Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Heavenly Comfort in Times of Earthly Chaos | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

Heavenly Comfort in Times of Earthly Chaos | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

0:02
I thought we were going to go right back into worship, right?
0:06
Which I don't mind. What a fitting song for our time
0:10
together in God's Word. You know, I'm convinced that the
0:16
tumultuous times that we are living in provides no shortage
0:21
of material for pulpits and churches to address and to try
0:25
to explain. But if a pastor is not careful,
0:30
he can easily get swept up by the events that are taking place
0:36
in the world and allows the recent headlines to determine
0:42
the subject matter of his weekly sermons.
0:46
You may be aware of some ministries who base their
0:50
messages exclusively on cultural commentary or reactionary
0:57
analysis, and they might have a tinge of biblical reference to
1:02
what they have to say just so it can be free from any criticism
1:06
and be deemed as a sermon. And I don't think that kind of
1:12
level of concentration on the news is helpful, especially in
1:17
the local church, since the primary duty of a minister is to
1:22
preach the whole council of God in season and out of season.
1:28
Now, Paul said that on purpose. He said that for a reason.
1:31
In season and out of season, when it's popular, when it's
1:34
not, when people are asking for or when they're not, you preach
1:37
the word of God, Timothy. That is what you are to be
1:42
preoccupied with. But there's that temptation,
1:46
right? Because everything that's
1:48
happening around us is so real. And that's why I would argue
1:50
that there are incidents that take place in our lifetime that
1:53
captivate our culture in a very unique way, in a way that almost
1:59
puts a halt, stops the world in its tracks and creates almost a
2:06
universal unrest or disorientation.
2:10
And in those moments, I believe it is wise and even responsible
2:16
for spiritual leaders to take local, regional, even global
2:23
crises and to shed light on the Word of God and to confirm to
2:30
the child of God that you and I have heavenly guidance from our
2:36
God even in the midst of chaos. And that is what I want to do
2:42
with this Sunday service, not only because of the harrowing
2:46
assassination attempt on the former president of the United
2:49
States, but because of the events that unfolded, the
2:55
thoughts, the ideas, the discussions that followed that
2:59
historical day. You know, like the heightened
3:05
sense of vulnerability and concern for national and even
3:10
individual security. The growing distrust in our
3:15
government because of many reasons, including the
3:18
incompetence of leadership. The rumors that are flooding our
3:25
podcast and the predictions that secular profits are making
3:29
concerning where all of this is leading to and how we are racing
3:33
towards a world that we have never seen before.
3:38
And the cherry on top? Is just the plain uncertainty.
3:43
Of the future, I want to show you briefly how even the Lord
3:49
Jesus Christ is an example of leveraging current events to
3:56
drive spiritual truth into concerned hearers.
4:00
So we're not going in Mark today, if you haven't guessed
4:03
already, but I want to invite you to Luke chapter 13 briefly,
4:07
and we will be going to different texts in the Bible
4:10
this afternoon. But let's begin in Luke 13,
4:12
because I want to, to the best of my ability, always confirm
4:17
any point with what the Bible has to say.
4:21
Luke 13, one to five. There were some present at that
4:32
very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood pilot had
4:36
mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them.
4:39
Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners
4:42
than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this
4:44
way? No, I tell you.
4:47
But unless you repent, you all likewise perish.
4:52
Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.
4:55
Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the
4:58
others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell.
5:01
You But unless you repent, you all likewise perish.
5:06
So here you have some Jews who were preoccupied with the
5:11
obvious news of that time. Of the cruel slaughtering of
5:15
some Galileans by the vicious hands of Pilate.
5:19
And they approached the Lord Jesus, this up and coming
5:23
popular preacher, teacher, prophet, miracle worker,
5:27
self-proclaimed Messiah, though true Messiah.
5:30
And they asked the Lord's opinion.
5:31
And you might be under the depression, like many other
5:33
people who've asked Jesus questions, that they're trying
5:35
to trap him. Or it can simply be curiosity.
5:39
What do you have to say about the headlines?
5:43
Lord Jesus doesn't shoo it away, He doesn't dismiss it.
5:46
He He addresses it and He uses what was on people's minds to
5:53
remind them and to reinforce their mortality and that they
5:57
themselves have application with something that seems to be
6:00
distant. You too must repent before it is
6:03
too late. Not only that, I love how the
6:06
Lord brings up another headline like they didn't bring up the
6:08
issue of the tower of Siloam. He brought it up so he was a, he
6:11
was aware of current tragedies himself.
6:13
So let me bring up to you about those who died who are under
6:18
that tower and that tower collapse on them.
6:20
Same application. You have to repent and get ready
6:24
because you don't know when your time will be.
6:27
And so Christ shows us here by way of example, I'm sure that
6:31
when there are times of unrest and uncertainty and disaster,
6:35
catastrophe. One of his.
6:38
Primary messages What? Repent.
6:42
Get ready to meet your God. You're not invincible, though we
6:46
all suffer with this invincibility complex.
6:49
You don't know when your day is coming.
6:51
Your days are numbered. So if you think that there are
6:54
worse sinners, that's not necessarily the case.
6:57
But make sure that you're ready with your sin and how Jesus
7:00
Christ will deal with it. He either forgive it or He'll
7:04
judge you for it. But the message of repentance is
7:08
not the only message that a faithful messenger of God will
7:11
proclaim in times of instability.
7:16
It is a primary one, but it's not the only one.
7:18
And sometimes we have this idea that the duty of a prophet is
7:22
exclusively about confronting and exposing the sin of others.
7:27
And though I believe that is an important description of a
7:31
messenger of God, it's not only that.
7:35
Yes, confront, yes, challenge, yes, through your word, seek
7:39
people's conviction. And I believe we need more of
7:41
that in this day than anything else.
7:43
Yet if you read the Bible carefully, you'll notice that
7:47
God has put another word in the mouth of the same prophets who
7:49
called the masses to turn from their sin and to surrender to
7:52
the lordship of God Almighty. I want to I want you to see it
7:56
with your own eyes and Isaiah chapter 40 and this is this is
8:01
what we are going to be focusing on today.
8:05
This is what prayerfully I want you to experience today and I
8:12
trust that the Lord will help us experience it.
8:15
Isaiah, a man who has given his woes to the people concerning
8:20
their iniquity and their rebellion.
8:22
But notice how the Lord instructs his prophet at this
8:27
point in verse one of Isaiah 40. Comfort, Comfort my people, says
8:33
your God, speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her.
8:39
What? Repent.
8:41
Turn from your sin, you rebels. No, cry to her that her warfare
8:47
is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received
8:53
from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
8:57
Comfort. Comfort my people, says your
9:02
God. Notice the double emphasis of
9:05
comfort. You know what that's indicating?
9:08
The urgent longing of God for His people to experience relief.
9:16
Comfort, comfort, comfort. He doesn't want to just say it
9:21
once. He wants to say it again because
9:24
he wants his people who might be slow to receive that comfort, to
9:28
actually be comforted once and for all.
9:31
And notice you're also that this comfort, this comfort that's
9:35
able to. Be tangible is supernatural.
9:39
It's supernatural, it comes from God, and though it comes from
9:43
God, it's meant to be experienced by us.
9:47
It's meant to be tangible, it's meant to be real, it's meant to
9:50
be clutched on, it's meant to be something that actually changes
9:54
us. And so it comes from him.
9:56
But it's it's not this thing that is distant and theoretical.
10:01
It, it really touches the heart. And the primary means by which
10:06
God's comfort is transferred and delivered and unfolded for His
10:13
people is through His Word. Notice he says, speak tenderly
10:18
to Jerusalem, speak tenderly and cry to her.
10:22
Tell her these things. It's these things that are going
10:25
to bring her repose. It's these truths that are going
10:29
to give her solace. So speak now, Isaiah, these
10:33
words of comfort. Is there anything in this
10:37
context that would indicate why the Lord is saying this?
10:41
Well, you can look at the verses we read and part of it is that
10:44
comforter because her iniquity is pardoned.
10:47
If you want to know the foundation of God's comfort in
10:49
your life, it's going to be found when your sins are
10:51
forgiven. It's going to be in the place
10:55
where you realize that my record of debt has been dealt with.
10:59
It's been nailed on that cross, never to be visited again.
11:02
He'll never unnail it. He'll never remove it and shove
11:04
it back in my face. It's finished.
11:07
Right there you should know a flood of rest for your soul.
11:11
But there's something beyond that.
11:13
There's something in the immediate context.
11:14
I suggest that there was a real life event that called for this
11:18
kind of comfort. Look back at Isaiah 39 and verse
11:22
six and seven, and we won't read it.
11:25
But that's just a reference for you to realize that Hezekiah was
11:29
told of the Babylonian invasion, that there was going to come a
11:33
foreign country to ransack the people of God and even remove
11:39
the royal seed and bring them into the palace of a Pagan
11:43
people. And that's how Isaiah 39 ends.
11:47
And then you transition to Isaiah 40 and God says, now
11:49
comfort, Comfort my people. What are we to make of that?
11:54
Here's what you're to make of that.
11:55
Proving that the will of God for His people is to know a strange
12:00
alien serenity and a deep seated security in the midst of
12:07
calamity, in the midst of calamity.
12:11
Comfort in chaos. Comfort when the world is
12:17
shaking, when your world is shaking.
12:20
And though our world today leaves us no shortage of
12:23
disturbing news, I want to tell you today that this this book
12:27
provides towering promises and abundant hope that casts
12:32
everything else into a shadow. And so I want you to draw
12:35
comfort today. I want you to leave here
12:37
lighter. I want you to leave here with a
12:40
peace that guards your mind and your hearts, your thoughts and
12:42
your emotions. I want that to be experienced
12:45
through the word of God. So let's stay in Isaiah a little
12:48
bit and drink out of this well of truth, some comfort.
12:53
Where shall we go? So many places to go.
12:57
Let's go to a familiar passage, but revisit some truths that we
12:59
might have missed in Isaiah chapter 6 verse one, and notice
13:03
what the prophet experienced in a time of great distress for his
13:06
nation. Isaiah 6 verse one.
13:18
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting
13:23
upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe
13:28
filled the temple. Uzziah was one of the most
13:32
prosperous, innovative, famed kings in Israel's history.
13:37
And the full account of his reign is found in Second
13:39
Chronicles 26. And there's so many things that
13:41
you read about his success and the economy that he established
13:45
and the influence that he had on neighboring people groups.
13:47
But what's interesting about that part in Chronicles is that
13:50
you discover Isaiah the prophet was a contemporary to Uziah.
13:54
He was a prophet. He was a ministry.
13:56
He was in ministry during the time of this man's reign, and
14:01
prophets worked very closely with kings.
14:04
They had some level of relationship, and if the king
14:06
was righteous, then it was on good terms.
14:08
If they were not, then all they had was a knock on the door of
14:11
rebuke and warning. And Isaiah was one who
14:16
witnessed. He with his own eyes lived under
14:20
an administration that brought so much peace and prosperity and
14:23
power. He himself benefited from it,
14:28
but he also witnessed the tragedy of Uzziah's life.
14:31
Uzziah became proud, like many people do when they are
14:34
successful, even spiritually successful.
14:36
And God struck Uzziah with leprosy, and he was an outcast
14:40
until the day that he died. And we read here in Isaiah 6 one
14:46
that in that same year that Uzziah died, Isaiah's eyes were
14:52
open to a vision to bring comfort to him and threw him to
14:57
the people as a whole. The vision is plain and obvious.
15:01
He realizes something about God, the sovereignty of God, the
15:04
throne of God, the authority of God, the stability of God.
15:10
And I just find it absolutely amazing how more than one
15:13
account the. Scriptures record how the Lord
15:15
manifest himself in unusual moments in our lives.
15:20
Unusual moments especially in moments of suffering and pain.
15:25
I think of Job. Though a righteous man and who
15:28
feared God, think about the emotional distress, the physical
15:31
burden, the psychological and even the spiritual struggle.
15:36
And yet at the end of that account in Job, what do you
15:38
read? Oh, my eyes have seen you.
15:40
I've heard of you with my ears. But now my eyes have seen you.
15:42
I have. I have a new revelation of you
15:45
that can only have been known in this kind of thing.
15:49
I think of Stephen when he was ready to be stoned by his
15:52
enemies. You can think about the fear of
15:55
that moment, a man who had so much promise future, a man who
15:59
was a blessing to the church. The church just started and this
16:01
guy is ready to go. And what does he see?
16:04
He sees heaven open and he sees Christ, not sitting at the right
16:07
hand of God, but standing. He had a revelation of Christ.
16:11
What right at the threshold of pain, death.
16:17
What do you see here? You see, Isaiah, surely a man as
16:22
you're going to discover a man who was susceptible to being
16:24
fearful himself being overcome by a manifestation of the person
16:30
of Jesus Christ. According to John that would
16:32
change him that would instill a concrete confidence for his
16:36
call. Yes, personally, but something
16:38
about who God is despite his call.
16:43
And I want to tell you that these revelations may not be
16:47
immediate. I want to, I want to tell you if
16:49
look everything else in the world, it's in the world.
16:51
And as much as it might be affecting us.
16:53
As much as it's bombarding our phones and it's the subject
16:56
matter of our dinner conversations and our text
16:58
messages to people here and beyond, you have your own
17:02
things. There's private wars that each
17:04
of us are battling. But take this truth that when,
17:08
when God takes our suffering, he takes it as a platform for him
17:12
to step on and to show himself. But it may not be immediate.
17:17
It may not be even during. It may be after the fact.
17:21
Read again carefully. It doesn't say in the day Uzziah
17:23
died. It was in the year.
17:28
So what do you? Do when the lights have been
17:31
turned off and you don't understand what's going on and
17:33
you know how to read the writing on the wall, you stay put, you
17:37
wait, you worship while you wait, and you trust that the
17:40
Lord will show himself at the right time.
17:44
And you take that as an opportunity to bless him when it
17:47
doesn't make sense to bless him and to serve him when you have
17:50
little strength to do anything else.
17:53
So Isaiah, he is here in the year that King Uzziah died, and
17:58
God reveals himself to him in a very special way.
18:00
And then there's one. Thing, I mean, we, we've
18:03
preached on Isaiah 6 before. I believe it was last year's
18:06
Maranatha. We spent a whole session on it
18:08
at the conference. But I want to draw your
18:10
attention to just the 1st 3 verses.
18:12
Look at verse 2 and keep in mind that this was in the year that
18:15
King Uzziah died. Above him stood the Seraphim.
18:19
Each had six wings. With two he covered his face,
18:22
and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
18:26
That's so significant, I don't have time to touch on that, but
18:29
verse three and one call to another and said holy, holy,
18:33
holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
18:37
glory. So these heavenly creatures,
18:41
these beings who are caught up in the atmosphere of holiness
18:45
and brilliance of God, they're saying something to one another.
18:50
By the way, this is generally misunderstood as them saying
18:54
something to God. They're not saying it directly
18:55
to God, they're saying it to one another.
18:58
And notice what they said. Thrice Holy is God, holy, holy,
19:03
Holy is the Lord of hosts. And notice what they didn't say.
19:06
The whole earth was full of His glory, Or the whole earth will
19:13
be full of his glory. Does it say that?
19:15
No, it's present tense. The whole earth is full of his
19:19
glory. Wait, is yes, in the same year
19:23
that King Uzziah died? What did these seraphim see?
19:29
Glory. That's what they saw permeating
19:32
the earth. What did Isaiah and the average
19:35
Israelites see? I'm not sure, but in times of
19:39
transition, unpredictability, uncertainty, it's difficult to
19:47
perceive glory. But these seraphim saw it to the
19:52
degree that it caused them, yes, to not just converse about it,
19:56
but in adoration, praise about it.
20:01
The whole earth is filled with this glory.
20:03
What are you seeing, Seraphim, and how are you seeing it?
20:07
Can I suggest one simple thing? Their vantage point.
20:11
Their perspective, they're seeing the globe from the throne
20:16
room of the Lord of host, and God in this vision is inviting
20:22
Isaiah up. See it from here, Isaiah.
20:28
Filter it from here. Isaiah, you know, Ephesians
20:33
tells us that you and I, this is a very mysterious statement.
20:36
It's very deep, but it's also simple that we are seated and
20:42
we're heavenly places. What is that speaking about You
20:46
positionally, your salvation is as secure as that you have a
20:52
seat in heavenly places. That's the main part of that
20:56
text. That's what that is trying to
20:57
convey. But there's also command that
21:00
practically you and I are to set our minds on things above
21:04
Colossians 3. So you're seated there
21:06
positionally. But let's be practical.
21:08
Let's view everything from the perspective of where we're
21:11
supposed to be seated. Heaven, eternity, God's might,
21:18
his power. The whole earth is filled with
21:21
his glory. What does Psalm 19 tell us about
21:24
the glory of God? That it's in the heavens.
21:27
It's in the skies above, is it not?
21:28
It's in creation. Do you wonder why I think the
21:32
thought is dying out now, but do you wonder why for a good period
21:35
of time in in our lifetime, there was such a push for
21:38
evolution and the notion that all this came from nothing, that
21:43
we're just an accident, that this is a miracle, but without a
21:46
God, Why do you think that's being pushed?
21:48
Do you think that's because science thought about it?
21:51
No, it's because it's an attempt to rob God of his glory.
21:55
You're supposed to look out and perceive everything and give God
21:58
glory, and Satan wants to even take that from God.
22:02
This isn't about science and philosophy and psychology and
22:05
Darwin. There's something spiritual
22:08
behind this stuff. And so we see here that the
22:12
Seraphim are looking at the world, and though kingdoms as we
22:17
sang are rising and kingdoms are falling, they're just caught up
22:21
in the. Glory.
22:23
You cannot afford to interpret your personal life, your home
22:30
life, your neighborhood life, your city, this nation, apart
22:35
from the filter of God's sovereignty.
22:37
You can't afford to do that. The Seraphim could look down and
22:42
worship while the majority worry.
22:46
And the only way that you can switch from panic to praise is
22:50
if you constantly consider, constantly include in every
22:56
micro and macro event, that there is a God who is lofty,
23:02
high, strong, unshaken, sovereign.
23:10
Climb there every morning before you check Fox, before you peep
23:15
into CNN. Climb there and stay there.
23:21
And allow God's glory to interpret everything for you.
23:26
I wonder how many today, since last week, and in the weeks to
23:30
come have been caught up with God's glory in your
23:37
conversations, it's OK to talk about this stuff that's
23:40
happening, but in your conversations, does does the
23:43
Lord and His power and might does He show up in that
23:46
conversation? Or is it simply just discussing
23:50
the recent podcasts and then sighing about how wicked this
23:53
world is and then going back to your room with shrugged
23:55
shoulders wondering if tomorrow is going to be worse than it was
23:58
today? This is not the only time Israel
24:02
experienced national distress. Go to Isaiah chapter 8 to
24:07
examine another episode of fear that apprehended the same people
24:09
group. And I want you to know that the
24:11
timing of this passage was during the reign of King Ahaz.
24:15
Ahaz. This is the grandson of Uzziah
24:21
and Ahaz, king of Judah was enduring his own news, the news
24:25
of. A coalition between Syria and
24:30
Israel. Remember, he represents the
24:32
Kingdom of Judah, the southern Kingdom.
24:34
And now news is out that Syria and Israel are encroaching upon
24:38
Jerusalem. And on top of that, there is now
24:43
talks of Assyria, a rising empire of that time, coming in
24:48
and just taking over everything. And so on more than one
24:52
occasion, the prophet Isaiah, who just finished having this
24:55
experience with Almighty God in Isaiah 6, comes to Isaiah 7 and
25:00
we're told in Isaiah. Seven, that the hearts of the
25:03
people, including the king. King Ahaz, we're shaking as
25:07
trees shake in the wind. He gives a prophecy after
25:13
prophecy. And finally, the Lord speaks to
25:15
Isaiah, not to speak to the people yet, but to speak to Him
25:19
directly as His Servant. And I want you to see this in
25:21
Isaiah 811. This is what the Lord says to
25:25
Isaiah individually. For the Lord spoke thus to me
25:32
with His strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the
25:39
way of this people. Pause.
25:41
What do you think the way of this people is?
25:44
So you see. Again, the urgency of the Lord
25:46
speaking to his servant. He's saying I'm putting my hand
25:49
on you and I am warning you not to walk in the way of this
25:52
people. What debauchery, Sexual
25:55
morality, Orgies. Drunkenness.
25:59
Worshipping. Molech No, verse 12.
26:02
Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy,
26:07
and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.
26:11
Wow, Isaiah, you're my servant. You're supposed to think
26:19
different, feel different, function differently.
26:24
And what he's trying to say in summation is, I don't want you
26:27
to be preoccupied with the anxious feeling and discussions
26:32
that everybody else in your nation is wrapped up in.
26:38
What does that tell us? That even a man of God like
26:40
Isaiah can be sucked into the frenzy of a country or people
26:49
group or family that doesn't have concrete confidence in
26:54
their God. Don't get swept up in that.
26:59
And that's true of him. How much is it possible for us?
27:02
Therefore, you and I, like Isaiah, have to make a
27:04
conscience effort to not allow what overtakes the culture to
27:08
overtake you. Is it wrong to discuss these
27:12
things? No.
27:12
Is it wrong to investigate these things?
27:15
No. But if it paralyzes you and it
27:18
pulls you away from your primary duty as a Christian in the
27:23
Church of Jesus Christ, you've gone too far.
27:26
You've gone too far. But how?
27:33
How can you and I rise above the agitation and the alarm that's
27:39
surrounding us? You know, I tried to take care
27:42
of this body. So I go to the gym once in a
27:43
while and I usually bring headphones and just list my time
27:47
to listen to teachings. And this time a few days ago, I
27:49
thought, I'm not going to bring my headphones.
27:50
I'll just go in for a quick session.
27:53
So usually my ears are busy. My, my ears were not busy.
27:56
They're exposed to the elements. And here I am trying to do my
27:58
thing and. Secret services of the Democrats
28:01
are traumatic. Conservatives are the.
28:04
I wish I brought my headphones. And I get it naturally.
28:11
We we endured a historical thing.
28:13
I get it. But you can sense something in
28:17
the voice, you can sense something in the panic.
28:19
You can feel it. It's tangible.
28:22
Let it be for the world, not for the church.
28:28
So what's the secret? How is it that in these
28:30
inescapable things that pop up on your device when you choose
28:35
to go to the gym without your headphones, how can your heart
28:39
be bulletproof? How can you be?
28:43
How can you still have a song in your mouth and light on your
28:47
face? How he tells Isaiah, look at
28:49
verse 13. But the Lord of hosts him shall
28:54
you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear and let him
29:00
be your dread. Can I, can I summarize what the
29:05
fear of God is? It's very simple.
29:07
We don't have time to explore it together.
29:09
The fear of God is synonymous with being in awe of God.
29:13
You know what he's telling Isaiah, teaching you and I this
29:18
profound truth that the increasing presence of fear in
29:22
US is a symptom of my diminishing awe of God.
29:30
When fear rises up and is more present and prominent in this
29:36
heart of mine, that's an indication that what's becoming
29:39
less and less true in that same heart is my understanding of how
29:44
awesome God is. And so on the other side of the
29:49
coin, he says, if I if you're going to escape this pattern of
29:53
debilitating thoughts, then you must listen.
29:56
You must, you must, you must make less time for mainstream
30:00
media, your favorite podcast, and the recent article with the
30:04
newest findings or statistics, and stick your nose in the Bible
30:10
until your soul is stunned by God.
30:16
If you're able to take in everything that's happening and
30:20
your faith is stronger than ever, then keep going, brother.
30:23
I guess keep going, my sister. But if you're losing strength,
30:31
If your worship is diluting. If things concerning your
30:37
understanding of your purpose as a Christian, part of the Church
30:40
of Jesus Christ getting lost and foggy, then revisit the throne
30:47
room of God. Come to his word and stare it
30:50
stare at it long enough until you escape the web that most
30:55
people are caught in. I want to provide you just an
31:00
example of how that works. We're we're still in Isaiah the
31:06
good Isaiah 45 for a moment. Please, Lord tells Isaiah,
31:15
replace your fear of invading army's failing economy, inept
31:19
leaders. With a fear of me.
31:22
And if you fear me, you're not going to fear anything else.
31:28
What's the instruction here? You have to make an effort to
31:32
not feed this. Unholy fear and instead spend
31:37
the energy and feed the holy fear.
31:40
Look at Isaiah 45 verse one. Thus says the Lord to his
31:45
anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue
31:50
nations before him, and to loose the belts of kings, to open
31:54
doors before him, that gates may not be closed so.
31:58
We come to this prophecy, and it's a very interesting
32:00
prophecy. Again, why are we going to
32:03
Isaiah 45? Just to give you a little sample
32:05
of how your heart can be apprehended by the right kind of
32:10
fear. He tells him for the sake of my
32:14
servant Jacob. Later, as we're about to
32:16
discover, but initially in verse one.
32:18
Thus says the Lord to his anointed to his anointed.
32:21
The language of somebody being anointed was exclusively
32:24
reserved for priests and kings within.
32:27
The confines of Israel, the covenant that God had with him.
32:30
But here you have this man named Cyrus.
32:33
Cyrus, as we're about to discover, is a Gentile.
32:36
He's a Gentile king. And yet the Lord says he's my
32:39
anointed. I've set him apart for
32:42
something. I've called him to something.
32:45
And this prophecy is directed to Cyrus, and he's allowing Isaiah
32:51
and the nation of Israel to overhear this proclamation.
32:56
To overhear for what reason? Well, not just so that we would
33:00
realize that God knows the future, because Cyrus, though
33:04
this is directed to him, hasn't come into existence yet.
33:06
This is one of the most profound passages in all of the Bible.
33:11
Cyrus would come into existence. He would be born in this world
33:14
180. Years to 220 years after this
33:16
prophecy was declared. So you have gone through the
33:19
Prophet calling out a politician who's going to rule the known
33:22
world by name decades upon decades before it's even
33:27
realized. And the Lord calls Isaiah and
33:30
even his people to check this out.
33:32
I'm going to call somebody by name.
33:35
You know, you have people wringing their hands.
33:36
Who's going to win the election? Why are you scared about that?
33:39
God knows, should he, Terry, who's going to be the 65th
33:41
president of the United States? I'm calling you Cyrus by name,
33:49
and I'm going to equip you and I'm going to raise you.
33:52
To do what? To be above the nations.
33:57
And that's proven to be true. History testifies of this
33:59
prophecy coming to pass because Cyrus didn't invade the
34:02
Babylonian Empire and he did conquer it.
34:05
But is that? All the Lord is trying to do, is
34:07
He just trying to flex his omniscience?
34:10
No, He's showing what the ultimate purpose is.
34:12
When you Scroll down to verse four, look at verse 4.
34:17
For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my Chosen.
34:24
I call you by your name. He's still speaking to Cyrus.
34:27
And about Cyrus, I call you by your name.
34:29
I name you, though you do not know me.
34:33
I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me.
34:36
There is no God. I equip you, though you do not
34:39
know me. Do you understand the
34:43
implications of this? Not only do you have a Gentile,
34:46
not only do you have a gentile who's going to be a king, who's
34:49
not even real yet, you have the Lord.
34:53
Showcasing his sovereignty, the extent of it, that God can even
34:58
use a Gentile king who doesn't have a true living relationship
35:02
with him. For what?
35:04
For his purposes, and in this case it was for the sake of his
35:07
people, Jacob. So I'm going to shift the
35:11
nation's I'm going to fire and hire.
35:15
I'm going to see defeat and conquest for this sole central
35:20
reason for my people, because my people at that time are going to
35:25
be in exile in Babylon. And I'm going to allow Cyrus to
35:28
come in, Cyrus to conquer and at the right time, Cyrus to release
35:32
my people from Babylon back into Israel, the promised land.
35:38
And we're being told this hundreds of years before it
35:41
happened. And the bigger picture of this
35:45
whole thing is this. You ready?
35:47
You know what this tells us? History Centers on the glory of
35:52
God and the people of God. History.
35:58
History centers on the glory of God and the people that you
36:03
think that just because these people don't believe in God,
36:06
that God's playbook isn't at work.
36:10
You think that just because everybody's caught up with the
36:12
things of this life and they put their hope and whoever's in the
36:16
White House that that God is not orchestrating everything.
36:19
For His glory and for His people to be positioned exactly where
36:24
they need to be so that they can thrive and bring forth fruit.
36:29
Read your Bible, read your Bible and realize that history
36:33
centers. And I can't say it any better
36:34
than another preacher who commented on this passage.
36:38
The Lord raises up and he brings down.
36:40
Behind all the drama of human events today, there is a God who
36:46
is planning for His church through affliction and
36:49
persecution and chastising and tribulation, to be perfected and
36:54
prepared to inherit the Kingdom of God.
36:59
This isn't disconnected to the church.
37:01
What we're seeing, what's happening, it's all orbiting
37:05
about this one thing that the One who created all things has
37:10
something to accomplish. And everything is not falling
37:13
apart. It's falling exactly into.
37:15
Place exactly into place every detail.
37:23
I may not know what the next few months will bring, but I am sure
37:26
of one thing that whatever does happen, the church will be
37:30
exactly where she needs to be. The true church.
37:32
Exactly. And if I'm part of the church,
37:34
that includes me and that includes you.
37:39
On a side note, notice how verse one, I told you earlier that he
37:42
he's saying it to Cyrus. Why would you say it to Cyrus?
37:48
Cyrus hasn't even been born yet, unless of course, Cyrus would
37:52
know about it one day. And I just want to show you
37:54
again, just to show you how amazing this book is.
37:57
Do you know that Cyrus actually got this message eventually?
38:01
He actually received this word he's saying where you have to
38:04
make an effort to flip those pages to Ezra chapter one.
38:08
I want you to see it with your own eyes.
38:11
Ezra 1123. This is when Cyrus the king of
38:16
Persia defeated the Babylonians. And notice what it says here in
38:26
the opening of the book of Ezra chapter one, verse one.
38:30
I'll wait for those pages to stop moving in the first year of
38:35
Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of
38:39
Jeremiah might be fulfilled. So not only do you have Isaiah's
38:42
testimony, you have Jeremiah, who also prophesied the exact
38:45
amount of time that Israel would be in exile before they return
38:48
to Jerusalem. The Lord stirred up the spirit
38:52
of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
38:56
throughout all his Kingdom and also put it in writing.
38:59
Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord, the God of heaven, has
39:03
given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to
39:06
build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
39:09
Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him,
39:13
and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild
39:15
the House of the Lord, the God of Israel.
39:17
He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
39:21
Now, that might not move you because you think that you're
39:23
just dealing with one book. You went from Isaiah, which is
39:26
one chapter in this big book, and you went now to this chapter
39:28
called Ezra. It's not one big book.
39:30
This is a library of books. There's a great span of time
39:33
between Isaiah and Ezra. Do you realize that what Isaiah
39:38
says here in chapter 45 was fulfilled and Ezra recorded it?
39:42
And here's my question. How did Cyra, king of Persia,
39:44
get access to this word? How did it come to him?
39:48
And it's all speculation. It's all speculation.
39:51
Can I give you my favorite speculation?
39:53
There was somebody in the Kingdom of Babylon who was also
39:56
during their there during the administration of Cyrus.
39:58
Do you know his name? Daniel.
40:02
Could it be that Daniel showed him this prophecy?
40:08
Could it be you're saying I don't know, OK, just could it
40:10
be? I'm not saying it's dogmatic.
40:11
You don't need to believe it to become a member here or
40:13
anything. The same Daniel who very likely
40:19
influenced the magicians and the magi that brought the magi from
40:26
the east to come and see the son of David who would be born in
40:30
Jerusalem. Where did they come from?
40:32
Why they? Why did?
40:34
These magi from the east come to Jerusalem well trace it in
40:38
biblical history. I think one possible reason is
40:40
because of the presence and the influence of the prophet Daniel.
40:45
Could it be that even here with Cyrus, Daniel was there?
40:49
You read Daniel Chapter 9 and Daniel start praying when you
40:52
realize that the 70 years was coming up, that Jeremiah, this
40:54
guy was in tune with the word of God and he was not ashamed to
40:57
share it. He was not ashamed to share it.
41:02
I'd like to think that. I'd like to think that Daniel
41:04
told Cyrus, Do you know that your name was brought up by one
41:06
of our prophets? Really.
41:09
When, oh, I don't know, like 180 years ago?
41:13
No way. Yes, let me show you.
41:17
Let me tell you about it. Something was inspired.
41:19
And Cyrus, the Lord stirred his spirit.
41:21
And he says, if you want to go back home, you can go back home.
41:27
What are you afraid of? If this is our God, what are
41:32
you? Nothing to be afraid of
41:34
anything. I'm afraid of him.
41:37
I'm afraid of him. He knows what's going to happen.
41:41
He knows how long this empire called the United States will
41:44
will last. He knows.
41:45
He knows the exact day if it will last or if it will not.
41:48
He knows the exact moment. He knows every detail that will
41:50
lead up to its fall or, by His mercy, to its revival.
41:53
He knows, he knows. And guess what?
41:56
I hold his hand and so do you. He has a big hand and he's
42:01
leading me day by day. And sometimes, like a little
42:04
child, I asked where are we going?
42:07
And like a good dad does, he doesn't explain it all the time.
42:12
It's my God. OK, So what happens next week?
42:15
You're surprised, we're shocked, sure.
42:17
We're human, we're limited by time and space and Isaiah 6, the
42:20
Lord is there, Thrones are falling apart, and there's one
42:23
throne that is stable, unmoved, unshaken, and we're invited to
42:30
be there. Now, I know some of your
42:34
analytical and your critical thinkers, and I appreciate that.
42:37
So you're thinking, brother, that thank you for that sermon,
42:40
that was very encouraging. But I noticed that you stayed
42:41
within the bounds of the Old Testament where God primarily
42:46
dealt with a people group that was a theocracy.
42:50
And so obviously, in order to be faithful to them, their borders,
42:57
their land, was a part of their covenant, he would have to get
43:01
involved with governments and armies and kings and kingdoms.
43:05
But we're in the new covenant, we're the church, We don't we
43:07
don't have a country. How does this relate to us?
43:12
Besides, is God even that involved to the same degree that
43:16
he was when he was electing one people group and working through
43:20
them to showcase of the world his glory?
43:22
Can we take these observations that you've made, brother, and
43:26
and apply them to us as a people, group of many tribes and
43:29
tugs sprinkled across this world?
43:31
How does this help me? And I'm here to tell you that
43:34
the same God who supervises everything up to the time of
43:40
Cyrus, the same one who was there when Uzziah came off the
43:43
throne, and the same one who called Cyrus to take up a
43:47
throne, is the same one who's involved with every throne,
43:51
every church, every pulpit, every home.
43:55
Let me remind you the words of Jesus when He stood before
43:57
another governor by the name of Pilate and he was on trial and
44:03
Jesus fulfilling His role as a lamb remains silent.
44:08
So Pilate in John 19 verse 10 said to him, You will not speak
44:13
to me. Do you not know that I have
44:16
authority to release you and authority to crucify you?
44:20
What does Jesus say in verse 11? Jesus answered them, You would
44:24
have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you
44:28
from above. Therefore, he who delivered me
44:33
over to you has the greater sin. This is Jesus Christ, the
44:37
Mediator of a new covenant, and He even in this reminds Pilate
44:43
and even us that every position of power, the proportion of
44:48
authority that they carry with those positions has been
44:51
determined by heaven. Pilate would not have an inch of
44:55
that authority had it not been signed off by God Almighty.
45:00
Do you think it's any different today?
45:03
What about, what about the church?
45:05
I mean, this is the Lord right before his death, His
45:07
resurrection, his ascension. What comfort can we take that
45:11
that God's eye is on His people and that He is still allowing
45:14
what is taking place in history to center?
45:18
To center on the glory of God and the people of God.
45:21
There's so many examples, so many, you know what came to
45:24
mind? Just this little one, one that
45:26
we don't tend to think about when we think about the book of
45:28
Acts. It's a peripheral idea, but it's
45:30
so jam packed with awesome comfort when you think about God
45:35
and His church and worldwide events.
45:38
OK, this is our last text. It's in Acts 11.
45:41
Turn there in verse 28, actually verse 27.
46:01
Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,
46:05
and one of the name Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit
46:09
that there would be a great famine over all the world.
46:13
This took place in the days of Claudius.
46:15
Isn't that amazing? So you have these prophets from
46:21
Jerusalem and I know that this text can be a matter of debate
46:23
about how this works, the office of a prophet and new covenant,
46:26
the gift of prophecy. Can the Spirit of God speaking
46:28
this way through his people to his people.
46:30
Let's put that aside for now and take the comforting truth out of
46:33
it. Here you have these prophets out
46:34
of Jerusalem coming to the church in Antioch.
46:37
And one of these prophets named Agabus foretells by the Spirit,
46:41
this is a real prophet, not those kind of like YouTube
46:44
prophets that predict things and just say anything and and it's
46:47
wrong and people still support them afterwards.
46:49
I don't understand a real prophet, a real prophet.
46:55
And he says there is going to be a famine that's going to hit not
46:59
just this area, the whole world. And it was right.
47:05
So put the debate aside. Put the debate aside.
47:07
OK, here's what I take out of it as a as a point, as a lesson.
47:11
If God wants to supernaturally reveal something to his church,
47:15
he's able. If God wants to prepare his
47:18
church in this way, he can. But even if he doesn't do it in
47:22
such a direct manifest way. He's always doing it.
47:26
He's. Always providentially
47:27
positioning and preparing his people primarily his word is
47:32
there, but even his spirit is with us.
47:35
The Holy Spirit of God is with us and he as in this I see that
47:40
though the world is going to experience something he's
47:42
telling his church, His heart is still for his people.
47:48
OK, we're not in we're not a nation and one people group.
47:51
That's the beauty of the gospel. But as one new race now as the
47:54
church, don't you see here by way of example, don't you take
47:57
comfort in knowing that God still supervises us and He's not
48:02
going to allow the powers that be or persecution or the evil
48:05
corruption erode the church, Even disasters, natural, natural
48:10
disasters. He still has his eye on his
48:11
church. He's watching, He's caring.
48:17
So the Spirit is here and what where I want to end is how the
48:22
disciples reacted to this news in verse 29.
48:26
So the disciples determined everyone according to his
48:30
ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea,
48:36
worldwide famine. And you know what the disciples
48:40
don't do? They don't disperse and isolate
48:43
themselves and fear about what was going to happen to their
48:46
bank accounts, to their crops, to the future of their children.
48:53
They responded almost like instinct with selfless action.
48:59
What do you see here? Why am I bringing this to your
49:01
attention? In light of what's happening in
49:02
our world, may not be a famine. It may be a famine down the
49:05
road. But in light of the unrest,
49:08
civilly, universally, what do you have here?
49:11
An axe. You have a missionally minded
49:14
church. Missionally minded that when
49:19
they saw this, they realized what do we do to strengthen the
49:22
people of God? What do we do to help our
49:24
brethren? What do we do so they weren't
49:28
dragging their feet and murmuring about the mysteries of
49:32
this world to the point where they're not acting at all and
49:35
not praying at all and not rejoicing.
49:37
Stronger and not be asking God for greater opportunities to
49:41
tell people about this gospel. Not doing that.
49:46
Unshaken, just like their God in heaven.
49:48
Unmoved, just like that throne we read about.
49:51
That's what the church is supposed to be in this hour,
49:54
more active than ever. Our meetings across this land
49:57
should be absolutely packed. We should show the world that we
50:02
have greater reason to rejoice. We should show the world that we
50:06
have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about.
50:08
And not just in our meetings, in your life and in mine, outside
50:11
of these walls. So when those conversations come
50:14
up, when questions are asked, when a new videos popped in your
50:18
face, ask the Lord for the grace for the gospel to shine through
50:22
you. Ask God for the wisdom to know
50:25
how to put in these kernels of truth.
50:29
Ask God for even the mercy. That without words, just just
50:34
your posture and your language to testify of something that is
50:39
unexplainable. So I want to tell you today that
50:45
there is a horizontal response to everything.
50:47
And I wasn't planning on in this way, but I'm going to end this
50:50
way. There's also a vertical
50:52
response. I told you the last text was our
50:55
last text, but I promise you to this one in Hebrews.
51:03
And as I turn to, the priest team can join me on this
51:05
platform. Aren't you excited to be a
51:13
Christian in these days? I'm so excited.
51:17
Hebrews 12/28 Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a
51:31
Kingdom that cannot be shaken. And thus let us offer to God
51:35
acceptable worship with reverence and awe.
51:39
For our God is a consuming fire. Isn't that what Isaiah was told?
51:43
What's the context of us rejoicing in the truth that our
51:46
Kingdom cannot be shaken? Look at verse 27.
51:49
This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things
51:53
that are shaken, that is, things that have been made in order
51:56
that things that cannot be shaken may remain.
52:00
What's this prophecy telling us that there's a time coming where
52:03
everything that has been made will be shaken?
52:09
And what's the response? The response is, yes, we saw an
52:13
example of the church when the world was caught by famine.
52:17
They were active. But also there's a vertical
52:19
response to give God worship with reverence and and what?
52:24
Ah, that fear. Why?
52:28
Because you have inherited something that can never be
52:30
taken from you. You're a Christian, blood
52:33
bought, eternally secured, and you have a future.
52:40
And no matter how wonderful this nation is, and we should praise
52:43
God, there's no nation like it. It doesn't compare to the
52:46
Kingdom that you've inherited by faith.
52:49
So there's a greater hope, a greater joy, a greater delight,
52:51
a greater, a greater government that awaits because we serve a
52:55
great God. So let's stand and give him that
52:57
worship and thank him with reverence, in awe, sacrifice of
53:05
praise.