And he knew his
brother had a white Subaru.
00:30:18.28\00:30:22.12
You have no idea how many
Subarus there are up in Montana.
00:30:22.15\00:30:25.79
You'd think they'd be more
loyal Americans but they drive
00:30:25.82\00:30:27.92
a lot of Japanese cars there.
00:30:27.96\00:30:30.86
And I guess a lot of
them are made in America.
00:30:30.89\00:30:33.26
So he says, "Oh man."
00:30:33.29\00:30:35.16
He doesn't want to bother his
brother and this is a huge mall.
00:30:35.20\00:30:37.73
It is surrounded by
parking, thousands of cars.
00:30:37.77\00:30:41.40
He starts to walk around,
hitting the panic button.
00:30:41.44\00:30:45.67
Have you ever done
that, yeah, in trying to find
00:30:45.71\00:30:47.71
where's your car?
00:30:47.74\00:30:49.58
And he said, finally,
beep, beep, a light went off,
00:30:49.61\00:30:52.71
and he went and--but
the key would not open it.
00:30:52.75\00:30:56.48
He said, "Well,
this isn't the right car.
00:30:56.52\00:30:58.49
It just had the right
signal for the panic button."
00:30:58.52\00:31:00.52
So, then he commences
to walk a little further.
00:31:00.56\00:31:02.49
Keeps pressing, keeps pressing.
00:31:02.52\00:31:04.33
Another one went off.
00:31:04.36\00:31:05.93
He went to open it up.
00:31:05.96\00:31:07.50
It didn't open.
00:31:07.50\00:31:09.43
And he's becoming suspicious
because there's cameras in the
00:31:09.46\00:31:10.97
parking lot, and he's thinking,
"They're going to watch me.
00:31:11.00\00:31:13.03
Some security somewhere
is going to see me just going
00:31:13.07\00:31:14.74
from car to car,
trying to get into a car."
00:31:14.77\00:31:16.54
And he was a little
self-conscious about that,
00:31:16.57\00:31:18.34
but he said, "I've
got to go to sleep."
00:31:18.37\00:31:20.28
And he just kept going.
00:31:20.31\00:31:21.94
Pretty soon, he got
one that went "beep, beep."
00:31:21.98\00:31:23.65
White Subaru.
00:31:23.68\00:31:25.15
Went, and he--the key worked.
00:31:25.18\00:31:27.12
He laid down, took a nap.
00:31:27.15\00:31:30.62
Woke up pretty soon.
00:31:30.65\00:31:32.12
He thought, "Well, I probably
ought to take the car over where
00:31:32.15\00:31:34.22
my brother is going
to be waiting for me,"
00:31:34.26\00:31:36.19
and he stuck the
key in the ignition.
00:31:36.22\00:31:37.93
It didn't work.
00:31:37.96\00:31:40.00
He had taken a nap
in someone else's car.
00:31:40.03\00:31:44.13
Eventually, he
found his brother,
00:31:44.17\00:31:45.60
and he found the right car.
00:31:45.63\00:31:47.47
But it does make a difference
having the right key, and are
00:31:47.50\00:31:51.84
there some churches out there
that have counterfeit keys?
00:31:51.87\00:31:55.04
You think they work, but
when you really go to use them
00:31:55.08\00:31:58.05
to get the car
started, it doesn't work.
00:31:58.08\00:32:01.18
And only Jesus has that key.
00:32:01.22\00:32:03.28
And it says, "His name will
be called," and we talked about
00:32:03.32\00:32:05.82
this, "Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God,
00:32:05.85\00:32:09.29
Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."
00:32:09.32\00:32:11.79
Now, who is this speaking of?
00:32:11.83\00:32:16.83
Got a few people
here. You can answer me.
00:32:16.87\00:32:18.57
Who's this talking about?
00:32:18.60\00:32:20.50
Jesus.
00:32:20.54\00:32:22.30
It's not a trick question.
00:32:22.34\00:32:24.11
When you think of Jesus,
we always think about Him
00:32:24.14\00:32:25.84
as the Son of God.
00:32:25.87\00:32:27.41
Do we sometimes think about
Him as the Everlasting Father?
00:32:27.44\00:32:29.88
You know, Christ goes by many
names, but all things that were
00:32:29.91\00:32:32.65
made were made by Him.
00:32:32.68\00:32:34.42
So is He our creator?
00:32:34.45\00:32:36.65
Then in that sense He
is our Everlasting Father.
00:32:36.69\00:32:39.29
But He also is called the Son.
00:32:39.32\00:32:41.62
He's also says, "I am
your Brother," and He says,
00:32:41.66\00:32:44.63
"I am your friend."
00:32:44.66\00:32:46.80
And He's our husband.
00:32:46.83\00:32:48.86
So Jesus has many
familial titles, and one of them
00:32:48.90\00:32:53.27
is the Everlasting Father.
00:32:53.30\00:32:55.70
But is it true that Christ,
and the Father are one also?
00:32:55.74\00:32:58.74
Yeah, so anyway,
that's just one of His titles.
00:32:58.77\00:33:01.44
And why is He called Wonderful?
00:33:01.48\00:33:03.75
How many of you remember the
story where Samson's parents,
00:33:03.78\00:33:07.32
they spoke to the
angel and finally they said--
00:33:07.35\00:33:10.22
they made an offering,
they said, "Tell us Your name
00:33:10.25\00:33:12.52
so that we can worship You."
00:33:12.55\00:33:14.52
He said, "Why do
you ask after My name?
00:33:14.56\00:33:16.56
It is Wonderful."
00:33:16.59\00:33:20.13
And so actually, He says
that is one of His names.
00:33:20.16\00:33:22.40
And then He ascended in
the offering that they made.
00:33:22.43\00:33:26.37
All right, Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father.
00:33:26.40\00:33:29.47
Go to Isaiah 9:7: "Of the
increase of His government
00:33:29.50\00:33:32.84
and peace there will be no end."
00:33:32.87\00:33:34.94
Now if you had doubts before,
hopefully you have no longer
00:33:34.98\00:33:37.58
any doubts that this
is talking about Jesus.
00:33:37.61\00:33:41.82
"Whose kingdom
will have no end."
00:33:41.85\00:33:44.75
If you look in Daniel 7:27, like
the airplane, "His kingdom is
00:33:44.79\00:33:49.72
an everlasting kingdom and
all dominions will serve Him."
00:33:49.76\00:33:55.40
And then you read on here
in Isaiah in the next verse and
00:33:55.43\00:33:58.23
it's still going with verse
7: "Upon the throne of David and
00:33:58.27\00:34:01.60
over His kingdom, to order it
and establish it with judgment
00:34:01.64\00:34:05.21
and justice from that
time forward, even forever.
00:34:05.24\00:34:09.11
The zeal of the Lord
of hosts will do this."
00:34:09.14\00:34:11.85
So we're still in Isaiah 9.
00:34:11.88\00:34:14.12
He's making it very clear,
the light that was brought
00:34:14.15\00:34:16.35
to the north of Israel, Galilee,
the freedom from the yoke,
00:34:16.38\00:34:23.79
the Son of David, the keys of
truth, the Everlasting kingdom.
00:34:23.83\00:34:28.10
Where did Jesus first
say, "Repent for the kingdom of
00:34:28.13\00:34:31.40
heaven is at hand"?
00:34:31.43\00:34:33.30
Was it in Bethlehem,
Jerusalem, or around Galilee?
00:34:33.34\00:34:36.30
Galilee.
00:34:36.34\00:34:38.24
So Isaiah is predicting this
is where the ministry of truth
00:34:38.27\00:34:40.94
is going to begin.
00:34:40.98\00:34:42.74
Yeah, Jesus was baptized
down by the Jordan, but He began
00:34:42.78\00:34:45.15
His ministry up around
Galilee and He was preaching
00:34:45.18\00:34:48.98
through their cities.
00:34:49.02\00:34:51.09
And it says that He's going
to have the throne of David.
00:34:51.12\00:34:53.92
You read in Luke 1 one of
the prophecies about Jesus
00:34:53.96\00:34:57.13
that was given.
00:34:57.16\00:34:59.13
It says: "He will be great and
He will be called the Son of the
00:34:59.16\00:35:01.73
Highest; and the Lord
God will give Him the throne
00:35:01.76\00:35:04.87
of David--his father David.
00:35:04.90\00:35:07.37
And He will reign over the
house of Jacob," not just Judah.
00:35:07.40\00:35:10.81
Jacob is all 12 tribes.
00:35:10.84\00:35:12.77
"He'll reign over the house
of Jacob and His kingdom there
00:35:12.81\00:35:15.84
will be--of His
kingdom there will be no end."
00:35:15.88\00:35:18.48
Now, I talked to you a little
bit ago about the history of the
00:35:18.51\00:35:22.45
12 tribes and how 10 of
the tribes fell into apostasy.
00:35:22.48\00:35:25.79
They were conquered
by the king of Assyria,
00:35:25.82\00:35:28.16
carried to the north, replaced.
00:35:28.19\00:35:30.73
And the king of Assyria later
brought some Assyrians down
00:35:30.76\00:35:34.13
to live in that area and
they were called Samaritans.
00:35:34.20\00:35:38.27
Why did Jesus
choose 12 apostles?
00:35:38.30\00:35:40.74
Were the 12 apostles of
Jesus from 12 different tribes?
00:35:40.77\00:35:44.87
Or were many of
them from the same tribe?
00:35:44.91\00:35:48.54
The number 12 now for the people
of Judah still was important
00:35:48.58\00:35:52.75
because when Judas
killed himself, Peter said,
00:35:52.78\00:35:55.82
"We need to replace that one
to get back to the number 12."
00:35:55.85\00:35:59.49
That's Acts chapter 1.
00:35:59.52\00:36:01.66
The number 12 was
important to Jesus.
00:36:01.69\00:36:05.16
It no longer mattered that they
were all from the same tribe.
00:36:05.19\00:36:08.36
Jesus was saying,
"My 12 are going to be 12
00:36:08.40\00:36:11.13
that are spiritual Jews.
00:36:11.17\00:36:14.20
If you're real children of
Abraham you will worship Me."
00:36:14.24\00:36:17.87
Jesus said to the religious
leaders who had a lot of Jewish
00:36:17.91\00:36:20.74
DNA in their blood, He
said, "You are children
00:36:20.78\00:36:23.35
of your father, the devil,
because you're rejecting Me.
00:36:23.38\00:36:26.15
If you don't follow what
Moses and Abraham followed,
00:36:26.18\00:36:29.05
you are not a Jew."
00:36:29.08\00:36:31.52
That's what He said, isn't it?
00:36:31.55\00:36:33.96
So now when it talks about Him
being over the tribe of Jacob,
00:36:33.99\00:36:36.93
is it talking about
the literal 12 tribes?
00:36:36.96\00:36:39.93
I think God still has a
special work for the Jews, don't
00:36:39.96\00:36:42.36
misunderstand, but I
think sometimes we put so much
00:36:42.40\00:36:45.67
attention on the literal nation,
and the politics over there in
00:36:45.70\00:36:49.37
the Middle East we forget that
Israel today, he is not a Jew
00:36:49.40\00:36:53.14
which is one outwardly, he
is a Jew which is one inwardly.
00:36:53.17\00:36:56.31
Circumcision is not
which is in the flesh,
00:36:56.34\00:36:58.41
it is that
which is in the heart.
00:36:58.45\00:37:00.42
If you're Christ,
you are Abraham's seed.
00:37:00.45\00:37:03.82
That's when Jesus said,
"Many will come from the east
00:37:03.85\00:37:05.99
and the west and sit down in
the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac,
00:37:06.02\00:37:09.09
and Jacob."
00:37:09.12\00:37:10.89
They're in that kingdom because
they're adopted in the family,
00:37:10.93\00:37:13.13
but it's some of the
natural children will be
00:37:13.16\00:37:15.30
in outer darkness.
00:37:15.33\00:37:17.67
It's like the parable of
the rich man and Lazarus.
00:37:17.70\00:37:20.04
The rich man who's feasting on
the bread, he's supposed to be
00:37:20.07\00:37:23.20
like the Israelites, but he
doesn't care about the baker
00:37:23.24\00:37:25.57
at his gate, the Gentiles.
00:37:25.61\00:37:27.41
In the judgment, the
baker's with Abraham.
00:37:27.44\00:37:31.05
That was the Jewish place
of rejoicing, and the rich man
00:37:31.08\00:37:34.25
is in the pagan
place of torment, Hades.
00:37:34.28\00:37:38.19
Jesus is saying you can't
say, well, you know, God is a--
00:37:38.22\00:37:41.76
God is no respecter of persons.
00:37:41.79\00:37:43.63
He's made of one
blood all nations, right?
00:37:43.66\00:37:45.89
God does not say, "I'm going
to like these people because of
00:37:45.93\00:37:48.06
their blood type or their
race more than other people."
00:37:48.10\00:37:50.57
Whoever accepts Him becomes
part of that nation of Israel,
00:37:50.60\00:37:55.50
if you worship Him.
00:37:55.54\00:37:57.71
All right,
going now to Isaiah 9,
00:37:57.74\00:37:59.64
verse 8 through 17.
00:37:59.67\00:38:01.28
I've got to hasten along.
00:38:01.31\00:38:02.78
The Lord sent a
word against Jacob,
00:38:02.81\00:38:04.58
and it has fallen on Israel.
00:38:04.61\00:38:06.08
All the people will know--
Ephraim, and the inhabitants
00:38:06.11\00:38:08.42
of Samaria--who say in
pride and arrogance of heart:
00:38:08.45\00:38:12.05
'The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with hewn
00:38:12.09\00:38:14.96
stones; the
sycamores are cut down,
00:38:14.99\00:38:17.03
but we will replace them.'"
00:38:17.06\00:38:18.63
So when they were attacked
by the Assyrians, they said,
00:38:18.66\00:38:20.50
"Oh, it's okay, we're
going to rebuild, rebuild."
00:38:20.53\00:38:23.06
Instead of humbling themselves,
they hardened their hearts
00:38:23.10\00:38:26.23
and said, "We're
going to come back.
00:38:26.27\00:38:28.04
We're going to
make a big comeback."
00:38:28.07\00:38:29.60
And God said, "No, you're not
because you're not repenting."
00:38:29.64\00:38:32.37
And they had reason to be
alarmed by what was happening.
00:38:32.41\00:38:35.81
And then you read
again in verse 11, Isaiah 9:
00:38:35.84\00:38:38.75
"Therefore the Lord will
set up the adversaries of Rezin
00:38:38.78\00:38:41.22
against him," that was a
king of the northern kingdom.
00:38:41.25\00:38:43.85
His adversaries would come.
00:38:43.89\00:38:45.79
"And spur his enemies
on, the Syrians before,
00:38:45.82\00:38:48.19
and the Philistines behind;
and they'll devour Israel
00:38:48.22\00:38:51.33
with an open mouth."
00:38:51.36\00:38:53.29
In other words, he's saying a
terrible judgment will come from
00:38:53.33\00:38:55.26
the north and from the south,
from the Philistines because
00:38:55.30\00:38:57.70
you're not repenting and
turning from your idolatry.
00:38:57.73\00:39:01.04
And it says: "For all this,"
now, if you have your Bible,
00:39:01.07\00:39:03.74
you might make a little
star next to this verse.
00:39:03.77\00:39:06.54
"For all this His
anger is not turned away,
00:39:06.57\00:39:09.51
but His hand is
stretched out still."
00:39:09.54\00:39:12.45
You find that
phrase several times.
00:39:12.48\00:39:15.45
For instance, if you've
got your Bible open, you look.
00:39:15.48\00:39:17.92
I just read in Isaiah 9, verse
12, "For all this His anger is
00:39:17.95\00:39:23.02
not turned away, but His
hand is stretched out still."
00:39:23.06\00:39:25.93
You go to Isaiah 9, verse 21:
"For all this His anger is not
00:39:25.96\00:39:29.90
turned away, but His
hand is stretched out still."
00:39:29.93\00:39:32.97
You go to Isaiah 10: "For
all this His anger is not turned
00:39:33.00\00:39:36.37
away, but His hand
is stretched out still."
00:39:36.40\00:39:39.07
Six times, mostly in this
sequence that we're reading now,
00:39:39.11\00:39:43.91
He's pronouncing
judgments on Israel.
00:39:43.95\00:39:45.78
You realize, friends,
this was as serious as it gets.
00:39:45.81\00:39:48.58
He was basically saying, "Look,
I brought you out of Egypt.
00:39:48.62\00:39:51.05
I saved you from slavery.
00:39:51.09\00:39:52.99
I made you My people.
00:39:53.02\00:39:54.66
You kept turning
from Me, turning from Me,
00:39:54.69\00:39:56.59
turning from Me.
00:39:56.62\00:39:58.19
I've been so patient with you.
00:39:58.23\00:39:59.83
Other kingdoms oppressed
you, but then I gave you victory
00:39:59.86\00:40:01.63
because you turned back to Me.
00:40:01.66\00:40:03.16
But now, you're not
turning back, and I am going
00:40:03.20\00:40:05.63
to utterly cast you off."
00:40:05.67\00:40:07.37
That's what He did to
the ten northern tribes.
00:40:07.40\00:40:09.54
Says, "Yes, even
though you think,
00:40:09.57\00:40:11.44
'Well, this is a terrible
judgment, we'll just repent,'"
00:40:11.47\00:40:13.31
He said, "No, I'm not done yet."
00:40:13.34\00:40:15.11
"His hand is
stretched out still."
00:40:15.14\00:40:17.68
And so it's telling us
that there's more to come
00:40:17.71\00:40:21.32
because they would not repent.
00:40:21.35\00:40:24.15
So we'll go to chapter 10.
00:40:24.19\00:40:27.69
Oh, let me see
here. Did I get that?
00:40:27.72\00:40:29.92
So they were being chastened.
00:40:29.96\00:40:32.49
He's striking them but
they're not seeking the Lord.
00:40:32.53\00:40:34.93
It's a--you read in verse 13:
"For the people do not turn to
00:40:34.96\00:40:37.37
Him who strikes them, nor do
they seek the Lord of hosts."
00:40:37.40\00:40:40.97
You know, if we're
smitten by the Lord,
00:40:41.00\00:40:42.77
we should humble ourselves.
00:40:42.80\00:40:44.64
Listen to Hebrews 12, verse
5: "And have you forgotten the
00:40:44.67\00:40:48.24
exhortation that speaks to you
as sons: 'My son, do not despise
00:40:48.28\00:40:51.51
the chastening of the Lord,
nor be discouraged when you're
00:40:51.55\00:40:54.55
rebuked by Him; for whom
the Lord loves He chastens,
00:40:54.58\00:40:58.22
and He scourges every
son whom He receives.'
00:40:58.25\00:41:00.96
Therefore," and this,
I'm going back to Isaiah,
00:41:00.99\00:41:03.46
because they would not repent.
00:41:03.49\00:41:05.46
"Therefore the Lord will cut
off the head and the tail from
00:41:05.49\00:41:07.93
Israel, palm branch,
and the bulrush in one day."
00:41:07.96\00:41:11.73
The top of the tree,
the bottom of the brush,
00:41:11.77\00:41:14.24
the head, the tail.
00:41:14.27\00:41:16.91
"The elder, and the
honorable, he is the head,"
00:41:16.94\00:41:19.77
and the bulrush in one day.
00:41:19.81\00:41:21.78
And it says: "The prophet who
teaches lies, he is the tail."
00:41:21.81\00:41:25.55
Now, if you go
up to a rattlesnake,
00:41:25.58\00:41:27.58
you know how you hear
you're near a rattlesnake?
00:41:27.62\00:41:29.32
Does the head tell you
or does the tail tell you?
00:41:29.35\00:41:31.99
You often find out with a
snake, even non-rattlesnakes,
00:41:32.02\00:41:35.06
take their tail and they
flick their tail in the leaves.
00:41:35.09\00:41:37.43
I've seen that before where bull
snakes will imitate a rattler
00:41:37.46\00:41:40.10
and they vibrate their tail.
00:41:40.13\00:41:41.93
I said, "Oh," and I
thought, "That's a bull snake.
00:41:41.96\00:41:43.57
He's fooling me."
00:41:43.60\00:41:45.47
And so the tail speaks.
00:41:45.50\00:41:47.57
And so He's using that language
to say your false prophets in
00:41:47.60\00:41:50.11
Israel, these prophets of Baal,
they're not the sons of Aaron,
00:41:50.14\00:41:53.21
they're not from the
sons of the prophets.
00:41:53.24\00:41:55.74
These are the false prophets
that were set up by Ahab and
00:41:55.78\00:41:58.51
Jezebel and others after them.
00:41:58.55\00:42:01.58
They're saying,
"We're going to win,
00:42:01.62\00:42:03.79
we're going to
beat the Syrians."
00:42:03.82\00:42:06.02
And they wouldn't
repent when the judgments came.
00:42:06.05\00:42:08.66
He said, "I'm going to
take away the head and the tail.
00:42:08.69\00:42:12.16
They'll be destroyed."
00:42:12.19\00:42:13.76
"Therefore the Lord will have no
joy in the young men, nor have
00:42:13.80\00:42:15.96
mercy on the fatherless,
and the widows; for everyone is
00:42:16.00\00:42:18.53
a hypocrite and an evildoer,
every mouth speaks folly.
00:42:18.57\00:42:22.87
For all this His anger is
not turned away, but His hand is
00:42:22.90\00:42:25.61
stretched out still."
00:42:25.64\00:42:27.68
It's not like--you've
probably seen these offers
00:42:27.71\00:42:29.44
that they have on TV.
00:42:29.48\00:42:31.15
It's an infomercial and they'll
tell you about this wonderful
00:42:31.18\00:42:33.75
product and you
think, "Ah, I'm almost sold,"
00:42:33.78\00:42:36.02
and then they say,
"But wait, there's more."
00:42:36.05\00:42:38.79
And God is saying,
"But wait, there's more."
00:42:38.82\00:42:41.19
And He's letting them know that,
you know, the heavy judgments
00:42:41.22\00:42:44.23
were coming.
00:42:44.26\00:42:45.96
All right, Isaiah 10: "Woe
to those who decree unrighteous
00:42:45.99\00:42:49.10
decrees, who write misfortune,
which they have prescribed to
00:42:49.13\00:42:53.97
rob the needy of justice,
to take away what is right from
00:42:54.00\00:42:57.34
the poor of My people, that
the widows may be their prey,
00:42:57.37\00:43:01.08
and they might
rob the fatherless."
00:43:01.11\00:43:03.91
Now, He's basically saying those
in position of leadership that
00:43:03.95\00:43:06.41
are making laws,
they're oppressing the poor.
00:43:06.45\00:43:10.09
And in the time of Christ,
let me give you one example.
00:43:10.12\00:43:14.32
God said, "Honor your
father and mother," and--
00:43:14.36\00:43:17.73
but they had made a law
that said you don't have
00:43:17.76\00:43:19.76
to honor your father and
mother if you pronounce corban
00:43:19.79\00:43:21.83
over your
estate, you can spend it
00:43:21.86\00:43:24.30
the way you want.
00:43:24.33\00:43:25.63
You can tell your father and
mother, "I don't have to help
00:43:25.67\00:43:27.34
you in your old age,"
even though your mother
00:43:27.37\00:43:29.30
might be a widow.
00:43:29.34\00:43:30.74
You don't have to help
your siblings or family.
00:43:30.77\00:43:32.41
Say "Look, I've willed it all to
the church," and so they've got
00:43:32.44\00:43:35.18
this law they wrote that
once it's willed to the church,
00:43:35.21\00:43:37.51
I pronounce corban
over all of my property,
00:43:37.55\00:43:40.38
and I get to use it as long
as I want, but I can't share it
00:43:40.42\00:43:42.52
with you 'cause I've
willed it to the church.
00:43:42.55\00:43:44.82
They just made this law where
Jesus said, "You made the law of
00:43:44.85\00:43:47.42
God of honoring your
father and mother of null effect
00:43:47.46\00:43:49.86
because you've prescribed
the law that the priests
00:43:49.89\00:43:52.89
came up with to get
more money from the people."
00:43:52.93\00:43:55.83
And so they had all these evil
laws in the northern kingdom
00:43:55.86\00:43:58.30
that were oppressing the poor.
00:43:58.33\00:44:01.50
And let me see here,
yeah, "'Woe to those who
00:44:01.54\00:44:05.01
decree unrighteous decrees.
00:44:05.04\00:44:06.94
To whom do you flee for help?
00:44:06.98\00:44:08.84
And where will
you leave your glory?
00:44:08.88\00:44:10.65
Without Me they will bow
down among the prisoners,
00:44:10.68\00:44:12.45
and they will
fall among the slain.'
00:44:12.48\00:44:14.38
For all this His
anger is not turned away,
00:44:14.42\00:44:16.45
but His hand is
stretched out still."
00:44:16.48\00:44:18.95
We'll go to Isaiah 11
and this is a great part.
00:44:18.99\00:44:23.09
"There shall come forth a
Rod from the stem of Jesse,"
00:44:23.12\00:44:26.83
this is Isaiah 11:1,
"and a Branch will grow
00:44:26.86\00:44:29.50
out of his roots."
00:44:29.53\00:44:31.37
Who is this talking about?
00:44:31.40\00:44:34.14
The stem, now who is Jesse?
00:44:34.17\00:44:37.11
Jesse was the father of David.
00:44:37.14\00:44:39.51
Jesse is the son of Obed
who is the son of Ruth and Boaz,
00:44:39.54\00:44:44.65
and the Messiah was going
to come through this line.
00:44:44.68\00:44:46.92
So it says, "A stem
shall come from Jesse."
00:44:46.95\00:44:48.92
Jesse had seven or eight sons.
00:44:48.95\00:44:50.75
You know, there's some mystery.
00:44:50.79\00:44:52.69
One place it says he has
eight sons, one place it says
00:44:52.72\00:44:54.49
he has seven sons.
00:44:54.52\00:44:56.06
Did you ever spot that?
00:44:56.09\00:44:57.66
They think it's because
one of his sons died young
00:44:57.69\00:44:59.49
and so they didn't know whether
to count him in the other sons.
00:44:59.53\00:45:02.33
But from those sons, one,
the youngest, would spring.
00:45:02.36\00:45:07.27
And he uses the picture
of a tree that is cut down,
00:45:07.30\00:45:10.87
and it looks like
that tree is dead and gone.
00:45:10.91\00:45:12.74
The branches are
rotten, it's weak,
00:45:12.77\00:45:14.78
it's got moss and you
think it's got no glory
00:45:14.81\00:45:17.55
and from that humble
stump, all of a sudden
00:45:17.58\00:45:20.45
a shoot comes up.
00:45:20.48\00:45:22.28
Now, I know
something about trees.
00:45:22.32\00:45:24.09
I've spent a lot of time
cutting trees, working trees.
00:45:24.12\00:45:25.95
You don't know, I
used to do tree service,
00:45:25.99\00:45:27.42
climb trees, prune trees.
00:45:27.46\00:45:29.46
And trees were different.
00:45:29.49\00:45:31.39
If you cut down a
Douglas fir tree, it's dead.
00:45:31.43\00:45:35.00
You ain't going to see no
suckers coming up off the roots.
00:45:35.03\00:45:39.40
You cut down a Douglas
fir tree above branches,
00:45:39.43\00:45:42.94
one of the branches will
turn into the main trunk again,
00:45:42.97\00:45:45.34
go straight up, and start
putting off side branches again.
00:45:45.37\00:45:49.08
If you cut down a
madrone, it's hard to kill.
00:45:49.11\00:45:51.91
It is coming back.
00:45:51.95\00:45:53.92
It will send
shoots back up again.
00:45:53.95\00:45:56.12
You cut down an oak, a black
oak, very likely if it's still
00:45:56.15\00:45:59.82
got moisture, next year
you're going to see these shoots
00:45:59.85\00:46:02.19
start coming up.
00:46:02.22\00:46:03.99
You think you're mowing
grass, it wrecks your lawnmower
00:46:04.03\00:46:05.66
because they're tough.
00:46:05.69\00:46:07.36
And so different
trees act differently.
00:46:07.40\00:46:09.06
So this is a tree that a
sucker comes off, and from that
00:46:09.10\00:46:12.00
a great tree grows.
00:46:12.03\00:46:13.87
Now, do we have a prophecy
in Daniel that talks about
00:46:13.90\00:46:16.10
a tree that is cut down,
it looks like it's over with,
00:46:16.14\00:46:18.51
but it comes back?
00:46:18.54\00:46:20.44
Remember in Daniel chapter
4, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:46:20.48\00:46:23.85
And so that's the
language that's being used here,
00:46:23.88\00:46:26.38
that from this stem.
00:46:26.41\00:46:28.32
When Jesus came, did the
tribe of Judah look glorious?
00:46:28.35\00:46:33.12
Did Jesus spring from one of the
royal sons that were sitting on
00:46:33.15\00:46:36.79
the throne, or did it look
like the tree of Judah was down?
00:46:36.83\00:46:40.43
When Jesus came, said it looked
like that--the monarchy of David
00:46:40.46\00:46:43.53
is gone, but it
wasn't gone, was it?
00:46:43.57\00:46:47.20
From that root, a shoot
came from the line of David,
00:46:47.24\00:46:52.74
and it tells us that he would
end up being the great king.
00:46:52.77\00:46:56.64
He will grow out of his roots.
00:46:56.68\00:46:59.05
The Spirit of the
Lord will rest upon him.
00:46:59.08\00:47:01.45
The spirit of wisdom,
understanding, counsel,
00:47:01.48\00:47:04.52
and might, the
spirit of knowledge,
00:47:04.55\00:47:07.76
and the fear of the Lord.
00:47:07.79\00:47:09.69
Have you read in Revelation
where it talks about the seven
00:47:09.72\00:47:11.69
spirits of God?
00:47:11.73\00:47:13.50
You look here in Revelation 5,
verse 6: "I looked, and behold,
00:47:13.53\00:47:18.30
in the midst of the throne,
and the four living creatures,
00:47:18.33\00:47:20.84
and in the midst of the elders,
stood a Lamb as though it had
00:47:20.87\00:47:23.54
been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes,
00:47:23.57\00:47:26.37
which are the
seven Spirits of God."
00:47:26.41\00:47:28.78
Does that mean that the
Holy Spirit's seven persons?
00:47:28.81\00:47:32.38
No, it's talking about the
seven facets or characteristics
00:47:32.41\00:47:35.98
of the Holy Spirit.
00:47:36.02\00:47:37.69
Where do you find them?
00:47:37.72\00:47:39.35
We just read it: Isaiah 11:2.
00:47:39.39\00:47:41.22
Follow with me.
00:47:41.26\00:47:42.89
Count with me if you want.
00:47:42.92\00:47:44.59
Isaiah 11:2: "Spirit
of the Lord," that's one,
00:47:44.63\00:47:47.30
"shall rest upon them,"
spirit of wisdom, understanding,
00:47:47.30\00:47:51.17
counsel, might,
knowledge, fear of the Lord.
00:47:51.20\00:47:56.34
And so some
scholars, you might say,
00:47:56.37\00:47:58.31
"Ah, I don't know
if that all adds up,
00:47:58.34\00:48:00.38
Pastor Doug, but I'll look--
00:48:00.41\00:48:02.34
I'll expect you to
give me a better answer."
00:48:02.38\00:48:04.38
I think that's
a pretty good one.
00:48:04.41\00:48:06.08
What are the
seven spirits of God?
00:48:06.11\00:48:07.95
They're seven
facets or characteristics
00:48:07.98\00:48:09.68
of the Spirit of the Lord.
00:48:09.72\00:48:11.49
And so this--all of God's Spirit
is going to dwell upon this
00:48:11.52\00:48:14.72
stem, this shoot, this
branch, that comes from
00:48:14.76\00:48:18.36
the tribe of David.
00:48:18.39\00:48:20.23
And this is Jesus, of course.
00:48:20.26\00:48:22.60
"His delight is in the fear of
the Lord, and His eyes shall not
00:48:22.63\00:48:25.30
judge by the sight of His eyes,
nor decide by the hearing of His
00:48:25.33\00:48:29.70
ears; but with righteousness
He will see and judge the poor."
00:48:29.74\00:48:33.54
"Blessed are the poor
in spirit," Jesus said.
00:48:33.58\00:48:35.94
"And He'll decide with equity
for the meek of the earth."
00:48:35.98\00:48:38.71
Jesus said, "I
am meek and lowly."
00:48:38.75\00:48:40.82
"He will strike the earth
with the rod of His mouth."
00:48:40.85\00:48:43.39
The Bible says that
her Son goes up to heaven
00:48:43.42\00:48:47.79
and He rules all
nations with a rod of iron.
00:48:47.82\00:48:49.96
That's Revelation 12.
00:48:49.99\00:48:51.83
"And with the breath of His
lips He will slay the wicked."
00:48:51.86\00:48:53.73
Thessalonians says He will
come, Jesus, and He'll destroy
00:48:53.76\00:48:56.26
the wicked with the
brightness of His Coming."
00:48:56.30\00:48:58.60
"Righteousness will be the belt
of His loins, and faithfulness
00:48:58.63\00:49:02.07
the belt of His waist."
00:49:02.10\00:49:04.04
He's described with this belt
again in Revelation chapter 1.
00:49:04.07\00:49:06.64
"The wolf will dwell with the
lamb, and the leopard will lie
00:49:06.68\00:49:09.41
down with the young goat,
the calf, and the young lion,
00:49:09.44\00:49:12.41
and the fatling together; and
a little child will lead them."
00:49:12.45\00:49:15.72
So the ultimate goal of
this finished kingdom is going
00:49:15.75\00:49:18.92
to be Jesus reigning
on the earth with peace.
00:49:18.95\00:49:23.43
First, the literal--spiritual
kingdom comes, 2,000 years ago,
00:49:23.46\00:49:27.60
but in the very near future,
Jesus is coming and He will
00:49:27.60\00:49:30.43
ultimately establish a literal
kingdom in this world, amen?
00:49:30.47\00:49:34.47
Chapter 12 is only six
verses, and it's largely
00:49:34.50\00:49:37.11
a Psalm of praise.
00:49:37.14\00:49:39.31
It's a song of encouragement and
praise, and it quotes from many
00:49:39.34\00:49:44.18
other Psalms
because of the Son of David.
00:49:44.21\00:49:46.85
I want to remind our friends
if you missed this at the
00:49:46.88\00:49:48.95
beginning, we have a
free offer you can request
00:49:48.98\00:49:51.29
and it's called
"From Stress to Joy."
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That is something that
would be helpful in our days,
00:49:53.36\00:49:55.79
and you can
simply call 866-788-3966.
00:49:55.82\00:50:00.36
That's 866-Study-More.
00:50:00.40\00:50:02.43
Ask for offer number 705,
we'll send this to you for free.
00:50:02.46\00:50:05.53
God bless you,
friends. We are out of time.
00:50:05.57\00:50:07.40
I hope you learned
something and Lord willing,
00:50:07.44\00:50:09.87
we'll study His Word
together again next week.
00:50:09.90\00:50:12.94
male announcer: Don't
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announcer: "Amazing
Facts" Changed Lives.
00:50:50.48\00:50:55.88
male: One night,
we were out late.
00:50:58.29\00:51:01.39
We--there was this
young persons' club.
00:51:01.42\00:51:04.56
It was no alcohol
so anybody could go in.
00:51:04.59\00:51:07.56
And it was a kind of a
midnight cafe, but they played
00:51:07.60\00:51:09.66
heavy metal
music, so we were there.
00:51:09.70\00:51:11.70
On our way there, as
we pulled into the garage,
00:51:11.73\00:51:14.87
all of a sudden, the cop lights
start flashing and so we--
00:51:14.90\00:51:19.31
all of us were high, drugs
all over the car, paraphernalia,
00:51:19.34\00:51:22.34
pipes, and you
know, rolling papers.
00:51:22.38\00:51:27.45
All these are in the
car, and so we jumped out.
00:51:27.48\00:51:30.22
We ran.
00:51:30.25\00:51:32.25
We run as fast as we could to
get into--to get away from that.
00:51:32.29\00:51:35.39
I ran into the club and
tried to mingle with everybody.
00:51:35.42\00:51:38.66
I mean, my heart is pounding.
00:51:38.69\00:51:41.00
I'm--to me, I'm just--
00:51:41.03\00:51:43.16
I'm afraid I'm going
to get caught, you know?
00:51:43.20\00:51:45.03
I've been arrested so many times
I don't know what they're going
00:51:45.07\00:51:46.63
to do this time.
00:51:46.67\00:51:48.17
So I sit down
across from this man.
00:51:48.20\00:51:49.84
He's dressed in a
long black trench coat.
00:51:49.87\00:51:51.87
He doesn't--he doesn't
seem to be interested at first,
00:51:51.91\00:51:54.84
and then he begins to
engage me in conversation.
00:51:54.88\00:51:56.75
He says, "So, you
know, what's going on?
00:51:56.78\00:51:58.68
What's wrong?"
00:51:58.71\00:52:00.48
And I just kind of dismiss it.
00:52:00.52\00:52:02.28
And--but then
he kind of insists.
00:52:02.32\00:52:04.22
"No, I can see
something's going on.
00:52:04.25\00:52:06.05
What's going on with you?"
00:52:06.09\00:52:07.89
And I could tell the guy's not a
insider or a cop or a, you know,
00:52:07.92\00:52:10.46
so I said, you know, I
just started telling my story
00:52:10.49\00:52:12.19
a little bit.
00:52:12.23\00:52:14.20
And so he just
nonchalantly asks me,
00:52:14.20\00:52:15.90
"Have you ever
heard of Satanism?"
00:52:15.93\00:52:17.57
So I said, "Yeah."
00:52:17.60\00:52:19.50
He said, "Well, have
you ever looked into it,
00:52:19.53\00:52:21.24
what it's about?"
00:52:21.27\00:52:23.00
I said, "Well, not really."
00:52:23.04\00:52:24.74
He started asking me a few
questions about it and which
00:52:24.77\00:52:26.68
kind of prompted me to
ask him some questions.
00:52:26.71\00:52:28.48
So we get in this conversation.
00:52:28.51\00:52:30.15
He starts describing what
Satanism is, and so one of the
00:52:30.18\00:52:32.61
first things I did, is I went
out to the bookstore and bought
00:52:32.65\00:52:34.98
my own satanic Bible, and I
began to read the satanic Bible
00:52:35.02\00:52:37.79
and study with it with a friend.
00:52:37.82\00:52:39.69
And get to know it
and starting to understand
00:52:39.72\00:52:43.16
the philosophies behind it.
00:52:43.19\00:52:45.09
And we pursued that heartily.
00:52:45.13\00:52:46.96
My friend, and I, we went
out, and we gave each other
00:52:47.00\00:52:49.26
a satanic tattoo to
just give us a sign of Satan.
00:52:49.30\00:52:53.10
Well, even with the power of
Satan in my life now and just
00:52:53.13\00:52:57.14
weird things happening all
around, I kept getting arrested.
00:52:57.17\00:53:00.98
I got arrested for running
away from home, not once,
00:53:01.01\00:53:03.21
not twice, three times.
00:53:03.24\00:53:05.45
Maybe even a fourth time.
00:53:05.48\00:53:07.48
And they took--always
brought me back home.
00:53:07.52\00:53:09.52
Every time I was--
I had a dirty urine.
00:53:09.55\00:53:11.75
That's what they called it.
00:53:11.79\00:53:13.86
I tested positive for marijuana.
00:53:13.89\00:53:16.62
And you know what happened?
00:53:16.66\00:53:18.23
They had the--I think it was the
third or fourth time, I think it
00:53:18.26\00:53:21.76
was the fourth time I got
arrested for habitual absence,
00:53:21.80\00:53:25.07
they called it,
they said, "We're done.
00:53:25.10\00:53:27.84
You know, you
obviously have a drug problem,
00:53:27.87\00:53:29.87
and we have a way to help.
00:53:29.90\00:53:31.97
And so we're going to send
you to a drug treatment center,"
00:53:32.01\00:53:33.91
and that's where they sent me.
00:53:33.94\00:53:35.71
And they sent me
off to drug treatment.
00:53:35.74\00:53:37.51
So one night, I get
caught smoking a cigarette.
00:53:37.55\00:53:39.45
The man who catches me is
the drug counselor, and he,
00:53:39.48\00:53:42.45
in my eyes, is the worst
person in the whole world.
00:53:42.48\00:53:45.99
They took my
satanic Bible from me.
00:53:46.02\00:53:47.86
They wouldn't
let me have it there.
00:53:47.89\00:53:49.96
In fact, it was him that did
that and so all this animosity,
00:53:49.99\00:53:54.00
all this hatred, all this
wrath that I had built up,
00:53:54.00\00:53:57.63
I took out on him.
00:53:57.67\00:53:59.53
I attacked the man with a knife.
00:53:59.57\00:54:01.47
They locked me up
and put me in juvenile.
00:54:01.50\00:54:03.41
So here I am,
sitting in this lonely cell.
00:54:03.44\00:54:05.61
All I can think about
is death. I want to die.
00:54:05.64\00:54:07.84
I hate
everybody. I hate the world.
00:54:07.88\00:54:09.78
I hate God. I just want to die.
00:54:09.81\00:54:12.35
But my mom was going to
call me later that week,
00:54:12.38\00:54:14.75
and so I just
looked forward to that.
00:54:14.78\00:54:16.79
And finally, she did call.
00:54:16.82\00:54:18.72
And during that 15-minute
conversation she put this
00:54:18.75\00:54:20.82
thought in my head: "Do
you have a Bible in there?"
00:54:20.86\00:54:23.96
My mind starts to work,
and I start to think to myself,
00:54:23.99\00:54:26.73
"You know, this
cell's really, really boring.
00:54:26.76\00:54:30.40
I could do to read some stuff."
00:54:30.43\00:54:32.20
And then I was--I was getting
a few books here and there
00:54:32.23\00:54:34.00
to read, but this
Bible was different.
00:54:34.04\00:54:35.87
Finally, I came to me.
00:54:35.90\00:54:37.57
I said, "You know
what I'm going to do?
00:54:37.61\00:54:39.24
I am going to grab that Bible.
00:54:39.27\00:54:40.68
I'm going to take
it back to my cell.
00:54:40.71\00:54:42.24
I'm going to begin to read it,
and I'm going to prove all those
00:54:42.28\00:54:44.35
Christians wrong."
00:54:44.38\00:54:45.91
So I'm reading the
story of King David,
00:54:45.95\00:54:47.55
and I realized for the
first time that there is a God
00:54:47.58\00:54:49.15
out there, but
this is a God of love.
00:54:49.18\00:54:51.32
And from that point forward,
I just kept reading through
00:54:51.35\00:54:53.32
the Bible, and I finally
come to the New Testament,
00:54:53.36\00:54:55.06
and I get to read
about this man named Jesus.
00:54:55.09\00:54:58.96
I've heard of Jesus.
00:54:58.99\00:55:00.60
I've used His name in
swear words so many times.
00:55:00.63\00:55:02.13
I didn't know who He was.
00:55:02.16\00:55:03.73
But now I read in the book of
Matthew this incredible person
00:55:03.77\00:55:06.94
named Jesus, and He
lived this perfect life.
00:55:06.97\00:55:11.01
His compassion, His love, His
mercy that He showed to people,
00:55:11.04\00:55:14.98
it was incredible.
00:55:15.01\00:55:16.78
In complete desperation,
said, "God, I don't know why
00:55:16.81\00:55:19.91
You want me, but here I am.
00:55:19.95\00:55:22.32
You have my heart."
00:55:22.35\00:55:24.19
And I gave my life to God.
00:55:24.22\00:55:26.09
Providentially, my dad,
he sent me a Walkman radio.
00:55:26.12\00:55:29.02
My mom's gift was a new Bible
00:55:29.06\00:55:32.06
and a Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance.
00:55:32.09\00:55:34.30
And together with those, I was
able to hear the most profound
00:55:34.36\00:55:37.67
truths I've ever heard before,
testing them by the Bible,
00:55:37.70\00:55:40.67
and seeing whether or not
for myself if they're true.
00:55:40.70\00:55:43.20
In a miraculous way, for 14
years, while I was incarcerated,
00:55:43.24\00:55:46.74
God turned the
penitentiary into a seminary.
00:55:46.78\00:55:51.08
I studied, and I
studied, and I studied.
00:55:51.11\00:55:53.72
I had a insatiable desire
to learn and grow and to get to
00:55:53.75\00:55:56.55
know this God that
I'm--this God of the universe.
00:55:56.58\00:55:59.25
So week after week, I'd
have this little radio up in the
00:55:59.29\00:56:02.06
corner of the
windowsill in my small cell,
00:56:02.09\00:56:05.93
listening to "Bible Answers"
live, listening to a message
00:56:05.96\00:56:10.03
that it was really
transformational for me.
00:56:10.07\00:56:12.97
I began to grow and
learn and study more and more.
00:56:13.00\00:56:16.57
I began to do Bible
studies with people.
00:56:16.60\00:56:18.87
In fact, here comes "Amazing
Facts" again because I get these
00:56:18.91\00:56:21.11
Bible study guides through the
mail and as I've done them and
00:56:21.14\00:56:24.35
completed and sent them
back, getting the new ones,
00:56:24.38\00:56:27.05
now I have all these lessons.
00:56:27.08\00:56:28.92
What am I going to do with them?
00:56:28.95\00:56:30.72
Well, I sit down on the yard,
in the prison yard, with fellow
00:56:30.75\00:56:33.56
inmates, fellow convicts,
and we open the Bible together.
00:56:33.59\00:56:37.26
And we study.
00:56:37.29\00:56:39.26
We study God's Word together,
using these Bible study guides
00:56:39.29\00:56:41.40
as a way to go
through the Bible.
00:56:41.43\00:56:43.30
So they let me out six
years early for good behavior
00:56:43.33\00:56:45.37
and as I walked out to a free
world, I didn't know what to do.
00:56:45.40\00:56:49.74
Everything was--
everything changed.
00:56:49.77\00:56:52.14
Praise God for those in
prison ministry that adopted me,
00:56:52.17\00:56:54.61
took me in, helped
me to get established.
00:56:54.64\00:56:57.78
Many people began to encourage
me, said, "Why, you really need
00:56:57.81\00:57:00.92
to go to Amazing Facts
Center of Evangelism, AFCOE."
00:57:00.95\00:57:03.99
Amazing Facts Center
of Evangelism has been
00:57:04.02\00:57:06.76
life-changing for me.
00:57:06.79\00:57:08.86
And not just for me, but
for many people who have come.
00:57:08.89\00:57:11.63
It's been more than a decade
and a half ago, I was sitting
00:57:11.66\00:57:13.73
in a cell, listening to
Doug Batchelor on a radio
00:57:13.76\00:57:16.63
with my Walkman way up in
the corner of this window.
00:57:16.67\00:57:18.93
And now I'm sitting in
the audience, listening
00:57:18.97\00:57:21.67
to Doug Batchelor live at
the Amazing Facts Landmarks
00:57:21.70\00:57:24.81
of Prophecy series, working with
many of those in the audience
00:57:24.84\00:57:28.41
and bringing
people to the meetings.
00:57:28.44\00:57:30.95
What a--what a contrast.
00:57:30.98\00:57:33.45
God has led me so far.
00:57:33.48\00:57:35.45
God has brought me to where I'm
at today, and I know that God
00:57:35.48\00:57:37.92
is continuing to
lead me into my future.
00:57:37.95\00:57:41.46
¤¤¤
00:57:41.49\00:57:47.73
¤¤¤
00:57:49.30\00:57:59.27
¤¤¤
00:57:59.31\00:58:09.28
¤¤¤
00:58:09.32\00:58:19.29
¤¤¤
00:58:19.33\00:58:28.97