Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210004S
|
00:01 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:03 I'm Pastor John Lomacang. 00:05 And we wanna thank you for taking the time to join us. 00:07 We enjoy your company. 00:09 We know that you are looking forward 00:11 to the Lord speaking to you through His Word. 00:14 And we take that seriously. 00:16 This lesson quarter is talking about 00:19 Comfort My people from the Book of Isaiah. 00:23 All you need is a Bible and a Sabbath school lesson. 00:25 If you'd like a copy of that, 00:27 go to a ABSG.Adventist.org and download a copy, 00:32 or you can go to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:35 and join them. 00:36 And I know they will welcome you. 00:37 Today's lesson, lesson number four is entitled 00:40 "The Hard Way." 00:41 What is hard about the Book of Isaiah? 00:44 What is hard about God's Word? 00:45 Stay tuned and you'll find out. 00:48 Thank you so much for taking the time to join us. 00:50 Join us for this beginning excursion 00:52 through God's Word. 01:24 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 01:26 for the study of lesson number four 01:28 entitled The Hard Way. 01:30 We always appreciate you joining us. 01:32 We enjoy each other's company 01:34 and your company just adds little spice 01:37 to the ingredients. 01:39 Make sure you have your Bibles. 01:41 If you are joining us from your church, 01:42 gather together in a group, social distance that is, 01:46 if you are close together, 01:47 like we are here, we're wearing mask. 01:49 Each one of us, 01:51 you might notice that we have our mask. 01:52 That's not for any kind of makeup purposes, 01:56 but that is in fact to exercise caution and safety 01:58 in this unusual time in which we live. 02:00 The one thing 02:02 that's not unusual is God's Word. 02:03 And we would like to invite you to join us 02:05 as we study God's Word together. 02:07 The Book of Isaiah has been tremendous thus far. 02:10 Can we get a muted amen? 02:12 Amen. 02:13 That's a muted amen. 02:15 But the hard way 02:17 is what we're gonna be talking about today, 02:19 covering prophecy and its relevance 02:21 and other things. 02:23 And we are enjoying Tiglath-Pileser, 02:25 the I, II and III. 02:27 And you may have heard about him, 02:28 a character that some of you might say, 02:31 "Who is that?" 02:32 Before we go into further though, 02:33 we're gonna begin with prayer. 02:35 I'm gonna ask Jill. 02:36 Jill, would you start with prayer today for us? 02:37 Sure. Okay. 02:39 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus, 02:40 grateful for the gift of Your Word, 02:43 grateful for the gift of Your Spirit 02:45 that opens and illumines 02:46 our minds and hearts as we study. 02:48 So, would you come just now and teach us in Jesus' name. 02:53 Amen. Amen. 02:55 And to my immediate left is the lady with many hats 03:00 and hair that never stops growing. 03:02 I always appreciate Shelley's wonderful hair. 03:05 Shelley Quinn, good to have you here, Shelley. 03:07 Thank you. 03:08 It's hard to believe I've lost half of it 03:10 and this is still what's left. 03:11 It's going to be hard to convince me of that. 03:13 But, Pastor Kenny Shelton, good to have you here today. 03:16 Yeah. Always good to be here. 03:18 I won't go into how much hair we've lost, 03:19 but hey, the Lord is still good. 03:22 He sets on the throne. 03:23 Okay. 03:25 And, Jill, our vice president and COO. 03:27 And I'm not even gonna talk about hair, 03:29 but I am excited about today's study. 03:30 Okay. 03:32 Pastor Ryan Day, a young man 03:34 who is just continuing to grow on the Lord. 03:36 I appreciate having you here, Ryan. 03:37 Amen, and to that same note, praise God for hair, 03:40 but it's something about hair. 03:42 I'll figure out what to do. 03:43 Yeah. 03:44 Well, and only in the American vernacular 03:47 can hair mean, different things. 03:49 We are all here talking about hair. 03:51 And so, we hope you hear what we have to say. 03:53 Amen. 03:54 But that's the American, 03:57 that's the vernacular of the English language. 04:00 Let's go ahead and do an overview quickly 04:01 of the memory text of lesson number four, 04:07 the memory text is Isaiah 8:17. 04:10 Let's see. 04:12 I'll just go ahead and read that 04:13 since it's a very short one, 04:15 it says, 04:16 "And I will wait on the Lord 04:17 who hides His face from the house of Jacob. 04:22 And I will hope in Him." 04:25 What a text. 04:26 We've been discovering in the Book of Isaiah, 04:29 that the first part of it 04:30 is really expressing God's frustration 04:33 with the house of Jacob, with the house of Israel, 04:35 with the kings 04:36 that are called by His name to lead out 04:40 in showing the people who He is. 04:43 And we've already covered a number of lessons 04:44 that just show us that frustration. 04:46 But I wanna begin with a story here on Sunday. 04:49 It's a very interesting story. 04:51 And I'll just go ahead and read it for you. 04:53 It says, "At a burning building in New York City, 04:55 Harlem, that is, 04:56 a blind girl was perched on the fourth-floor window. 05:00 The fireman had become desperate. 05:03 They couldn't fit the ladder truck 05:04 between the building 05:06 and they couldn't get up to her to jump into the net, 05:09 which she, of course, couldn't see. 05:12 That's a difficult thing. 05:14 Finally, her father arrived 05:15 and shouted through the bullhorn 05:18 that there was a net 05:20 that she was to jump on his command. 05:22 Remember she cannot see. 05:25 The girl jumped, 05:26 it was so completely relaxed 05:28 that she did not break a bone or even strain of muscle 05:32 in the four storey fall. 05:33 Why? 05:35 Because she trusted her father completely. 05:38 When she heard her father's voice, 05:40 she did what he said was best." 05:43 That's so beautiful. 05:44 And we're living in a day and age, 05:46 and even in the climate that we are facing today, 05:48 we must hear our father's voice 05:51 because our day is not much different 05:53 than the days of Isaiah in many, many ways. 05:56 We have distorted religion. 05:58 We have people that claim to be followers of God's Word 06:01 that are teaching things 06:02 that are not in harmony with God's Word 06:03 as Ryan and I were talking about that. 06:05 We have people that have the garb of Christianity, 06:08 but what they're saying is 06:09 just not in harmony with Christ. 06:10 And in some cases, 06:12 many of them are probably unintentionally ignorant, 06:15 but on some levels, 06:17 many of them are very well-informed, 06:18 but choose to avoid God's Word. 06:21 That's why I liked the lesson about the hard way. 06:24 And mine is particularly prophecy fulfilled. 06:27 Now I've said this before 06:30 when we talk about prophecy 06:31 and we look at the Old and New Testament. 06:33 The Old Testament is prophecy concealed. 06:36 The New Testament is prophecy revealed. 06:39 Keep that in mind. 06:40 So, if you're just a New Testament Christian, 06:42 you don't understand prophecy concealed. 06:45 It is important to understand what was concealed 06:48 to appreciate what was revealed. 06:52 And so, when we think about that, 06:53 when we go to Matthew 06:55 or when Jesus says 06:57 these are the fulfillment of what Jeremiah said 06:59 or what the Prophet Isaiah said, 07:02 you got to know what the Prophet Isaiah 07:03 or Jeremiah said 07:04 in order to know that it was fulfilled. 07:06 And when Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus, 07:09 He began at Moses and the prophets. 07:12 But if you're not reading Moses and the prophets, 07:14 and you're saying, 07:15 well, I'm just a New Testament Christian. 07:17 I don't wanna say this disrespectfully, 07:18 but you are four-faced in the dark, 07:21 because the New Testament is just the flashlights end, 07:24 but the batteries behind it is the Old Testament. 07:27 Without the batteries, you will never see the light. 07:30 And so, let's look at a passage in our Sunday's memory text, 07:34 how beautiful it is. 07:38 Isaiah 7:14-16. 07:43 It says, therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. 07:47 And, Jill, you approached this on one of our passages 07:50 talking about its contemporary meaning 07:55 and its relevance today. 07:56 What it meant to those who were back in that day. 07:59 But I'm gonna talk about its modern-day approach 08:03 and what it means today. 08:05 Isaiah 7:14-16, 08:06 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: 08:10 Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son 08:12 and shall call His name Immanuel. 08:17 Curds and honey He shall eat, 08:19 that He may know to refuse the evil 08:22 and choose the good. 08:24 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil 08:29 and choose the good, 08:30 the land that you dread 08:32 will be forsaken by both her kings." 08:35 And I appreciate the way you unpack that, Jill. 08:37 So, I'm not gonna, you want to see that 08:38 you need to go back to one of our prior lessons 08:41 how Jill really took the time to make that significant. 08:45 Now, why does Isaiah mention curds and honey 08:48 as the new King James Version talks about it? 08:52 The lesson is about signs. 08:54 Now we find that curds and honey 08:56 refer to the condition that Judah would return to. 08:59 So, this prophecy was saying, 09:01 I know you're in Southern Illinois now, 09:05 but in a few days you're gonna eating. 09:09 I'm gonna just use this terminology 09:10 that if you're from Jamaica, 09:12 you'll know where it associates with right away, 09:14 you'll be eating Ackee and saltfish. 09:16 And somebody might say, I'm from Southern Illinois. 09:19 There is no Ackee and saltfish in Southern Illinois, 09:23 but a person from Jamaica say, 09:24 "Oh, so, we must be going to Jamaica." 09:27 When the Lord mentioned curd and honey, 09:29 He was telling Judah where they're going to be, 09:32 not where they are. 09:33 He was in fact prognosticating the future of their habitation, 09:38 not their present condition. 09:40 So, curds and honey conditions refer to the diet 09:44 that they are going to be partaking of, 09:46 not the diet that they were subject to. 09:48 Last week, we also talked about the evil of nature. 09:51 The evil nature of those 09:53 that require a sign before obedience. 09:56 And you find that the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign. 10:01 And He said to them, 10:03 "A wicked and adulterous generation 10:04 seeks after a sign." 10:06 The only sign they're going to get 10:07 is a sign of Jonah, 10:08 three days and three nights. 10:10 But let's talk about prophecy and signs. 10:13 Go with me to John Chapter 14. 10:15 Let's look at how significant signs are 10:18 and how relevant prophecy is. 10:21 The people of God are given signs to understand 10:23 how prophecy will be fulfilled, 10:26 but there can be no fulfillment 10:28 until there is first a prognostication 10:30 or a prediction. 10:31 John 14:29, look what Jesus said. 10:36 And He says, 10:37 "And now I have told you before it comes, 10:41 that when it does come to pass," what? 10:44 "You may believe." "You may believe." 10:46 The Book of John is predicated on two major words 10:50 to know, and to believe 10:52 all throughout the Book of John, 10:54 to know, and to, 10:55 and this is life eternal that you may know, 10:58 and also that you may believe. 11:00 When you know, 11:01 now I'm gonna go ahead 11:03 and put the application perfectly square. 11:04 When you know what the prophecy is, 11:08 when it comes to pass, you will believe. 11:10 Here's the importance 11:12 of understanding the Old Testament. 11:13 But if you don't know the prophecy, 11:15 you will think that the fulfillment is incidental. 11:17 You say, "Oh, I wonder why that happened." 11:20 But when you know the prophecy and then it comes to pass, 11:24 you will believe, 11:26 that's why Jesus says I've told you 11:28 so that when it does take place, 11:29 you will believe. 11:31 Look at Luke 4:21. 11:33 He used this very, very clearly. 11:36 Luke 4:21. 11:39 And once again, Jesus says, 11:40 "And He began to say to them 11:43 today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 11:48 But once again, 11:50 if you don't know the scripture that He's referring to, 11:52 you'll never be able to appreciate the fulfillment. 11:55 So, don't applaud yourself 11:57 to be just a Matthew to Revelation. 11:59 And then the Book of Psalms, 12:01 because I've seen many Bibles, Shelley, being sold, 12:03 they're sort of very small ones. 12:05 They have the Book of Psalms 12:07 and they have Matthew to Revelation and people say, 12:09 "I've got all I need." 12:12 Well, in fact, tell that to the Lord, 12:15 because many of you don't understand that 12:16 when the Bible says 12:18 all scripture is given by inspiration of God, 12:20 there was not a single reference 12:21 being made to the New Testament. 12:23 It was the Old Testament, right, Pastor Kenny? 12:25 That's right. Right, Pastor Ryan? 12:26 There was not a single reference 12:27 being made to the Old Testament. 12:29 When the Apostle Paul was speaking about 12:32 the holy men of God speak 12:33 as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, 12:35 he was referring to the writing of the Old Testament. 12:38 He was making absolutely no reference at all 12:41 to the New Testament. 12:42 So, don't fall into the rabbit hole 12:45 Don't fall into the rabbit hole 12:46 of thinking that all I need is the New Testament. 12:48 Here's another one, Matthew 24:33. 12:52 It is not just a prognostication 12:54 that is important, 12:55 but also the fulfillment. 12:57 Matthew 24:33-34, 13:00 Jesus made it very clear. 13:01 That's why many people believe in things 13:03 like the rapture. 13:04 They say, "Jesus could come any day now." 13:06 You know why? 13:07 Because they don't know what signs to look for. 13:09 It's like we could get off any exit. 13:11 Not any exit on 57 Southeast is gonna lead you to 3ABN. 13:17 Any exit, now know, you've got to know the exit. 13:20 Here's the words of Jesus. 13:21 He says, "So you also," 13:23 verse 33 of Matthew 24, 13:25 "when you see all these things 13:27 know that it is near at the doors. 13:29 Assuredly, I say to you, 13:32 this generation will by no means pass away 13:35 till all these things take place." 13:38 And what you may not understand is 13:40 out of the 404 verses in Revelation, 13:44 276 of those are found in the Old Testament. 13:47 That's right. 13:48 See, John was not coming up with anything new, 13:50 but the Lord was taking all of what He told 13:53 Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 13:56 the minor prophets, the major prophets. 13:58 He was conglomerating them into the Book of Revelation. 14:02 For example, the seal of God 14:03 is expanded in Ezekiel Chapter 9. 14:06 But John gives just a glimpse in Revelation Chapter 7. 14:09 Once again, if you don't know the prophecy, 14:12 you'll not know the fulfillment. 14:15 1 Peter 1:19-21 before I transition to Shelley. 14:20 Unchanging nature of God is revealed through prophecy. 14:23 He says, 14:25 "And so we have a prophetic word confirmed 14:27 or a more sure word of prophecy," 14:29 as Pastor Kenny says in the King James version, 14:32 "which you do well to heed 14:34 as a light that shines in a dark place 14:37 until the day dawns 14:38 and the morning star rises in your hearts." 14:42 Verse 20, 14:44 "Knowing this first that no prophecy of scripture 14:46 is of any private interpretation 14:49 for prophecy never came by the will of man, 14:52 but holy men of God spoke 14:54 as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 14:57 Understand the prophecy to appreciate the fulfillment. 15:01 Amen and amen. 15:05 That's right. 15:06 Now, we're trying to be careful here. 15:09 You can breathe. All right. 15:12 You know, having grown up in a New Testament Church 15:16 only having read the New Testament. 15:18 I so appreciate what you said, 15:20 because I didn't even understand grace 15:23 until I studied in the Old Testament. 15:26 And that's where I really understood. 15:28 Okay. 15:29 My lesson is Monday, 15:32 "Foreseeing Consequences." 15:37 In other words, 15:39 you ought to know what's coming. 15:40 So, this lesson covers 15:42 Isaiah 17 through 25. 15:48 Let me just kind of set this up. 15:51 The kingdom of God's people was divided. 15:55 You had Israel, 15:57 which was also called Ephraim 15:59 in the Northern kingdom there's 10 tribes. 16:02 Then you had the two tribes of Judah, 16:04 which is down where Bethlehem and everything is. 16:07 Ahaz was the king of Judah. 16:09 He was an evil king and he reigned 16 years. 16:14 What his problem was, 16:16 Ahaz really gets a bee in his bonnet 16:19 because the Northern kingdom of Israel 16:23 is going to make an alliance 16:29 with Syria 16:30 and they're gonna come attack the Judah. 16:35 So, he's all concerned about this. 16:38 He goes to Isaiah, Isaiah tells him, 16:42 "Hey, don't do this because he wants to make... 16:48 Ahaz wants to make an alliance with the king of Assyria. 16:55 And so, Isaiah comes to him and says, don't do this. 17:00 This is not gonna end well. 17:02 The Assyrians had an insatiable thirst for power. 17:08 And so, he even asks Him, God tells him, 17:11 "Hey, if you want a sign, just ask me for a sign, 17:15 but Ahaz rejected that. 17:17 And you know, you might, when you first look at it, 17:19 when he says, "Oh, I don't wanna test God." 17:22 Well, actually he was being obstinate 17:25 because God is asking him to do this. 17:28 And Ahaz refused the prophet's advice. 17:32 So, he was ruled 17:34 more by his emotions of fear than faith. 17:37 So, what happens? 17:38 He turns down God's guarantee of deliverance 17:44 and he chooses an alliance with Tiglath-Pileser 17:50 who is the king of Assyria. 17:55 So, what happened was, 17:57 Ahaz put himself in a war against God. 18:00 And I love Isaiah 7:13. 18:02 Isaiah says to him, 18:04 "Hear now, O house of David, " 18:06 he's talking to the king in Judah, 18:09 "is it a small thing for you to weary men, 18:14 but will you weary my God also?" 18:17 So, now what happens is the story goes on. 18:20 He gets some good news. 18:22 All right, Syria and Israel are gonna be wiped out. 18:27 Assyria will take care of them. 18:29 They're gonna take care of them. 18:32 But here's the bad news. 18:34 After Assyria takes care of Syria 18:37 and the Northern kingdom, 18:39 they're coming after you bud. 18:42 So, He says in Isaiah 7:17, 18:46 God is gonna use the Assyrians to invade Judah. 18:50 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you 18:52 and your people and your father's house, 18:56 days that have not come since the day that Ephraim, 19:00 that's the Northern Israel Ephraim, 19:03 departed from Judah. 19:05 So, as later events showed what happened. 19:11 King Ahaz had to pay as a vassal of Assyria. 19:15 He had to pay them, 19:18 what do you call it when they pay their? 19:20 Tribute. 19:21 What? Tribute. 19:22 Tribute. 19:24 That's a good word, heavy tributes. 19:25 That's the word I'm looking for. 19:28 But when you look down at verse 20, 19:31 it says that the land is gonna be laid bare as a razor. 19:36 Verse 21 and 22 says that 19:39 cultivation and agriculture would cease. 19:42 And there'd just be a few of the inhabitants 19:45 that are supporting themselves 19:47 by keeping a few cows and sheeps. 19:49 And the only nourishment they had would be dairy produce 19:53 and honey from wild bees. 19:55 Then verse 23 through 25, says that 19:57 thorns are gonna come up everywhere 20:00 after Assyria attacks you 20:02 and the hills that were once carefully cultivated 20:06 are just gonna, have a few cattle 20:09 roaming on them and wild beasts. 20:11 So, sorrows of every kind are gonna to come upon them 20:15 because they're rejecting God's salvation. 20:19 Isn't God amazing? 20:22 Basically, God is saying, 20:24 if you're gonna refuse My grace, 20:26 you're gonna be unfruitful. 20:28 So, here's something that we've got to remember, 20:32 the coming of the Assyrian king when he took over Judah, 20:38 guess what? 20:40 That was the beginning of the end for Judah. 20:42 It laid the foundation for the Babylonians 20:45 to come in and conquer. 20:47 Now, if we read, I've got just a few minutes. 20:50 If we read 2 Kings 16:10-18, 20:55 and what I love about Isaiah and the Kings and Chronicles is 21:00 we see Isaiah was the one 21:05 who wrote the biography of Hezekiah and everything. 21:07 So, we always see this line up 21:09 with what's going on in history. 21:11 So, in 2 Kings 16:10-18, 21:15 let me just kind of set this up. 21:18 Ahaz has willingly become the vassal 21:23 for the Assyrian king 21:25 in exchange for this military protection. 21:27 So, he pledges that 21:29 Judah is gonna serve Assyria from now on, 21:32 and not only did they have to pay tribute, 21:35 what happens is 21:37 it was basically in the pagan worldview is that, 21:43 if you were under their influence, 21:48 they believed that your God had to bow down to their gods. 21:52 So, they looked at Jehovah as Yahweh as just, 21:57 they treated him as a local god, 21:59 that should be in submission to their Assyrian God Ashur. 22:05 So, they route and captured Damascus 22:09 and then Ahaz travels to Damascus. 22:13 And guess what happens while he's there? 22:15 He is visiting King Tiglath-Pileser 22:20 and he sees the altar there, 22:25 a pagan altar. 22:28 He sends a sketch up 22:29 to the high priest back in Judah. 22:32 The high priest becomes complicit in this 22:34 because Ahaz is like, 22:36 okay, we're gonna build this pagan altar 22:38 and we'll show them how we're following them. 22:41 So, they build this pagan altar. 22:43 They totally remove things that were in the sanctuary. 22:49 They move everything around to give this the dominance. 22:52 And then Ahaz serves this pagan. 22:57 He serves at this pagan altar instead of serving God. 23:02 So, what happens, 23:04 he's dedicating the new altar offering sacrifices. 23:08 And on behalf of Israel, 23:11 he's now introduced idolatry in a big way. 23:17 So, when you get to 2 Chronicles 28, 23:21 it powerfully sums up 23:23 what results from Ahaz's reliance on Assyria. 23:30 And listen to this, we just have a minute left. 23:33 Says, 2 Chronicles 28:19, 23:36 "The Lord brought Judah low 23:38 because of Ahaz king of Israel, 23:40 for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah 23:43 had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. 23:47 Also, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him 23:52 and distressed him, and did not assist him." 23:56 So, that was just a precursor of the great invasions 24:00 that are gonna come under Sargon 24:02 and Sennacherib 24:04 who were some of the famous Assyrian kings later. 24:08 And it says, 24:09 "Ahaz took part of the treasures 24:11 from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king, 24:12 and from the leaders, 24:14 he gave it to the king of Assyria, 24:16 but he didn't help him." 24:17 And then it says, 24:18 "Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz 24:21 became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord 24:26 and served the gods of Damascus." 24:30 And I'm out of time, but here's the bottom line. 24:34 We're gonna reap a bitter fruit if you trust in princes, 24:38 rather than trusting in God. 24:41 That's the bottom line. 24:43 That's what happened to Ahaz. 24:46 And the same thing, 2 Corinthians 4:18 says that 24:51 we look at things which are seen 24:54 or we do not look at the things which are seen, 24:56 but we look at the things which are unseen, 25:00 not the temporary, but the eternal. 25:03 Keep your eyes on Jesus. 25:04 Praise God. Amen. 25:06 Thank you, Shelley, foreseeing consequences. 25:10 As she said it, you reap what you sow. 25:12 There is no getting away from that. 25:14 We're gonna just take a short break 25:15 and we gonna come back for Tuesday's lesson. 25:18 So, don't go away. 25:19 We'll be right back. 25:24 Ever wish you could watch 25:26 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:28 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 25:31 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:36 A clean design makes it easy 25:38 to find the program you're looking for. 25:41 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:44 so you can follow along. 25:46 Sharing is easy. 25:47 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:50 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:54 Hello, friends. 25:56 Welcome back to Sabbath School Panel. 25:57 We're gonna continue on Tuesday with Pastor Kenny Shelton 26:00 and the lesson is entitled, 26:01 "What's in a Name?" 26:03 Pastor Kenny? 26:04 Tuesday's lesson certainly is what's in the name. 26:06 And I found out there's a whole lot 26:08 in this name 26:09 that I will try to pronounce a few moments 26:12 and I'll just make this statement. 26:13 Now, I'll go out at one time and then I will refer to him 26:17 as Isaiah's second son. 26:20 So, we've got that right, isn't that good? 26:22 All right. Praise the Lord for that. 26:25 We're encouraged in Tuesday's lesson 26:27 to read Isaiah 8:1-10, 26:29 and most of us up here sometime we're kind of in a hurry. 26:32 There's so much to cover. 26:33 And you'd like to say so many things. 26:35 We just rely on the Holy Spirit 26:36 to try to put our hearts and our minds 26:38 and certainly can work through ears 26:39 the things that are important 26:41 that will help you in your growth. 26:43 We're gonna give an overview of the verses first. 26:46 Now, remember Isaiah 8:1-10, an overview, 26:49 and then kind of go back and we say unpack, 26:51 and go back and look at the kind of verse at a time. 26:55 So, let's go back to that. 26:56 But I circled something I thought in my lesson, 26:58 I thought it was very good. 26:59 Isaiah 8:1-10, now again, this is all in a nutshell here, 27:04 shows the destruction that would come quickly 27:07 upon the kingdom of Israel and Syria 27:10 by the king of Assyria. 27:12 For what? For Israel's sins. 27:15 Now, this part of the lesson, what we're doing here? 27:17 It's showing that 27:18 you both brought it out really well 27:20 some good foundational things 27:22 that there was gonna be some destruction. 27:24 There's going to be some battles that went on 27:26 and God is saying right quick, it's gonna be in a hurry. 27:28 It's gonna come very quickly. 27:30 And you know, kind of like 27:31 where we're at in the end of time, 27:33 things are gonna happen rather quickly, 27:34 and we need to be ready. 27:35 I'm looking at Isaiah 27:37 and pastor mentioned while ago too. 27:38 To make an application to today is so wonderful 27:41 that we can do that, 27:42 you know, and keep it in the context of scripture, 27:44 we need to do that. 27:45 Now, if there's destruction coming. 27:48 I love it again, Isaiah, 27:49 God makes provisions for those who love 27:53 and respect Him and to follow Him. 27:55 It's not just destruction is coming, 27:56 that's all she wrote. 27:58 He said, destruction is coming, it's going rather quickly, 28:00 but provision is going to be made 28:02 for those who are willing to listen 28:03 and those who are willing to follow Him. 28:06 That's despite all of Israel's mistakes 28:09 over and over and over, we look at it and we say, 28:11 surely, they can't be God's people, 28:12 surely this can't happen here. 28:14 Praise God by His grace reaches out. 28:17 The arm of love reaches out and gives them one more time. 28:20 Because it was in Hebrew 7:25, 28:22 He's willing to save to the utmost, right? 28:25 And so, to the utmost, He's reaching out. 28:27 And if they repent and turn back to Him, 28:29 so, you know, we're looking to promises, 28:31 same God, same promises. 28:33 We can claim those promises like never before. 28:36 And it seems clear. 28:37 And I think it was brought out 28:39 in the first two parts of our lesson 28:40 that you can see too, 28:41 that there's some similarities here in Chapter 8. 28:44 Chapter 8 is actually a continuation of Chapter 7, 28:48 kind of interesting here. 28:49 So, eight is considered to be a sequel to seven. 28:54 It gets where it goes on here, right. 28:55 And also, it helps to explain it more too. 28:58 So, the prophecy itself 29:00 is also closely related to that 29:02 of their proceeding chapter. 29:04 So, there's awful lot here that we can all study 29:06 and certainly come up with a lot of good things. 29:08 In verse 1, Isaiah 8 simply says here, 29:12 God says to the prophet, take a great role and do" 29:15 what with it? 29:16 And write this prophecy 29:17 concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 29:20 That's it. Okay. That's the name. 29:25 Meaning make speed the spoil, isn't that right? 29:28 Hasten to the prey. 29:30 Now, again, this was Isaiah's second son 29:33 and that's where we relate to him 29:35 as a second son. 29:36 So, something was going on here in the name of this son 29:40 said, get a scroll, told Isaiah. 29:42 Now this is interesting to me at least as I studied it, 29:46 this was to be done 29:48 before his second son was conceived. 29:52 Did everybody get that out of this lesson? 29:55 Before, so you talk about had to be a man of faith 29:59 and the prophecy was going to be sure. 30:02 And so, he told him, he said, you know, 30:03 the prophet was to write the prophecy down it said here, 30:07 because remember the boy's name, second son, 30:10 his name was going to be make speed the spoil 30:13 hasten to the prey. 30:14 Other words, 30:15 this disaster was coming upon God's people so quick, 30:19 it would make your head swim. 30:21 And God said right now to the prophet, 30:22 he said, look, Isaiah, 30:24 get here, get in, write the prophecy down. 30:26 And then I want you to publish it. 30:28 Other words, put it down and publish it. 30:29 And then I want you to be left on record 30:32 so people can come and start reading it quickly. 30:35 And they will see what this name really means. 30:38 And they'll see to the extent 30:39 that something disastrous is going to happen. 30:41 And then everybody will begin to tell her 30:43 about disaster is coming. 30:46 Now why? Because God loves us. 30:48 Isn't that right? 30:49 He says he would do what before, 30:51 he would warn His people before anything happens. 30:53 Praise God for that. 30:55 So, here's what we know for sure. 30:57 Pastor John, you mentioned it 31:00 where it says there that and I've told you before, 31:03 you remember that I told you before. 31:05 So, when these things what? 31:06 Come to pass, 31:08 then you will know, you will believe. 31:10 And I think that's very interesting here. 31:12 Write it down, 31:13 tell them it's going to happen, publish it, 31:15 get some witnesses in there 31:17 because you're gonna have to sign. 31:18 Somebody is gonna say he did that before, 31:20 he said this before ever took place. 31:22 I would say before the wife was ever gonna have the child. 31:24 So, that's the lot of stuff to put down. 31:27 So, He's telling her, He said right here, 31:28 the title of the prophecy 31:30 got the attention of the people concerning 31:32 know what was going to take place. 31:34 And, of course, they too were to pass on the information. 31:37 Just like when you hear things, 31:39 when you go to church, you hear Bible, 31:40 you hear a truth, what do we do with it? 31:42 Keep it to ourself. 31:44 No. We'd pass it on, right? 31:45 Continue to pass it on. 31:47 Verse 2, the prophet had two witnesses with him. 31:50 Bare record of what was taking place. 31:53 Now, again, what does a witness do? 31:54 They attest to what has happened? 31:56 Notice this, that they had watched him 31:59 as he was writing it down, 32:01 then they had to sign their names. 32:03 Make sure it was true. 32:05 And to me, that's in harmony with scripture 32:07 in Matthew 18:16, 32:09 the Bible says, under two or three witnesses, 32:12 when you do something, have a witness. 32:14 And we're told that we need to do that sometime 32:16 when we deal with church issues, right? 32:19 We need to make sure we take some witnesses along 32:21 because sometime 32:22 things can be a little bit out of order. 32:24 But if you have the witnesses, praise God for that. 32:26 Verse 3, hurrying right along, speaks of Isaiah's wife, 32:30 as one who may have been a prophet or prophetess of God, 32:34 had the gift there. 32:36 But Judges 4:4 talks about using the word prophetess here 32:39 or maybe she was, you know, referred to as, 32:42 because she was the wife of Isaiah. 32:44 So, we just kind of a little more study on that 32:46 if person wants to do that. 32:47 Verse 4, the prophecy. 32:49 Remember prophecy is death destruction that was coming 32:53 before the child, now notice this, 32:55 here's how fast, 32:56 before the child could say my father or my mother. 33:03 Before I was just talking about here 33:04 before there was like one, 33:06 when your one year of age, 33:08 you know, the kids usually time, 33:10 dada, mama, is that right? 33:14 What time they're one or two years old. 33:16 So, they're saying this disaster, 33:18 this is what's gonna happen to Israel, 33:20 what's gonna happen? 33:21 Because of their idol worship, 33:23 because of their refusing to follow God, 33:25 it's going to happen within one to two years. 33:27 I mean, this really boils it right down in Judah. 33:31 So, you read a little more of that. 33:32 And we read, I'll take Samuel 7:4-7. 33:35 Verse 7, 33:36 it's talking about the waters of the river of Assyria. 33:38 So, it's even telling how it was going to take place. 33:41 Now, I've got a lot more right here, 33:43 but I just had something this morning that struck me as 33:45 I was praying about it and reading about it. 33:47 And the Lord led me to this and I'm just gonna read it, 33:48 share it with you if it'd be all right, 33:50 because I think as Pastor John was mentioning, 33:52 the things that's happened here is for us too today, 33:55 if we can take it 33:57 and get some principle out of it. 33:59 And so here in the story of Prophets and Kings, 34:02 page 330. 34:04 It says, "As the apostate king near the end of his reign, " 34:08 something you were talking about, 34:09 notice what happened. 34:11 "He caused the doors of the temple to be closed. 34:14 The sacred services were interrupted. 34:17 Lord, have mercy. 34:19 No longer were the candlesticks kept burning in the altar." 34:22 Notice this. 34:23 "No longer were the offerings made 34:25 for the sins of the people, 34:27 no longer did the sweet incense ascend on high 34:31 at the time of the morning and evening sacrifice. 34:34 Deserting the courts of the house of God, 34:38 locking fast its doors and the inhabitants, 34:43 notice, of the godless city boldly set up their altars 34:47 for the worship of heathen deities 34:50 on the street corners." 34:52 Throughout where? 34:53 You wouldn't imagine it, where? 34:55 "Jerusalem." 34:56 They set up on the street corners, 34:58 the pagans and heathens because the church doors were closed. 35:02 Something was going on here. 35:04 You know, where was God's people with this? 35:07 "Heathenism had seemingly triumphed. 35:10 The powers of darkness had well-nigh prevailed. 35:14 But in Judah, 35:15 there dwelt some 35:17 who maintained their allegiance to Jehovah, 35:19 steadfastly refusing to be led into idolatry. 35:23 I mean, we're seeing something was coming on devastation 35:26 because the people turned their back on God. 35:28 And you wonder today, 35:30 some of the things that are going on, 35:31 not trying to criticize condemn, 35:33 just look at it. 35:34 In reality, it seems like 35:36 the enemy is trying to close the doors. 35:37 He's trying to shut it down where God's people can't come 35:40 and, you know, into the temple and into fellowship with God 35:44 and with others. 35:45 And we're saying, well, we have reasons for that 35:47 and all so on and so forth now, 35:49 but this is kind of interesting 35:50 because sometimes when, when this thing happens, 35:53 people find something else to do. 35:55 The mind is taken away from God 35:57 and they begin to find other things to do. 35:58 And as leaders of the church, 35:59 we just try to bring it back together, 36:01 keep a spiritual insight to it and to realize, 36:04 you know what, disaster is on its way. 36:06 We need to be ready. 36:07 Amen: 36:09 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny and Shelley and Pastor John. 36:12 What an incredible lesson, 36:13 the children of Judah were in a bad place. 36:16 Could you say that? 36:17 Apostasy is rampant, 36:19 they have the Assyrians over them. 36:23 And this is a time of fear. 36:25 That's why Wednesday's lesson I love. 36:27 It says, "Nothing to Fear When We Fear God Himself." 36:33 My passages, 36:34 the next few verses in Isaiah 8:11-15. 36:37 You know, Franklin D Roosevelt. 36:39 This was his first inaugural address. 36:41 The country is struggling with the Great Depression 36:43 and there's a lot of difficulty. 36:46 He said, 36:47 "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." 36:50 Now, Isaiah, this message that we're gonna read here. 36:53 This is his message to the depressed people. 36:56 The people who are struggling under oppression, 36:58 his messages, 37:00 we have nothing to fear when we fear God Himself. 37:05 Oswald Chambers put it this way. 37:07 When you fear God, you fear nothing else, 37:10 whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else. 37:16 That's what we look at on today's lesson, 37:17 Wednesday's lesson. 37:19 Let's read verse 11, 37:20 "For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand 37:23 and instructed me that 37:25 I should not walk in the way of this people." 37:28 So what's God saying? 37:29 Take a stand, 37:31 don't do it because everybody else is doing it. 37:34 Don't trust in the military might 37:36 of surrounding nations 37:38 or of Assyria or Egypt or Babylon. 37:41 Don't trust in that. 37:42 Trust in me. 37:45 It's interesting that He said, speak thus with a strong hand, 37:50 because the hand is often used metaphorically 37:53 in the Word of God. 37:54 Hands are used as a metaphor for revelation. 37:56 We see that here in Isaiah 8:11, 37:58 it's a metaphor for deliverance from Egypt. 38:01 We see that in Exodus Chapter 3, 38:03 it's a metaphor for oath or judgment. 38:06 We see that in Zechariah 2. 38:08 Hands are also used as a metaphor for creation. 38:11 We see that in Isaiah Chapter 19. 38:14 So, what does God saying? 38:15 This is verses 12 through 15, 38:17 we'll read it and then we'll unpack it. 38:20 "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' 38:22 concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, 38:25 and be afraid of their threats nor be troubled.' " 38:28 Verse 13, 38:30 "The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow. 38:35 Let him be your fear. 38:37 Let him be your dread. 38:39 He will be as the sanctuary, 38:41 but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense 38:43 to both the houses of Israel 38:45 as a trap and a snare 38:47 to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 38:49 And many among them shall stumble. 38:51 They shall fall and be broken, be snared and be taken." 38:55 So, look at the contrast here. 38:57 If you fear God, you won't have to fear others. 39:02 On the flip side, if you fear others, 39:04 that means you probably do not fear God. 39:08 The next verse, 39:09 verse 14 talks about 39:11 He would be a sanctuary, but to others, 39:12 a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. 39:15 If God is a sanctuary to you, if He dwells with you, 39:21 He won't be a stone of stumbling 39:22 or a rock of offense. 39:24 But, if God is a stone of stumbling 39:27 or a rock of offense to you, 39:30 then He has not tabernacled with you. 39:32 He has not set up residence with you. 39:35 And finally, if you refuse 39:37 to fall on the rock Christ Jesus and be broken, 39:40 that rock will fall on you and crush you to powder. 39:44 We see that in Matthew 21. 39:46 So, we are called to fear God and not others. 39:49 The lesson title, 39:51 we have nothing to fear when we fear God Himself 39:54 reminds me of the three angels' messages. 39:56 Remember, Revelation Chapter 14 begins with what? 39:59 Verse 6, 40:00 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 40:03 for the hour of His judgment has come." 40:06 You see if we fear God, we won't fear the beast. 40:10 But if we don't fear God in Revelation 14, 40:14 we will fear the beast in Revelation 13. 40:16 And we will give glory to that beast. 40:21 Fear, there's a lot of things that we're afraid of today. 40:24 I'm just gonna list a few. 40:26 I think a lot of times we're afraid of other people. 40:29 Isaiah talks about that in Isaiah 51:12-13, 40:35 "I even, I am He who comforts you, 40:38 who are you 40:39 that you should be afraid of a man who will die. 40:42 And of the son of a man who will be made like grass. 40:45 And you forget the Lord, your maker." 40:48 Why are you afraid of other people? 40:49 Because we forget God. 40:51 We forget He is our maker who stretched out the heavens 40:55 and laid the foundations of the earth. 40:57 You have feared continually every day 40:59 because of the fear of fury of the oppressor. 41:02 And where is the fury of the oppressor? 41:05 Sometimes we're afraid of others 41:06 because we have forgotten God, our maker. 41:09 Sometimes people are afraid of being alone. 41:11 Maybe you mask it 41:13 by an over obsessive use of social media, 41:16 or it's the reason people stay in relationships 41:20 because they're afraid of being alone. 41:22 But God has told us in Hebrews 13:5, 41:25 He Himself has said, 41:27 I will never leave you. 41:29 I will never forsake you. 41:31 So, we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. 41:34 I will not fear. 41:36 What can man do unto me? 41:37 God is our helper. 41:39 Sometimes we're afraid of change. 41:41 We don't like change. 41:43 We don't like the uncertainty of the future, 41:46 but God says in Malachi 3:6, 41:48 "I am the Lord, I do not change." 41:51 God is the same yesterday, today and forever. 41:55 Sometimes we're afraid of dying. 41:58 Hebrews talks about that. 42:00 Hebrews 2:14-15, 42:03 "Inasmuch then as the children 42:04 have partaken of flesh and blood, 42:06 He Himself likewise shared in the same, 42:09 that through death 42:11 He might release him who had the power of death," 42:13 that is the devil, 42:15 "and release those who through fear of death 42:17 were all their lifetime subject to bondage." 42:21 Why do we spend time being afraid of that? 42:23 Because we never developed that fear of God. 42:26 So, what does it mean to fear God? 42:28 Isaiah 8:13, we already read it. 42:31 Let's read it one more time. 42:33 The Lord of hosts, 42:34 Him you shall hallow or set apart, 42:37 be consecrated, holy, God is holy. 42:41 Let Him be your fear. 42:44 Regard Him with reverence. 42:46 Let Him be your dread. 42:49 In this context, 42:50 the fear of the Lord 42:52 is to consider the Lord as holy. 42:55 It's a recognition of the holiness of our God 43:00 and a respect and reverence for who He is. 43:05 I have five takeaways 43:07 from this concept of fearing the Lord. 43:11 Take away number one, 43:12 Godly fear recognizes the holiness of God 43:16 and walks in obedience to what He commands us. 43:20 We just read that in Isaiah 8:13. 43:23 If we fear Him, 43:24 we will walk in that obedience to His commands. 43:28 Number two, Godly fear leads to knowledge. 43:32 Proverbs 1:7, 43:34 The fear of the Lord, what is that? 43:36 It is the beginning of knowledge, 43:38 but fools, they despise wisdom and instruction. 43:43 The fear of the Lord that is that admiration, 43:46 reverence represented in obedience to Him. 43:52 Godly fear, it leads to knowledge. 43:54 Number three, 43:56 Godly fear is not afraid of death. 43:59 Rather it's afraid of losing God. 44:04 Matthew Chapter 10, 44:06 Jesus speaking here, Matthew 10:28. 44:09 This is just the first part of that verse. 44:12 "Do not fear those who kill the body, 44:15 but cannot kill the soul. 44:17 Rather fear Him 44:19 who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 44:24 Godly fear, it's not afraid of death, 44:26 but it is afraid of losing God 44:28 or losing our connection with God 44:30 or losing our eternal salvation and that security with God. 44:37 Now, let's look at Godly love for just a moment. 44:39 This is number four. 44:41 Takeaway number four, 44:42 Godly love does not exhibit fear. 44:46 1 John 4:18, 44:49 There is no fear in love 44:51 because perfect love or Godly love 44:55 casts out fear 44:56 because fear, it involves torment. 44:59 He that fears 45:00 has not been made perfect in love. 45:03 Now we're not discussing Godly fear here. 45:06 That's not the type of fear that John is talking about. 45:08 He's talking about a worldly type of fear. 45:11 Remember, Godly fear is that respect 45:13 and admiration for God, reverence for God. 45:17 But if we have Godly love, that type of worldly fear, 45:22 that's going to be pushed aside. 45:25 Last takeaway. 45:26 Number five, 45:27 Godly love does not love the things of the world. 45:32 1 John 2:15, 45:35 do not love the world or the things in the world. 45:38 If anyone loves the world, 45:40 the love of the Father is not in him. 45:44 So, five takeaways, 45:45 Godly fear recognizes the holiness of God 45:47 and walks in obedience to His command. 45:50 Number two, Godly fear leads to knowledge. 45:53 Number three, 45:54 Godly fear is not afraid of death, 45:56 rather it's afraid of losing God. 45:59 Number four, 46:00 Godly love does not exhibit fear. 46:02 And that would be a worldly fear 46:04 and Godly love 46:06 does not love the things of the world. 46:08 We have nothing to fear when we fear God Himself. 46:13 Amen. Praise the Lord. 46:15 I got to put my specs on. 46:18 Thank you, Jill, so much, 46:20 that was beautiful and wonderful setup 46:21 for the next few verses of Isaiah Chapter 8, 46:25 a couple of which many of us are very familiar with, 46:28 and we get to study them 46:29 within the context of what it is 46:31 that is being said here 46:33 in these latter verses of Isaiah Chapter 8. 46:36 I have Thursday's lesson and man, what a... 46:38 While I was studying for this lesson, 46:40 all I could think about of this title 46:43 is it just sounds like 46:44 one of those horror movie film titles, 46:47 you know, you could just imagine it, 46:49 you know, coming to a theater near you, 46:52 Gloom of the Ungrateful Living Dead, right? 46:56 That's the title of Thursday's lesson, 46:58 "Gloom of the Ungrateful Living Dead." 47:01 So, we're gonna pick up in Isaiah 8:16-22. 47:08 And I'm gonna get right into this. 47:09 Notice what the Bible says. 47:11 I like we have, I like this first verse. 47:14 This is will be the foundation 47:16 on everything that's about to say 47:18 or everything that's about to be said. 47:19 If people would just bind up the testimony 47:22 and seal the law among God's disciples, 47:25 just accept the law of God 47:28 and be a disciple who follows the law of God, 47:30 then none of this other stuff would have had to happen. 47:33 But it goes on to say, 47:35 based on that statement, verse 17, 47:37 it says, "And I will wait on the Lord 47:39 who hides his face from the house of Jacob, 47:41 and I will hope in Him." 47:43 That's our memory verse for today. 47:45 Beautiful. 47:46 "Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me, 47:50 we are for signs and for wonders in Israel 47:52 for the Lord of hosts, 47:54 who dwells in Mount Zion." 47:57 But here comes that ungrateful living dead part. 48:01 "And when they say to you, 48:03 seek those who are mediums and wizards, 48:06 who whisper and mutter, 48:07 should not a people seek their God? 48:11 Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?" 48:15 Verse 20, 48:16 "To the law and the testimony, 48:19 if they do not speak according to this word, 48:23 it is because there was no light in them." 48:26 Verse 21, 48:28 "They will pass through it, hard-pressed and hungry. 48:30 And it shall happen when they are hungry, 48:33 that they will be enraged in curse. 48:35 They will curse their King and their God 48:38 and look upward. 48:39 Then they will look to the earth 48:41 and see trouble in darkness, 48:42 gloom of anguish, 48:44 and they will be driven into darkness. 48:48 Now you have to understand these verses 48:50 within the context of what has happened 48:52 in the previous chapters involving Ahaz, 48:55 because the reason why God is bringing this up, 48:58 the reason why he's asking the question, 49:00 you know, seek those who are mediums and wizards, 49:03 who whisper and mutter 49:04 should not a people seek their God? 49:06 Because Ahaz, the king of Israel. 49:08 Of course, we know he was a pitiful king. 49:10 He wasn't a good king at all. 49:12 He was the main leader 49:14 in leading out in bringing Israel 49:16 into the occultic practices 49:19 and the spiritualistic practices 49:20 that is being described here in these verses. 49:23 And that's why we have those two foundational texts 49:25 that we often read, 49:26 you know, bind up the testimony, 49:28 seal the law, 49:29 because if you find yourself in harmony with God's law, 49:31 that means you find yourself only worshiping God, 49:34 only seeking God, 49:35 only looking to God for your answers. 49:37 Same thing in verse 20, 49:39 to the law and to the testimony, 49:40 notice how that law keeps coming back up, 49:42 because the law of God 49:43 will not allow you to seek the dead. 49:45 You can't communicate. 49:46 Why in the world would you wanna communicate with the dead 49:48 when you can communicate with the Lord of the law, 49:50 the Lord of the Bible? 49:52 And so, to the law and to the testimony, 49:54 if they do not speak according to this word, 49:56 and we're gonna see what it is that Ahaz did, 49:59 that was not according to the Word of God 50:02 in just a moment, speaking of Ahaz. 50:04 Let's look at this, 2 Kings 16:3-4. 50:07 And then we're also going to go to 2 Chronicles 28:22-25. 50:12 This is gonna kind of give us an understanding 50:13 of why God is challenging this 50:15 and why He's speaking on this occultic practice 50:19 of seeking mediums and wizards and, you know, 50:22 talking and communicating with the dead. 50:24 Notice what the Bible says in 2 Kings 16:3-4, 50:27 speaking about King Ahaz. 50:29 It says, "But he walked in the way 50:31 of the kings of Israel, 50:32 indeed he made his son pass through the fire." 50:35 Now don't be confused about what those are saying. 50:38 Many people have interpreted this 50:40 to be that the passing through the fire is, 50:42 you know, those old like pagan rituals 50:44 where you have to walk on the hot coals, 50:46 or you have to somehow pass through 50:47 some type of ritualistic fire, 50:49 you know, to be made a man. 50:51 They often would do this in some of the pagan, 50:52 heathen nations, but yet this passing through the fire, 50:55 this was a ritualistic occultic practice 50:58 in which he would literally sacrifice his son 51:01 to the pagan gods in fire, 51:03 burn them alive. 51:05 And so, it goes on to say here, 51:06 "After he made a son pass through the fire, 51:09 according to the abominations of the nations, 51:11 whom the Lord had cast out 51:13 from before the children of Israel 51:14 and he sacrificed 51:16 and burned incense on the high places on the hills 51:19 and under every green tree." 51:21 And, of course, if you continue reading 51:23 on to 2 Chronicles 28: 22-25, 51:27 it gives us a little bit more insight 51:28 as to how Ahaz led out 51:31 and what he brought about in Israel 51:34 as a negative influence upon the people of God. 51:36 2 Chronicles 28:22-25. 51:40 It says, "Now in the time of his distress, 51:43 King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord." 51:46 Have mercy. This is that King Ahaz. 51:50 I like how the writer of Chronicles here. 51:52 He had to make that clear. 51:53 This is that King Ahaz, 51:55 you know, that one you heard about, right? 51:57 "Where he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, 52:00 which had defeated him saying, 52:02 because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, 52:04 I will sacrifice to them that may help me, 52:07 but they were the ruin of him in all of Israel." 52:11 So, Ahaz gathered the articles, notice this, 52:13 he gathered the articles of the house of God. 52:16 What other way can you disrespect God 52:20 and His holiness 52:21 than to go into His house 52:23 and take those things which were meant to be holy 52:25 and only used for the Lord 52:26 and use them for pagan practices 52:29 and the worship of other gods. 52:30 So, that's why it says here. 52:32 So, Ahaz gathered 52:33 the article of the house of God, 52:34 cut it in pieces 52:36 or cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, 52:39 shut up the doors of the house of the Lord 52:41 and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem 52:45 and in every single city of Judah. 52:47 He made high places to burn incense to other gods 52:51 and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers. 52:55 And so, again, why would God have such a major issue 53:00 with these occultic practices, 53:01 you know, seeking wizards and witches and sorcerers 53:03 and all these other things, 53:05 talking and communicating with the dead, 53:06 which brought about Ahaz, brought about into Israel. 53:11 Well, notice this, in Deuteronomy 32:17, 53:13 when you are practicing. 53:15 If you know of someone who is doing this, 53:17 or you yourself have heard of this, 53:18 or maybe you have participated in such a practice in the past, 53:22 let me inform you 53:24 about what the Bible teaches that you are doing 53:27 when you are doing this. 53:28 Deuteronomy 32:17, 53:31 the Bible says they sacrifice to what? 53:35 Demons, not to God. 53:38 It says, "To gods they did not know, to new gods, 53:42 new arrivals 53:43 that your fathers did not fear." 53:46 And if you couple that with 1 Corinthians 10:20, 53:50 notice what Paul writes here, again, 53:52 emphasizing and re-mentioning what was mentioned here 53:56 in Deuteronomy 32. 53:57 Paul writes rather 53:59 that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, 54:03 they sacrifice to demons and not to God. 54:06 And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 54:10 This was a big deal back in the day, my friends. 54:14 And so ultimately what is revealed in this, 54:18 in this study is that because 54:19 Ahaz had led the people into these occultic practices, 54:22 you know, they would end up cursing him. 54:25 In fact, when Ahaz died, 54:27 an exception was made regarding his burial 54:29 due to the lack of respect for him. 54:32 And then, of course, it goes on 54:33 to say there in 2 Chronicles 28:26-27, 54:36 it says, "They did not bring him 54:37 into the tombs of the kings of Israel." 54:40 He wasn't even given a proper royal burial 54:42 because of the things that he had done. 54:44 He was a curse because of those things. 54:46 Absolutely. 54:48 What does the Bible teach about these occultic practices? 54:50 We know that they're communicating 54:52 and offering these sacrifices, not to these random gods, 54:56 not to the gods of gold and silver, 54:57 and the air and the wind, and the grass 54:59 and all the other things that they worship, 55:00 they're worshiping demons. 55:02 They're communicating with demons. 55:04 In Leviticus 20:7, 55:05 God's language was very strong on this, 55:07 and He was very clear. 55:09 He said, "A man or a woman who is a medium, 55:11 or who has a familiar spirit, shall surely be put to death. 55:16 They shall stone them with stones, 55:18 their blood shall be upon them. 55:20 God takes this situation very, very serious. 55:23 And, you know, we can learn a lot of things 55:25 if we study what the Bible has to say 55:27 on this practice. 55:29 I'm going to, I can't read it for sake of time, 55:30 but Deuteronomy 18:19-14, go read it. 55:35 Go read those verses where God specifically, 55:37 very strongly declares that this is not His plan, 55:40 and this is not what He wants for His people. 55:42 And I think of King Saul, his ultimate demise, 55:46 according to the Bible, 55:48 according to 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, 55:50 the Bible says that he lost his life 55:52 because what did he do? 55:53 He did exactly what the Lord told him not to do. 55:55 He goes and he seeks a witch. A witch conjures up a spirit. 56:00 And the Bible says that he perceived 56:03 that it was Samuel. 56:04 But, my friends, it was not Samuel. 56:05 It was a demon. 56:07 And so, again, what we can learn from this 56:09 is to trust in the Lord, bind up the testimony, 56:13 seal the law among my disciples. 56:15 Jesus says, if they don't speak according to this word 56:17 is because there is no light in them. 56:20 Good. Thanks, Ryan. 56:22 Thank you so much. Thank you, all panelists. 56:23 Shelley, give me some summary 56:25 of what your lesson was all about? 56:27 Well, Ahaz trusted in princess rather than trusting in God. 56:32 He refused God's grace in the land then was desolated. 56:37 But I just have to say this for us. 56:39 If we refuse God's grace, even if you're in the church, 56:43 if you're refusing God's grace, you will remain unfruitful. 56:47 Pastor Kenny? Amen. 56:48 Five Testimonies 2:24, 56:50 "When the time fully comes 56:51 that inequity shall have reached 56:53 its stated boundary of God's mercy. 56:55 His forbearance will cease, 56:57 but then it will be seen 56:58 what a tremendous thing it is 57:00 to have worn out divine patience." 57:04 Jill? 57:05 Psalm 56:3, 57:07 "When I'm afraid, I will trust in You. 57:10 And God, I will put my trust. 57:13 I will not fear, what can flesh do unto me." 57:16 We can put our trust in the Lord Jesus. 57:19 Amen. Ryan? 57:22 To the law and to the testimony 57:24 they speak not according to this Word. 57:26 My friends, the Word of God is sure. 57:28 And we need to make sure 57:29 we're grounded in His Word today. 57:31 So, that we don't worship or communicate with demons, 57:34 but only with the one true God. 57:35 Amen. Right. 57:37 And we've been talking about prophecy fulfilled. 57:39 Prophecy is the connection between the past and the future 57:42 of the old and the new, 57:43 the unknown and the understood, 57:45 the concealed and the revealed, 57:47 what was said and what is being done, 57:49 the forecast and the fulfillment. 57:51 And to the student of prophecy, 57:53 the future is not a forward-looking experience 57:54 to the revelation of knowledge, 57:56 but a backward-looking experience 57:58 to the revelation of Jesus. 58:00 Join us next time for the lesson, 58:02 "Nobel Princess of Peace." 58:05 God bless you. |
Revised 2021-01-27