Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210005S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn,
00:02 and we welcome you once again to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:08 You know, 00:09 peace has been elusive for humanity. 00:14 But today we want you to join us 00:16 because we are going to be studying 00:19 the one and only one who can bring us true peace. 00:23 Lesson number five, "The Noble Prince of Peace." 00:28 If you have not received your quarterly yet, 00:33 you can go to ABSG.Adventist.org 00:39 and download that quarterly so you can follow along. 00:43 This is a fascinating study. It's a wonderful study. 00:47 And we want you to get your quarterly and join us. 00:52 Thank you. 01:24 Hello, and we're so glad you're joining us 01:27 and I believe you're going to be glad as well. 01:29 We have the privilege and the opportunity 01:33 to dive deeper into Isaiah. 01:37 Once again, this is lesson five. 01:39 And you know, you're the reason we do this study. 01:42 I mean, we all study, we love to study, 01:44 but we do this for you. 01:47 And God is hopefully directing every word that we say 01:52 for His glory. 01:54 Let me introduce you to our panel members, 01:57 my family members, 01:58 and we have Pastor Kenny Shelton. 02:01 Kenny, we always love what you bring to the table. 02:03 It's always good to share the Word of God. 02:06 Amen. Amen. 02:08 Pastor Evangelist Ryan Day. 02:11 I'm blessed to be here as always. 02:13 Singer of the Israel, and my pastor, 02:16 Pastor John Lomacang. 02:18 Good to have you here, Shelley, 02:19 and you look bright and alive today 02:22 and ready to go. 02:24 I didn't get. 02:25 And then my dear sister who is also the President 02:29 and the Vice President, COO of 3ABN, 02:33 and we know her as the list lady. 02:36 And we have a list today. 02:37 They want in. 02:39 Jill Morikone, thank you all for joining us. 02:40 Thank you. 02:42 Would you have a prayer for us? Sure. 02:43 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus, 02:46 grateful for the gift of Your Son 02:48 and the gift of Your Word and the gift of grace. 02:51 Would you open up our minds and hearts right now 02:54 to receive what you have for us in Jesus' name. 02:57 Amen. Amen and amen. 02:59 All right, our lesson is lesson number five, 03:03 the memory text is one 03:05 that you are most likely familiar with 03:08 from Isaiah 9:6, 03:11 "For unto us a child is born, 03:14 unto us a son is given, 03:18 and the government shall be upon his shoulder. 03:21 His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, 03:25 Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 03:29 Prince of Peace." 03:31 That's Isaiah 9:6. 03:33 Our lesson today is on "The Noble Prince of Peace." 03:38 And it was interesting. 03:40 The introduction to the lesson 03:42 talked about Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. 03:45 He was the one who oversaw 03:47 the creation of the first atomic bomb. 03:50 And when he presented his information 03:52 to the US congressional committee, 03:56 they asked him, 03:57 "Well, is there any defense against this weapon?" 04:00 And you know what he said? 04:02 "Certainly." "What is it?" they asked? 04:04 He said, "Peace?" 04:06 You know, it's so amazing 04:09 that as I said in the beginning, 04:12 that humanity has not been able to grasp 04:19 on to peace, 04:20 it has been very elusive. 04:22 But we are going to talk today about that Prince of Peace. 04:28 Sunday's lesson is "End of Gloom for Galilee." 04:34 Isaiah Chapter 8 is where we're going. 04:37 Isaiah Chapter 8. 04:39 And let me just kind of sum this up. 04:43 This ends with a dismal picture 04:49 of what's happening to God's people. 04:51 They had rejected God's victory, 04:54 they turned to the occult, 04:56 refused to accept Isaiah's predictions 05:00 regarding the nation's future hardships. 05:03 Their people were desperate, they were frustrated, 05:07 they were angry 05:09 to the point of cursing the king, 05:11 but even cursing God. 05:14 I mean, they were blaming God for the trials 05:19 that their own decisions 05:20 had brought down on their heads. 05:23 Isaiah 8:22. 05:24 Let's look at that. 05:26 This is the last verse of the chapter. 05:28 And it says, 05:29 "Then they will look to the earth 05:31 and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish, 05:37 and they will be driven in to darkness." 05:42 Now the first to suffer the devastation 05:44 of the invasion of King Ahaz 05:49 was Zebulun and Naphtali, 05:51 this was the northern border, and Northeast Galilee, 05:56 just west of the Jordan River. 05:59 And what happened 06:01 and I shouldn't have said King Ahaz 06:03 that was from Tiglath-Pileser 06:06 was the one who oversaw this invasion. 06:09 But King Ahaz had refused God's plan for victory. 06:14 Isn't that amazing? 06:16 And don't we do the same today really? 06:18 When you think about it, God gives us His promises. 06:21 We look elsewhere. That's what Ahaz had done. 06:24 He looked to King Tiglath-Pileser, 06:28 who was the third who is the king of the Assyria, 06:32 but it backfired on him 06:33 because Tiglath-Pileser became very greedy. 06:38 2 Kings 15:29 says this, 06:41 "Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took," 06:47 and I'm going to dot-dot-dot, 06:48 "he took Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali. 06:54 And he carried them captive to Assyria." 06:58 Boy, this was marking 07:00 the beginning of some dark days for Israel. 07:03 Now, in their gloom of anguish, 07:07 they thought that their troubles would never end. 07:11 But the people still had reason to hope 07:14 because since the beginning of time, 07:17 God has had a plan. 07:19 And He intended 07:20 that he's going to transform gloom into honor, 07:26 because Isaiah 9:1 begins with the word nevertheless, 07:31 let's look into that. 07:33 Because when you see nevertheless, 07:35 that indicates a contrast to what came before. 07:38 So now Isaiah 9:1-2 says, 07:42 "Nevertheless, 07:44 that time of darkness and despair 07:46 will not go on forever, 07:47 the land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled. 07:52 But there will be a time in the future 07:54 when Galilee of the Gentiles, 07:57 which lies along the road 07:59 that runs between the Jordan and the sea 08:00 will be filled with glory." 08:03 I love what Isaiah 9:2 says, it says, 08:07 "The people who walked in darkness 08:11 have seen a great light. 08:14 Those who dwelt in the shadow, 08:17 the land of the shadow of death upon them a light has shined." 08:23 Now, it's interesting because 08:25 this is what we call in prophetic language. 08:29 This is the prophetic, perfect tense. 08:32 It's been written as if it already happened. 08:35 And then verse 3 says, 08:37 "You've multiplied the nation and increased its joy." 08:42 Wow! 08:43 This is kind of a reassurance of a covenant with Abraham, 08:48 that they were going to have all these physical descendants 08:53 that would be like the sands of the seashore. 08:56 Then Isaiah 9:4 says, "For you," 08:59 speaking of the Lord, 09:01 "have broken the yoke of his burden, 09:04 the rod of his oppressor." 09:08 To break the yoke was to talk he's predicting 09:12 God is going to free Israel 09:15 from the bondage to Assyria and Babylon, 09:19 but you know what? 09:20 It's an even greater prediction, 09:23 because he's going to break the bondage of sin. 09:27 So who does God used to deliver His people? 09:30 Isaiah 9:6, 09:32 "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, 09:35 and the government shall be on His shoulder 09:38 and His name will be called Wonderful, 09:40 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 09:45 Prince of Peace." 09:46 But listen to what verse 7 says, 09:48 "Of the increase of His government and peace, 09:52 there will be no end 09:54 upon the throne of David and over his kingdom 09:58 to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, 10:03 from that time forward even forever. 10:08 The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." 10:14 You know, twice earlier 10:16 we looked in Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 8, 10:18 it talked about children, that would be a sign. 10:22 It had prophetic significance. 10:25 So for the third time 10:26 we learn of a prophetic future birth, 10:31 boy this time there's no question 10:33 that titles given to this child 10:36 can be only given to Almighty God 10:40 because actually he calls Him Wonderful Counselor. 10:45 That's one who is wise in wisdom. 10:48 This is the messianic passage 10:50 about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 10:53 Emmanuel, who was born to a virgin, 10:57 but the Wonderful Counselor, 10:59 He'll be unlike the kings before Him, 11:03 who turned away from God's wisdom. 11:06 He will draw on heavenly wisdom. 11:09 Mighty God, 11:11 that can only be the Messiah, right? 11:14 Everlasting Father, 11:16 that's one without beginning or end. 11:19 And He will, as a divinity king 11:21 He will eternally be a father to His people 11:25 with compassionate care and discipline. 11:28 And we know that the Messiah in Micah 5:2 says 11:34 that He is coming forth from Bethlehem Ephrathah, 11:40 who's going forth, one who's going forth 11:43 have been from of old, from everlasting, 11:47 so He's the Prince of Peace. 11:51 Emmanuel's government 11:53 will procure and perpetuate 11:58 eternal peace, hallelujah. 12:01 So this is a message of hope 12:04 that was fulfilled when Christ came. 12:09 He is in Matthew 1:1, the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 12:15 He's the son of David, the son of Abraham. 12:20 He is a human descendant of David, 12:22 who's going to fulfill this. 12:24 And Matthew 1:22-23 says, 12:27 "All this was done, 12:29 that it might be fulfilled 12:30 which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 12:34 'Behold, the virgin shall be with a child 12:39 and bear a son. 12:41 And his name will be called Emmanuel, 12:44 which is translated God with us." 12:47 So the Bible takes events 12:49 that have happened in the Old Testament. 12:54 And it uses them to prefigure things 12:57 that will happen in the New Testament. 12:59 Listen what quarterly says, 13:02 "Not by accident, 13:03 Jesus' earthly ministry was in the Galilee region, 13:07 where He gave hope 13:09 by announcing the good news of God's kingdom, 13:12 and by healing people, 13:13 including delivering demoniacs from bondage to the occult. 13:20 So the New Testament is applying 13:24 what was said in the Old Testament, 13:26 the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali, 13:30 which at that time represented the kingdom, 13:34 or the northern kingdom. 13:36 Now these territories 13:37 are where Jesus is gonna grow up, minister, 13:40 and these people will see a great light. 13:43 Let me read quickly, Matthew 4:12, 13:46 "When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, 13:49 he left Judea, return to Galilee, 13:51 he went first to Nazareth, 13:53 then left there and move to Capernaum, 13:56 beside the Sea of Galilee, 13:58 in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali." 14:02 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah 14:06 in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, beside the sea, 14:09 beyond the Jordan River, 14:11 in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, 14:15 that people who sat in darkness have seen a great light 14:19 and for those who live in the land 14:23 where death cast its shadow, a light has shined." 14:27 John 1:9 says 14:29 "That the true light came into the world 14:31 and He is the light to every man, 14:35 and Jesus said, 14:36 'I am the light of the world. 14:38 He who follows after Me will never walk in darkness, 14:43 but will have the light of life.' " 14:46 So the coming of the Messiah was synonymous 14:49 with the coming of light 14:51 to remove the bondage of captivity to sin. 14:57 Amen. Amen. 14:58 Praise the Lord. Wow! What a wonderful start. 15:02 I have Monday's lesson and is simply 15:05 "A Child for Us." 15:07 So naturally, how could we go on 15:08 unless we, you know, go ahead and read 15:11 Isaiah 9:6-7 verses that were shared? 15:15 You know, I think mentioned 15:16 we read something two or three different times, 15:18 it begins to stick. 15:20 If you don't mind, I'm going to read it 15:21 because that's part of this child 15:23 and the revelation of this child, 15:25 not just any child, 15:27 but is mentioned the King of kings 15:28 and Lord of lords. 15:29 So when I read these verses, Isaiah 9:6-7, 15:35 I could, I stop with the first line, 15:36 "For unto us a child is born." 15:39 I like that. 15:40 And I just can't help, 15:42 I want to circle there us, unto us. 15:45 It said, a gift is born to us. 15:47 It says, "A Son is given," 15:49 notice this, 15:50 "His life is given to us, 15:52 the government shall be upon His shoulder, 15:54 and His name shall be called, I love it. 15:57 It's Wonderful. 15:58 He's a counselor, He's a Mighty God, 15:59 He's everything, isn't He? 16:01 He's the all in all. 16:02 I love that, Everlasting Father, 16:04 the Prince of Peace." 16:06 And the list could just go on and on and on and on and the, 16:09 of the increase verse 7, 16:10 "His government and peace shall be no end 16:13 upon the throne of David upon his kingdom, to order it, 16:16 and to establish it with judgment, with justice, 16:20 from henceforth even forever. 16:22 The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." 16:28 The question is asked 16:29 after we read that passage of scripture, 16:31 what is so special about this child? 16:34 What is so special about this child? 16:37 You know, everything seems right, 16:39 everything is special, 16:41 certainly about Jesus as found in these verses. 16:44 The Prophet Isaiah 16:46 began to write and proclaim these words 16:47 and he looked upon the promises there of deliverance, 16:51 promises of the coming of Jesus Christ, 16:53 such as Isaiah 40:5, 16:55 just read that quickly. 16:57 I love it because it says here, 16:58 notice Isaiah 40:5, and it says, 17:01 "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. 17:05 And all," 17:06 Oh, I like those words all, it says all, 17:08 I start circling all. 17:10 Yeah, no exceptions. 17:11 "All flesh shall see it together." 17:14 It's such a wonderful passage, 17:15 I need to go back 17:17 and just may talk about a couple of words 17:18 that were really exciting to me, 17:19 as I read it. 17:21 First of all, it says in Isaiah 40:5, 17:22 "the glory," 17:24 you know, that's something we can really think about 17:25 the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 17:28 and certainly wasn't the glory of the Lord 17:30 revealed in His life, 17:32 and in His ministry while He walked this earth. 17:34 How awesome that would be to have been there 17:37 when Jesus walked this earth? 17:39 I think about, I actually get goosebumps 17:41 when I think about Him walking the earth, 17:44 His sandals and His feet and all that He went through, 17:47 and He did it all for you and He did it all for me. 17:50 And so, and not only that, 17:51 they said, all flesh shall see Him. 17:53 So I think there's a transition 17:55 maybe that goes there for His life 17:57 and ministry here on earth. 17:59 And when He comes back, I can't help it, 18:01 He comes back the second time? 18:02 You know when He comes back the second time, 18:04 it says, you know, 18:05 "We shall see Him at the second coming of Jesus." 18:09 Oh, that song says, 18:11 "We shall behold Him. We shall be holy." 18:15 Oh, I love when I hear that somebody sing that song. 18:19 Face to face will behold all of His glory. 18:23 And. 18:25 you know, it goes to what a day that will be 18:26 when my Jesus I shall see. 18:30 Very few people can sing it like, 18:33 is it Sandi Patty sings and then Ivan Parker, 18:36 I've heard both of them sang, 18:38 and it just brings tears to my eyes every time, 18:40 "We shall behold Him, 18:42 oh, we shall behold Him 18:45 face to face in all of His glory." 18:49 Oh, I could just go on and on about that. 18:51 But Isaiah tells about this time, 18:54 the description of the coming of the king. 18:56 And I'm so thankful 18:57 that the Holy Spirit inspired men of God 18:59 to write these things down. 19:00 So somebody like me, 19:02 simple minded just can read them and, 19:04 just get excited about it 19:05 and to believe them the way they were written 19:07 that know that He is coming back. 19:09 Know someday I will be able to behold Him 19:11 if I'm faithful to the very end, 19:13 if we honor Him, because we're seeing in Isaiah, 19:16 how God's people turned. 19:18 And when they turned, 19:19 God couldn't do what He wanted to do, 19:21 you know, for them. 19:22 And I long for that day, only one person as mentioned, 19:26 I think Sister Shelley you mentioned, 19:27 only one person can match up to this description here, 19:30 that was Jesus Christ, a vision of the Lord. 19:34 And I say it right now God's people 19:36 if we ever needed a vision, we need one now. 19:38 Amen. That's right. 19:39 It will liven the church. 19:41 It will excite your own Christian experience. 19:43 It will bring us closer to Jesus. 19:45 Will want to go out there, 19:46 we're just like we want to bust open sometime, 19:48 poof, you know, just like let Jesus right shine through, 19:52 really let it come out. 19:53 You know, you said, you know you had people 19:55 who talk about things of this life, 19:56 and they'll say, 19:58 "I just couldn't wait to get home. 19:59 I just about to burst, 20:00 you know, with the excitement about the coming of Jesus." 20:03 You've to first open. 20:05 Pastor, you get in the pulpit. 20:06 You get in the pulpit, many of you in the pulpit, 20:07 you want to just burst sometimes 20:09 because of the goodness of the Lord 20:11 and things that are coming out. 20:13 He wrote these words 20:14 to help guided by the Holy Spirit for sure. 20:16 Psalms 110, it says, 20:19 "Forth Christ coming as the King 20:23 and now coming as the priests forever 20:26 after the order of Melchizedek." 20:27 In Psalms 110:4. 20:31 Psalms 2:9, just jot them down quickly, 20:33 time's going right out. 20:35 Psalms 2:9, 20:36 He's pictured as breaking the nation's, 20:38 notice what? 20:40 With a rod of iron. 20:42 In Psalms 45:4, 20:44 He's described as writing forth in what? 20:47 In majesty. 20:49 In Psalms 45:17, He said, 20:52 "I will make thy name to be remembered 20:54 in all generations, 20:56 therefore shall the people 20:58 praise thee forever and forever." 21:02 So to me, it becomes very, very clear. 21:04 I think we could even go back to the, 21:05 you know, certainly to Daniel 2:44, 21:09 where it sounds, let's say, 21:10 "In the days of those kings, 21:12 shall the God of heaven set up," what? 21:13 "Set up His kingdom, and it shall not be destroyed." 21:17 I love that, 21:18 and the kingdom 21:19 should not be left to any other, 21:21 He sets on the throne, 21:22 regardless of what's happening in the world, 21:24 regardless of what's being said, 21:26 and the fear of going on in the world today, 21:28 God sits on the throne, God rules, 21:30 nothing happens unless God gives permission. 21:33 He's seen it from the very beginning, right? 21:35 And, in fact, He had it written by the prophets of old 21:38 through the unction of the Holy Spirit, 21:40 and it shall stand, I love it, forever. 21:44 I mean, really, that may sound simple to some of you. 21:46 But you know, that's just an encouragement to my heart 21:49 and in my life, 21:50 to know that what God has written 21:51 and will say the beginning and the end. 21:53 And that's exactly how it's going to play out. 21:56 And I'll tell you this, 21:58 I love to be on the winning side. 22:00 I love it. 22:01 I know when I used to play sports 22:03 and whatever else I did, 22:04 I went out there, and I'll tell you this, 22:06 I went out there to win. 22:07 It's just as simple. 22:08 I'm joining the cause of Christ now, 22:10 it's really important and I want to win. 22:11 I want to be there. 22:13 He's a wonderful counselor. 22:14 That means He has, a counselor needs wisdom. 22:18 The counselor needs strength and power 22:19 and might and kindness, God has that. 22:22 In Revelation 5:12-13. 22:24 Read it when you can, 22:26 because we're talking about 22:27 "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." 22:30 Worthy is the Lamb, 22:32 now that will just wake you up, won't it? 22:33 That'll just set you on fire. 22:35 There's only one that is worthy and that's Jesus Christ. 22:38 That's right. And that's my example. 22:39 And I look to that worthy Lamb, praise God for that. 22:42 He's the mighty God. 22:44 He's the God, the Jesus that He's equal with God, 22:47 think about that. 22:48 He's been from everlasting was mentioned there. 22:50 I think he's talking about from the days of eternity, 22:53 there never was a time 22:55 that Jesus was not with the Father. 22:57 He's a Prince of Peace. 22:59 And I can certainly say this in my own experience, 23:02 you know, only, you know, you can only have peace only 23:06 when you have righteousness and holiness in your life. 23:08 Amen. 23:09 And you've sealed that 23:11 with the relationship with Jesus Christ. 23:13 In Letter 22-1899, it says this, 23:17 about the Nebuchadnezzar again, it says, 23:18 "It goes back and shows that Nebuchadnezzar, 23:21 that God of heaven was ruler over all, 23:25 the monarchs or the kings of the earth. 23:27 His name was to go forth as God over all gods." 23:32 And so again, we can say, 23:34 you know, unto us a child is born. 23:37 Think about just for a moment, just a few seconds left, 23:40 but think about, think about this. 23:42 He took our sinful nature without sin. 23:46 He came down here, risked... 23:50 He's risking losing, 23:51 never to go back with a father 23:53 and that just blows people's mind. 23:55 That's how much He loved you and how much He loved me. 23:57 And I'm very grateful and thankful 23:59 that He won the victory. 24:02 And to us a child was born, He took that Romans 8:3, 24:05 "God sending forth His Son," in what? 24:07 "In the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin 24:12 He condemned sin in the flesh." 24:15 Praise God. 24:16 He was the only one that could do it. 24:18 He's the only one that could pay that penalty. 24:20 The whole world universe, 24:22 everything depended upon Him 24:24 coming and living that victorious life. 24:26 And He did it for you and He did it for me. 24:28 And then He says, 24:30 "I offer that to you. 24:31 Oh, Kenny, I've left it at the will call window. 24:33 You don't have to do anything but give your life to Me. 24:36 Just come by and pick up the ticket, friend. 24:37 You can spend eternity with Me." 24:39 How much better can it get. 24:41 That's right. 24:42 He said, "You need harsh weapons in your life? 24:43 You didn't get them, but I took it for you." 24:46 Isn't that right? 24:48 By His stripes we are healed. That's right. Amen. 24:51 So I just encourage you today, John 3:16, 24:54 "Unto us child was born, 24:55 God so loved the world 24:57 that He gave His only begotten Son, 24:59 that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, 25:01 but have everlasting life. 25:03 Unto us a son is born." 25:05 Amen and amen. 25:07 You know, the only problem Kenny 25:09 is you just don't have enough enthusiasm. 25:12 I'm not worried about this. 25:13 You know, we are too, 25:14 and we were going to take a short break. 25:16 We'll be right back, so don't go away. 25:23 Ever wish you could watch 25:24 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:26 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 25:29 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:34 A clean design makes it easy 25:37 to find the program you're looking for. 25:39 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:42 so you can follow along. 25:44 Sharing is easy. 25:45 Just click share 25:47 and choose your favorite social media. 25:49 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:52 We're so glad that you're still with us. 25:54 And now, we now go to Pastor Ryan Day. 25:57 Amen. 25:59 Praise the Lord. 26:00 Lesson five. 26:03 We're on Tuesday's lesson entitled 26:06 "The Rod of God's Anger." 26:09 And, you know, I'm gonna say for the record 26:11 before we get into this 26:12 because we're about to do a whole lot of reading. 26:15 Just because there's a lot I'm covering here. 26:18 It's like a chapter and a half. 26:20 Of course, we can't cover it all. 26:21 But I just want to say for the record, 26:23 we serve an awesome, mighty, compassionate, 26:28 loving, graceful God. 26:30 There's no denying that, no one can deny God's goodness, 26:33 no one can deny God's compassion, 26:35 His mercy, 26:37 and His grace. 26:39 But that being said, 26:40 the Bible makes it very clear 26:41 that also God is a God of justice. 26:44 And this is what today's lesson is outlining. 26:47 It's showing, not that God, 26:50 it was God's will, it was God's plan 26:51 for Him to bring these judgments upon Israel, 26:54 but because of Israel's actions, 26:56 because of their choices, 26:58 they brought this upon themselves 27:00 and God had to withdraw that mercy, 27:02 He had to withdraw that grace because of their own choices. 27:06 And so I want to get right into it. 27:07 We're right here in Isaiah Chapter 9. 27:10 And I'm going to actually start reading in verse 8. 27:14 And I'm not going to read all of this passage, 27:16 but I just want to highlight a few of these verses 27:17 talking about the judgment that was brought upon Israel. 27:20 God had to exercise His rod of anger 27:24 to get their attention. 27:25 And so the Bible says beginning in verse 8 27:27 of Isaiah Chapter 9, 27:29 the Bible says, 27:31 "The Lord sent a word against Jacob, 27:33 and it has fallen on Israel. 27:36 All the people will know. 27:38 Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, 27:41 who say in pride and arrogance of heart." 27:44 Again, notice this arrogance." 27:46 The bricks have fallen down, 27:48 but we will build with hewn stones 27:51 or rebuild with hewn stones. 27:53 The Sycamores are cut down, 27:55 but we will replace him with cedars." 27:57 All right, 27:59 so what's the response of the Lord? 28:00 It says, "Therefore the Lord shall set up 28:03 adversaries of Rezin against him, 28:05 and spur his enemies on, the Syrians 28:08 before and the Philistines behind, 28:10 and they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. 28:14 For all this His anger is not turned away, 28:17 but His hand is stretched out still. 28:20 For the people do not turn to Him 28:22 who strikes them, 28:23 nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. 28:26 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail 28:29 from Israel, 28:31 palm branch and bulrush in one day. 28:34 The elder and honorable, he is the head, 28:38 the prophet who teaches lies, and of course, he is the tail." 28:43 And so what we're seeing here is the arrogance 28:46 and the neglect of Israel. 28:48 They're such an arrogant, 28:50 prideful heart of Israel as a nation, 28:52 that they completely turned their backs on the Lord. 28:54 And even though the Lord sent His prophets, 28:56 even though He sent His messengers, 28:58 who warned them and told them 29:00 and tried to draw them back in the way of the Lord, 29:02 they hardened their hearts, they would not listen. 29:04 And so God would send them 29:05 a judgment here, a judgment there, 29:07 He would allow His hand to be outstretched 29:09 in hopes of getting their attention. 29:11 But of course, we know that that was not the case. 29:13 It did not happen. 29:15 In fact, going to verse 21, 29:16 it's the end of that chapter there. 29:18 Isaiah 9:21. 29:19 It says, "Manasseh shall devour Ephraim 29:21 and Ephraim Manasseh, " 29:23 Isn't that how it often is, 29:24 when we turn our backs on the Lord, 29:26 or we pull our eyes off Jesus, 29:28 we end up against each other, our own people, 29:32 and that's exactly what happened here. 29:34 It says, "Together, they shall be against Judah." 29:37 So one's against the other, the other's against the other, 29:39 and then together, they were against another, 29:41 one of their brethren. 29:42 And it says, "For all this His anger is not turned away, 29:45 but His hand is stretched out still." 29:48 And who is He going to bring this judgment? 29:52 Who is He going to use to bring this judgment upon Israel? 29:54 Well, the people that 29:55 they basically submitted themselves to, 29:58 and basically gave up themselves 29:59 to their heathen worships 30:01 and their ways and their ways of life 30:03 and of course we're talking about Assyria, 30:05 the king of Assyria. 30:06 And you know, 30:08 God doesn't leave out the king of Assyria either. 30:10 While He allowed His, 30:12 the judgment of Israel to be executed 30:15 by the hand of Assyria. 30:17 God, I'm sure, 30:18 I'm sure the Lord wanted to reach the heart 30:20 of this king of Assyria as well, 30:22 just as He wanted to reach the pagan 30:24 king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar. 30:26 But notice what the Bible says about, again, 30:28 and the title of this section is arrogant Assyria. 30:31 So you got arrogant Israel, 30:32 being judged by arrogant Assyria, 30:35 and arrogant Assyria is going to be judged by God. 30:37 Notice what the Bible says. 30:39 And now we are into Chapter 10. 30:41 We're over in Isaiah 10. 30:42 And I'm gonna start reading in verse 5. 30:44 It says, "Woe to Assyria, 30:46 the rod of My anger 30:47 and the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 30:50 I will send him against an ungodly nation, 30:53 and against the people of My wrath, 30:55 I will give him charge, 30:57 to seize the spoil, to take the prey, 31:00 and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." 31:03 So again, God using Assyria 31:05 because again, they had turned their backs on the Lord, 31:08 they had given them themselves 31:10 over to the ways of the Assyrians. 31:11 And so now He's allowing the Assyrian army 31:14 under the leadership of the Assyrian king, 31:16 to now overthrow Israel. 31:18 Verse 12, we're in 10:12, it says, 31:21 "Therefore it shall come to pass, 31:23 when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion 31:26 and on Jerusalem, 31:27 that He will say, 31:28 'I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart 31:32 of the king of Assyria," 31:33 here it is, 31:34 "and the glory of his haughty looks.' " 31:39 And He goes on to say in verse 13, 31:42 "By the strength of my hand I have done it, 31:46 and by my wisdom, for I am prudent, 31:50 and I have removed the boundaries of the people, 31:52 and have robbed their treasuries. 31:55 So I have put down the inhabitants 31:57 like a valiant man." 31:59 So God is exercising judgment upon this nation 32:03 and upon these people who have neglected Him, 32:06 who have turned their back on the Lord. 32:08 And, you know, 32:10 this shouldn't surprise us 32:11 because over in Leviticus Chapter 26, 32:14 does not God clearly spell out for the nation, 32:17 His covenant people, they're in covenant with Him. 32:19 They said, 32:20 "Lord, all that You have said, we will do, 32:22 we will follow this covenant, we agree to these terms." 32:24 And so the Lord makes it clear in Leviticus Chapter 26, 32:27 we're not going to be able to read all of this 32:29 because it's quite a bit. 32:30 But God pronounces judgments in multiple different phases. 32:33 He says, he basically says, throughout this whole chapter, 32:36 you know, "If you will not obey my voice, 32:38 this is what's going to happen to you. 32:40 If you will not, then again, obey my voice, 32:43 I will bring this upon you." 32:45 Notice verse 14 of Leviticus Chapter 26, 32:48 we're going to start with verse 14, 32:49 and read till 17 there. 32:51 It says, "But if you do not obey me, 32:52 and do not observe all these commandments, 32:54 and if you despise my statutes, 32:56 and if your soul abhors my judgments, 32:59 so that you do not perform all My commandments, 33:01 but break My covenant, I also will do this to you." 33:05 And God is very clear. 33:06 He says, 33:07 "I will even appoint terror over you, 33:09 wasting disease and fever, 33:11 which shall consume the eyes and call sorrow of heart, 33:15 and you shall sow your seed in vain, 33:17 for your enemies shall eat it. 33:19 I will set my face against you, 33:21 and you shall be defeated by your enemies." 33:23 That's exactly what's happening here. 33:25 "Those who hate you shall reign over you, 33:27 and you shall flee when no one pursues you." 33:30 So again, God is talking about chaos 33:32 that has erupted in Jerusalem and in Israel, 33:36 because the people of the Lord, 33:38 they have been given the word, 33:39 they know they have the prophets 33:41 who have spoken to them. 33:42 They have the scrolls, they know what it says. 33:45 But it's simply they have reached a point 33:46 where they said, 33:47 "Lord, we know what you have said, but, 33:50 we know what you have declared on us, 33:52 but we're gonna do this 33:54 because it better suits us during this time." 33:55 And the Lord, again, 33:57 I can imagine His heart is breaking indeed. 34:00 You see, if God would have wanted 34:02 to destroy His people, 34:03 He could have given them up to the Assyrians right away, 34:05 right? 34:07 But He allowed this to unfold over a period of time. 34:09 And, of course, you know, I love 2 Peter 3:9, 34:12 because it really speaks 34:13 to the wonderful character of the Lord, 34:15 when He says, you know, 34:17 that He doesn't want anyone to perish, 34:18 but all to come to repentance. 34:21 That was the purpose of these judgments, 34:23 not to bring harm, not to bring fear, 34:25 not to bring hatred upon the people, 34:27 but to draw them to repentance. 34:29 And so what we see as a pattern of events 34:31 to which God allows His people to experience 34:34 some of these judgments for their folly in hopes 34:38 that it will wake them up, 34:39 and that they see the error of their ways 34:41 and ultimately repent. 34:42 But if you read the story of the Old Testament, 34:44 it's a perpetual, ongoing pattern 34:46 in which, you know, Israel continues in rebellion. 34:50 And, of course, this cycle is repeated 34:53 and ultimately ends in a downward spiral 34:57 in which God ultimately can't do nothing, 34:59 He has to withdraw Himself from them. 35:02 And so, you know, ultimately, what were the sins? 35:05 I want to add this really quickly, 35:06 what were the sins and I have to highlight this 35:08 that ultimately brought this destruction upon them. 35:11 Isaiah 10:1-2, 35:13 I have to highlight this, it says, 35:14 "Woe to those who decreed unrighteous decrees, 35:17 who write misfortune, which they have prescribed, 35:20 to rob the needy of justice, 35:22 and to take what is right from the poor of my people, 35:25 that widows may be their prey, 35:27 and that they may rob the fatherless." 35:31 What does Jesus say? 35:33 "And when you've done this to the least of these, 35:36 you have done that to me." 35:38 What we're seeing here, my friends, 35:39 is we need to follow the counsel of God's Word, 35:41 that we need to love the Lord God 35:43 with all our heart, mind and soul, 35:44 and our neighbor as ourselves. 35:46 That's not what Israel was doing. 35:47 They were bringing judgment upon others, 35:51 they were casting down others and ultimately it costs them. 35:54 We need to learn from this lesson, 35:56 and give our hearts to the Lord that we may be led in His way. 35:59 Amen. Amen. 36:01 Thank you, Ryan, for that enthusiasm. 36:04 Something you never lacked is the power of the Word. 36:08 Praise the Lord for that. 36:10 In Wednesday's lesson, "The Root and Branch in One." 36:15 "The Root and Branch in One." 36:17 We begin with Isaiah 11:1, 36:20 and Isaiah, the prophet, you had quite a bit to cover, 36:23 three chapters. 36:24 You did a very good job. 36:26 We read about 36:27 not only the restoration of the kingdom, 36:29 but the future unfolding of the kingdom. 36:36 Because the kingdom, in fact, we have to keep this in mind. 36:38 The kingdom is not just the people, 36:41 the foundation. 36:42 The most important part of the kingdom 36:44 is its foundation. 36:46 If the foundation is destroyed, what will the people of God do? 36:49 And so we find the foundation 36:51 is talked about of the kingdom of God here, 36:53 in Isaiah Chapter 11. 36:54 The Bible says, 36:56 "There shall come forth 36:58 a rod from the stem of Jesse, 37:03 and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 37:08 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, 37:12 the spirit of wisdom and understanding, 37:14 the spirit of counsel and might, 37:17 the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, 37:22 his delight is in the fear of the Lord. 37:24 And he shall not judge by the side of his eyes, 37:29 nor decide by the hearing of his ears, 37:31 but with righteousness, he shall judge the poor, 37:35 and decide with equity, the meek of the earth, 37:37 He shall strike the earth with a rod of his mouth, 37:41 and with the breath of his lips, 37:43 he shall slay the wicked, 37:44 righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, 37:48 and faithfulness, the belt of his waist." 37:52 When you read about this, 37:54 it could only be talking about one individual, 37:58 and I want to use the word individual loosely. 38:01 There's only one personality 38:03 that can fit into that description. 38:05 And that's the personality of Christ. 38:07 You know, when it talked about he shall not use his own eyes 38:10 or his own judgment. 38:12 Because when Jesus came, He said, 38:14 "I of my own self can do nothing, 38:16 I do the will of the Father that sent me." 38:18 He talked about independence of His own self, 38:21 but complete reliance on God. 38:23 Because anytime you have a root, 38:25 you also have a branch. 38:27 Jesus is the root 38:29 and we are the vine and the branches, 38:31 but also He is the Root of David. 38:34 What's talked about here 38:35 is through the genealogy of the Israelite nation, 38:38 or even the nation of Judah, 38:40 you find that this nation went through 38:42 continual rises and falls. 38:44 But when it brings about the imagery here, 38:47 in Isaiah10:33, 38:50 notice what's happening here, verse 33 and 34. 38:53 And I'm kind of peeking into some of the territory 38:55 that Ryan covered, but it says, 38:57 "Behold, the Lord, 38:59 the Lord of hosts will lop off the bough with terror. 39:03 Those of high statue will be hewn down, 39:06 and the haughty will be humbled. 39:08 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron 39:12 and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One." 39:18 So it's talking about 39:19 how the nation is going to go through some shake ups. 39:23 It's going to go through some times of divisions 39:25 and breakdowns. 39:26 And if you look at this entire picture, 39:28 and I've come to the conclusion over a couple years ago, 39:31 that the entire Bible has one particular theme 39:36 that is consistent. 39:38 Satan is trying to prevent Jesus from coming 39:42 and accomplishing His mission. 39:44 From the time 39:45 that it was a forecast in Genesis 3:15. 39:49 The battle between the seeds, 39:51 Satan has always continued throughout the ages 39:54 to try to lop off, 39:56 to lop off the branch that's going to come, 39:58 to lop off the work 40:00 that Jesus was going to accomplish. 40:02 And so we find, 40:03 that's why we see 40:05 after he couldn't successfully prevent the work of Christ. 40:08 Now he's going after the seed of the woman, 40:10 went to make war with the remnant of her seed. 40:13 It's always been about the seed. 40:14 And so we see that 40:15 this is what the Bible is forecasting here. 40:17 That's why I like it talks about the root 40:19 and the branch in one. 40:21 Let's go on. 40:22 The question is, 40:23 why is the new Davidic ruler also called the root of Jesse? 40:28 Isaiah 11:10, talks about this. 40:32 "And in that day, there shall be a root of Jesse, 40:34 who shall stand as a banner, to the people, 40:38 for the Gentiles shall seek him, 40:41 and his resting place shall be glorious. 40:43 Let's go to Acts very, very quickly. 40:45 I want to cover a few points here, Jill. 40:47 I don't have an entire list. 40:49 But I do have a point, Acts Chapter 13. 40:53 The Gentiles shall seek Him. 40:56 Right? 40:57 Acts Chapter 13. 40:59 That's right. Here I am. 41:01 Acts 13:44 and it says, verse 42, 41:07 "And when the Jews went out of the synagogue, 41:09 the Gentiles begged 41:11 that these words might be preached to them 41:13 the next Sabbath. 41:15 The Gentiles want to hear it. 41:16 And you go further down, 41:18 when the Jews rejected 41:19 what the Lord was giving to them. 41:21 He says in verse 47, 41:23 "For so the Lord has commanded us, 41:24 I have sent you to be a light to the Gentiles 41:28 that you should be for salvation 41:29 to the ends of the earth. 41:30 And now when the Gentiles, verse 48, heard this, 41:33 they were glad and glorified the Word of the Lord, 41:36 and as many as had been appointed 41:38 to eternal life believed. 41:39 So yes, the Gentiles sought the very thing that Jews had. 41:43 The root was not just to the Jews, 41:45 the root was to be extended through the Jews, 41:48 not just to the Jews. 41:50 So we're talking about the origin of divinity here. 41:53 And Revelation begins to amplify 41:55 and what I'm going to do in the remainder of my time, 41:57 is amplify this root throughout the New Testament. 42:00 Revelation 22:16. 42:03 Revelation 22:16, 42:06 the forecast of the coming Messiah, 42:09 Jesus now speaking of Himself. 42:11 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel 42:15 to give you this testimony for the churches. 42:18 I am the root and offspring of David, 42:22 and the bright and morning star." 42:24 So He's saying, 42:25 if you're looking for Me, here I am. 42:29 What's amazing about that? 42:30 I was talking to a Jewish gentleman 42:32 a couple of years ago, 42:33 when I was in, 42:34 I went to Las Vegas for the big electronic show. 42:37 And as I was checking out of the counter, 42:39 you know, B&H photo, 42:41 one of the Jewish guys was there 42:42 during the checkout. 42:44 And I said to him, 42:45 "You and I are brothers. We have many things in common." 42:47 He said, "Oh." 42:49 I said, "I keep the Sabbath." 42:50 He said, "Are you Jewish?" I said, "No, I'm Christian." 42:53 I said, "I also eat clean meats alone." 42:56 He said, "Are you following the Jewish laws?" 42:59 I said, "Not just the Jewish laws, 43:00 the biblical laws." 43:02 I said, "Do you know that your prophet Daniel 43:05 spoke of the coming Messiah?" 43:06 "He did?" 43:08 I shared with him Daniel 9:24- 27. 43:10 Right there at the counter he said, 43:12 "I've never heard that." 43:13 I said, "This is not the New Testament. 43:15 This is the Old Testament prophet Daniel, 43:17 and he is your prophet." 43:19 "Yes, he is." 43:20 He said, "Very interesting. Let me go read that." 43:23 So we can still share about the Messiah 43:25 without going through the New Testament. 43:27 But undoubtedly, 43:29 when you follow the lineage of Christ, 43:31 you find His death penalty connected to David. 43:34 Luke 1:11, 43:36 "For there is born to you this day 43:39 in the city of David, 43:41 a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." 43:44 I made a point, ancestry is irrefutable, 43:48 regardless of who you identify with, 43:50 or personally knowing your family tree. 43:53 The genealogy is undeniable. Yeah. 43:55 Some people wonder, 43:57 where did he get that attitude from? 43:59 Check your family line. 44:00 Some people where does that intelligence 44:02 or that desire for music come from? 44:04 Check your family line? 44:06 Matthew also brings out the genealogy of Christ. 44:09 Matthew 1:17. 44:11 So all the generation from Adam to David 44:13 all 14 generations, 44:15 from David, 44:17 until the captivity in Babylon are 14 generations, 44:20 and from the captivity in Babylon, 44:22 until the Christ are 14 generations. 44:25 Once again connecting the lineage, 44:28 the root and the branch in one. 44:31 And then in Luke Chapter 3. 44:33 And this is a whole mouthful right here. 44:36 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry 44:38 about 30 years of age, 44:41 being as was suppose the son of Joseph, 44:45 the son of Heli, the son of Methuselah, 44:48 the son of Enosh, the son of Jared, 44:50 the son of Melchi, the son of Cainan, 44:53 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, 44:56 the son of Adam, the son of God. 44:58 Look at that genealogy, he is tying it back. 45:01 The amazing revelation 45:02 about the genealogy of divinity 45:04 is Jesus is not only the successor, 45:07 the one that follows. 45:09 He is the predecessor, the one that leads. 45:13 Look at Isaiah 43:10. 45:16 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, 45:18 and my servant whom I have chosen 45:21 that you may know and believe me, 45:23 and understand that I am he, 45:25 before me, this is the predecessor, 45:28 there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me. 45:32 Jesus is the successor and the predecessor. 45:36 And Paul the Apostle makes it clear 45:38 in Colossians 1:17. 45:40 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 45:46 Now in the beginning, 45:48 does not mean after the beginning. 45:51 Want that very, very clear, because some people think that 45:53 Jesus is at the beginning, 45:55 He is the beginning of all things, 45:56 the predecessor and the successor in one, 45:59 the root and the branch. 46:01 Amen. 46:03 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 46:04 What an incredible study as we... 46:07 I have Thursday's lesson, which is "You comforted me." 46:10 It's Isaiah Chapter 12, 46:12 the whole chapter but it's only six verses. 46:14 So it's not as Pastor Ryan 46:16 had to do 30 some or 40 some verses. 46:19 It's not like that. 46:21 If you look at the section of Isaiah 7 through Isaiah 12. 46:26 Isaiah 12 ends this entire section 46:29 talking about prophecies of Emmanuel, 46:33 God with us. 46:34 Isaiah 7, we see the first birth 46:37 and that prophecy God with us. 46:39 Isaiah 8, we see the second birth, 46:42 that is Isaiah's actual second biological son. 46:45 Isaiah 9, we see the third birth, 46:47 this is Christ the Messiah. 46:51 For unto us a child is born and a son is given. 46:54 Isaiah 11, we see Jesus Christ again, 46:57 the root and branch of Jesse. 47:00 Isaiah 12, we see this same Jesus 47:04 brings us comfort, brings us salvation, 47:07 dwells with us as His people. 47:10 What's amazing to me is 47:11 Isaiah 7 begins with Emmanuel, God with us. 47:14 The concluding section, Isaiah 12 ends with, 47:18 for great is the Holy One of Israel 47:21 in your midst. 47:23 God with us again. 47:26 This song, Isaiah 12, 47:28 you could actually look at it as a song or a psalm. 47:32 You could compare it with Exodus 15, 47:35 which is an amazing song of deliverance 47:37 after the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea. 47:40 You can compare it with Revelation 15, 47:43 and the song of Moses and of the Lamb. 47:46 But instead of all that, 47:47 you can look that up another time. 47:49 We're going to six lessons from Isaiah Chapter 12. 47:53 And we're taking basically one from each verse. 47:55 Lesson number one, 47:56 God's judgment is always redemptive, 47:59 and it has a purpose. 48:02 I always like to say 48:04 God uses the gentlest means possible 48:06 to get our attention. 48:09 If just a tap on the shoulder works. 48:10 That's what He's going to use. 48:12 Let's read verse 1, Isaiah 12:1, 48:15 "And in that day you will say, oh, Lord, I will praise you, 48:20 though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, 48:24 and you comfort me." 48:26 You know, Psalm 30:5 says, 48:28 "Weeping, it endures for a night, 48:30 but joy comes in the morning." 48:34 God's anger, 48:36 especially the anger we saw in Ryan section there 48:39 can be understood as the redemptive, 48:41 corrective discipline 48:43 of a parent who loves their child. 48:45 It reminds me of Hebrews. 48:47 Turn with me to the Book of Hebrews 48:48 Chapter 12. 48:50 We see this redemptive corrective discipline 48:52 coming again from God Himself. 48:55 Hebrews 12, starting in verse 5. 48:59 "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, 49:03 nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him, 49:07 for whom the Lord loves he chastens 49:10 and scourges every son whom he receives." 49:13 Jump down to verse 11. 49:15 "Now no chastening seems joyful for the present." 49:18 We don't like the judgment, it doesn't seem pleasant, 49:20 it's painful. 49:22 Nevertheless, afterward, 49:25 it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness 49:29 to those who have been trained by it. 49:33 Apparent disciplines, 49:35 but then they offer love and comfort. 49:38 It reminds me of, 49:40 we studied this in an earlier Sabbath School Panel quarterly. 49:43 Nehemiah, 49:44 the Book of Nehemiah Chapter 9. 49:46 And remember, as Nehemiah reminded 49:48 the children of Israel of their sins, 49:50 there was this cycle, 49:52 there was their disobedience. 49:54 They went their own way. They worshipped other idols. 49:56 They did their own thing. 49:57 Then God brought judgment upon them, to correct them, 50:03 to discipline them, to show them their sins, 50:06 then God brought repentance to them 50:09 because repentance, we can't conjure that up. 50:11 That's a gift from God. 50:13 Then God brought extended mercy toward them, 50:17 and He brought them deliverance. 50:19 But they didn't learn their lesson. 50:20 And they went right back in that cycle of disobedience. 50:24 And then the judgment came again. 50:27 The repentance came, there was mercy extended, 50:31 and God brought deliverance again, 50:32 and they still didn't learn the lesson. 50:33 And they went back through that again. 50:37 Lesson number one, God's judgment is redemptive, 50:40 and it has a purpose. 50:42 Lesson number two, Jesus doesn't do my salvation, 50:46 He is my salvation. 50:50 He doesn't bring my salvation, He is my salvation. 50:55 Let's read verse 2, 50:57 "Behold, God is my salvation. 51:00 I will trust and not be afraid. 51:02 For You the Lord is my strength and my song, 51:05 He also has become my salvation." 51:08 Jesus doesn't just do salvation, 51:10 He is salvation. 51:12 Jesus doesn't just do miracles, 51:15 He became flesh and dwelt among us. 51:18 John 1:14, 51:20 "And the word it became flesh and dwelt among us. 51:23 We beheld His glory, 51:24 the glory is of the only begotten of the Father, 51:27 full of grace and truth. 51:29 Jesus didn't just bear my sins on the cross, 51:32 He became sin for me. 51:35 2 Corinthians 5:21, 51:37 "He made Him, God made Jesus 51:39 who knew no sin, to be sin for me, 51:43 that we might be made 51:44 the righteousness of God in Him." 51:46 Jesus doesn't just make peace. 51:48 He is my peace. 51:51 Ephesians 2:14, 51:53 "For He Himself is our peace, 51:55 who has made both one and has broken down 51:58 the middle wall of separation." 52:00 Jesus doesn't just make a sacrifice. 52:03 He is the sacrifice. 52:06 Hebrews 9:12, 52:07 "Not with the blood of bulls and goats, and calves, 52:10 but with his own blood, 52:12 he entered the most holy place once for all, 52:15 having obtained eternal redemption. 52:19 So lesson two, 52:20 "Jesus doesn't do my salvation, 52:23 He is my salvation." 52:26 Lesson number three, 52:27 "God as my salvation takes away my fear." 52:31 Let's read the second part of that verse, Isaiah 12:2, 52:35 "Behold, God is my salvation." 52:37 Actually the first part, 52:39 "I will trust and not be afraid." 52:43 You know, there's a scripture in Isaiah 26:3, 52:46 which I've had repeated to me many, many times. 52:49 What does it say? 52:50 You will keep him in perfect peace 52:52 whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in thee. 52:57 That scripture used to traumatize me 52:59 because I would think, I have to focus on Jesus, 53:02 focus on Jesus, 53:04 Jill, just focus on Jesus. 53:05 If you would focus on Jesus more, 53:07 what would happen? 53:09 Your mind would be in perfect peace, 53:10 you would not fear. 53:12 And it became about me, trying to focus on Jesus. 53:17 But if you look at the Hebrew, this was revolutionary for me. 53:22 You will keep him in perfect peace 53:23 whose mind is stayed on You." 53:25 The word stayed means to lean, 53:29 to lay, to rest upon. 53:33 So what is God saying? 53:34 If you want peace, 53:36 don't stress and try to focus on God. 53:39 I lay my head on His lap. 53:42 You put your head on His shoulder, 53:45 rest on Jesus, 53:47 and He's the one who keeps you in perfect peace. 53:50 You know, we don't have God. 53:52 He has us. 53:53 I love that. 53:55 Lesson number four, 53:56 God's salvation, it never dries up. 53:59 Read verse 3, 54:01 "Therefore with joy, 54:02 you will draw water from the wells of salvation." 54:06 Have you gone to it and thought maybe there's not salvation, 54:09 maybe there's not mercy, maybe there's not grace. 54:11 Those wells are so deep, they are inexhaustible. 54:15 His mercy, His love, 54:17 His forgiveness is inexhaustible. 54:20 Isaiah 55:1, 54:22 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, 54:25 and you who have no money, come, buy and eat." 54:29 We can drink from an inexhaustible source, 54:32 the well of salvation, 54:34 and extend that to someone else. 54:36 Lesson number five, 54:37 if God's done something for you, 54:39 tell somebody else about it. 54:41 We see this in verse 4 and 5, 54:44 "And in that day, you will say, 54:46 praise the Lord. 54:48 Call upon His name, 54:49 declare His deeds among the people, 54:51 make mentioned that His name is exalted. 54:54 Sing to the Lord, for He's done excellent things. 54:57 This is known in all the earth." 54:59 Why do we share? 55:00 Because that judgment is passed. 55:02 We share because He has brought us comfort. 55:05 We share because 55:06 His wells of salvation are inexhaustible. 55:10 When God has done something for you, 55:12 tell somebody else about it. 55:14 Finally, lesson number six, 55:16 the presence of God among His people 55:19 is the climax of salvation. 55:22 Salvation, of course, was purchased for us 55:24 by the blood of Jesus at the cross 55:26 and we accept it by faith and confess our sins. 55:28 But the climax of that is spending eternity with Him. 55:34 Verse 6, 55:35 "Cry out and shout, oh inhabitant of Zion, 55:39 for great is the holy one of Israel, in your midst." 55:45 Remember, in the beginning in the garden, 55:47 Adam and Eve dwelt with God. 55:49 And at the end, Revelation 21:3, 55:52 "I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 55:54 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, 55:58 and He will dwell with them, 56:00 He will set up resonance with them, 56:03 they shall be His people. 56:04 God Himself will be with them and be their God." 56:07 I want to be there. 56:09 Amen. 56:10 Amen and amen. 56:13 All of you did such a wonderful job, 56:15 but that that was fabulous, Jill, 56:18 praise the Lord. 56:19 All right, well, we have just a couple of minutes left. 56:21 We want to get closing thought from each one of you. 56:26 Unto us a child is born, 56:28 and to us a Lamb slain 56:30 from the foundation of the world. 56:32 Christ born, 56:34 Christ given is the foundation of our hopes and of our joys. 56:40 Amen. Praise the Lord. 56:42 Bible says that God is love. 56:45 Not that He is mere loving, 56:46 but He is love 56:47 and therefore that love requires freedom. 56:51 And so He gives us that freedom, 56:52 but with that freedom comes responsibility. 56:55 And we have a responsibility to seek Him 56:57 and to look to Him always for salvation. 56:59 Amen. 57:00 Mine is Jesus is not just the successor, 57:02 but the predecessor, 57:04 Isaiah 43:10. 57:06 Please don't forget this, 57:07 in this day where people are arguing about His origin. 57:10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, 57:11 and my servants whom I have chosen 57:13 that you may know and believe and understand that I am He, 57:16 before me there is no God formed, 57:18 nor shall there be after Me. 57:21 Amen. 57:22 Isaiah 12 is the psalm 57:24 or song of praise for salvation. 57:26 And God just extends 57:28 that gift of salvation to each one of us. 57:30 Make a choice to accept it. 57:31 Amen. 57:32 When the Bible says, 57:34 "Unto us a child was given, 57:36 unto you the Prince of peace wants to come today 57:39 and His peace, 57:41 he says, not as the world gives, give by to you, 57:44 but His peace is not just for now, 57:48 but for eternity." 57:49 We hope you'll join us next time 57:51 lesson six, 57:53 "Playing God." 57:54 So thank you so much. 57:56 God bless you today and always. |
Revised 2021-02-18