1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,280 You guys can have a seat. My name is Eric. 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,000 I am glad to be here with you today. 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,960 I'm one of the pastors here and we are starting or taking a 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,760 break from our Matthew series book of Matthew. 5 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,400 For the next 4 weeks we are going to be talking about 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,080 Advent. Advent means the coming of 7 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:20,800 Christ and and Christmas is the first Advent. 8 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,480 That means that Christ came for the first time, which was 9 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,440 prophesied about 2000 years ago. That's why we celebrate the 10 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:31,920 holiday of Christmas. But in this series, we're 11 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:36,000 actually going to be looking at the two advents of Christ. 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:41,240 Historically, in the very, very early church, when they would do 13 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,720 a sermon series on Advent, they would look at the second Advent 14 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,000 and the first Advent. And so the tagline for the 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:53,920 series is looking backward and forward to Christ. 16 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,640 As we're anticipating Advent, we're going to look back in, in, 17 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,440 in history and see what happened. 18 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,680 That will be the last two weeks leading up to Christmas, what 19 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,000 happened in the first Advent. But for the first two weeks, 20 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,720 we're going to, we're going to look at what the Bible has to 21 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:15,360 say about Jesus coming the second time and how we should be 22 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:21,120 living in anticipation, much like the the Israelites in the 23 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:26,520 1st century and before should have been living in anticipation 24 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:28,520 of this coming Savior, this Messiah. 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,120 And many of them missed out on it. 26 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,360 We as Christians who have the fuller story, knowing who Jesus 27 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,040 really is and what he said in the rest of the New Testament, 28 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,960 we don't want to miss out on the second Coming. 29 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,840 We want to make sure that we're ready and we're living in in 30 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,920 hopeful anticipation. And so today that's actually 31 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,960 what we're going to look at. And I had Mike read 2 famous 32 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,000 Christmas passages. These are always read around the 33 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Christmas time. I'm sure you've, you've known 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:08,039 those verses, Micah 5/2 and Isaiah 9/6. 35 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:13,200 And, and, and it talked about in Micah, it said a ruler in Israel 36 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,960 is to come in that passage, it's often focused on that there's a 37 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,400 prophecy of someone being born in Bethlehem. 38 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,160 And in fact, that was Jesus who was born in Bethlehem. 39 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,040 And so that prophecy was fulfilled in the first Advent. 40 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,640 But then there's that other part of the verse that said one who 41 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:35,880 is to be ruler in Israel. Well, did he come? 42 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,440 And was he a ruler in Israel at that point in time? 43 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,560 Or in Isaiah 9, six and seven it talks about for unto us a child 44 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:49,600 is born, a son is given again, we do entire series is on all 45 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,160 the names that that are mentioned in that verse. 46 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,720 But then later it says of the increase of his government and 47 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,320 of peace, there will be no end. And So what does it mean? 48 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,760 Did Christ come as a ruler to set up a new government in the 49 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,680 first Advent? And the answer is no. 50 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,360 Many were fooled by this because of these verses. 51 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:18,440 In fact, after Jesus gave them the Great Commission and it was 52 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,680 about to ascend to the Father, in Acts chapter one, verse six 53 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,000 and seven, it says, so when they had come together, they asked 54 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,560 him, Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel? 55 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,200 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons 56 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,360 that the Father is fixed by his own authority. 57 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,960 And then he proceeded to ascend from the ground up into heaven. 58 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,440 And, and now what we know, the Bible says that he is seated in 59 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,720 heaven as king of kings and Lord of Lords. 60 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,720 But yet they were confused because they thought, you know, 61 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,360 things are going on that are, that are not favorable. 62 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,800 And I thought when this Messiah came that he was going to come 63 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,480 and set up this new government and, and rule and, and kick out 64 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,000 the Romans and free us from oppression. 65 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,960 But yet that's not what happened in the first Advent. 66 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:19,040 And so that's why we we should look at the promises of the 67 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,720 second Advent. In fact, the New Testament then 68 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:27,080 made it more clear that Jesus not only came the first time, 69 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,800 but He was coming again. In fact, some of the last words 70 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,400 in the Bible, Revelation 22, seven. 71 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,120 And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the 72 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,320 words of the prophecy of this book. 73 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:47,480 Christians are supposed to live in anticipation for Christ to 74 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:52,760 come again, and this time it will be to set up His rule and 75 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,200 reign on the earth. What they were looking forward 76 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,560 to, they missed out on the meaning of the first Advent, 77 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,280 which we now get, that He came to save us from our sins 78 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,120 spiritually. And He does rule and reign as 79 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,600 king in a spiritual way from heaven. 80 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,640 And all of us who are believers in Christ are the Kingdom of 81 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,440 God. We are the Kingdom of Christ 82 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,800 here on earth as the visible church. 83 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:24,000 And yet there's this sense of already and not yet, there's 84 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,520 already a Kingdom that God has established, but it's not yet 85 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:34,520 fully fulfilled. And so we want to look at when 86 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,280 or how or what it's going to look like when that is 87 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:39,720 fulfilled. And so I've titled today's 88 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:46,440 message Anticipating Eternal peace under the one true King. 89 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,160 We're going to be in Isaiah chapter 2, verses one through 5 90 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,560 in this series. We're going to look at an Old 91 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,680 Testament set of verses and we're going to exposit those 92 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:58,680 verses. We're not going to we'll, we're 93 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,320 going to pick a main text and we're going to walk through that 94 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,080 as we normally do. We're doing an Old Testament and 95 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,840 a New Testament verse on his second coming. 96 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,360 And then we'll look at an Old Testament and New Testament set 97 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:16,200 of verses on his first coming. So I'll read this to you and 98 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,960 we'll get into it. Isaiah 2. 99 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,040 One through 5, The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw 100 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,360 concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the 101 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,880 latter days, that the mountain of the House of the Lord shall 102 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,120 be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be 103 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,320 lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to 104 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,320 it. And many people shall come and 105 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,520 say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 106 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,400 House of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and 107 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,480 that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth 108 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,240 the law and the word of the Lord. 109 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,360 From Jerusalem He shall judge between the nations, and shall 110 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,360 decide disputes for many peoples. 111 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,000 And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their 112 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,800 Spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword 113 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,600 against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 114 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:16,200 O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. 115 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,520 Now let's do a little bit of background to this. 116 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,600 All throughout the book of Isaiah, there are a lot of 117 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,200 prophecies. In fact, Isaiah is a prophet. 118 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:32,320 The book of Isaiah is the third largest book in all of the Bible 119 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,920 as as as far as word count goes, as far as chapters go, it's the 120 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:42,400 second largest book next to the Psalms. 121 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,000 And in it there are many prophecies of Jesus's first 122 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:51,720 coming, but also the second coming of Christ or the day of 123 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,200 the Lord that that when when he comes to establish his rule and 124 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,240 he'll set up the new heavens and the new earth. 125 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,160 And so when we walk through or when you read through Isaiah, it 126 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,920 is very critical that you understand which one he's 127 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,440 talking about. And it does take some study, 128 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:15,960 some some some discernment to understand what prophecy you're 129 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,760 reading when you're in the book of Isaiah. 130 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,400 Many of these prophecies have already come to pass, but many 131 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,960 of them haven't yet. But because many of them have, 132 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,919 he should be looked to as a trusted prophet that his words 133 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,840 will come true because these are the words of God. 134 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:41,320 So let's get into kind of the the context of this first part 135 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:46,520 of this in verse #1 it says the word that Isaiah, the son of 136 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,640 Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 137 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:55,720 Now there's a background to this, that this is around 739 BC 138 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,840 and 689 BC. So there's a time period where 139 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,040 he served under many different kings. 140 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:06,120 If you go back to chapter 1, verse one, it kind of has a 141 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:10,720 similar introduction there in the first part of the book, it 142 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,920 says the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, which he saw 143 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:18,000 concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, 144 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,280 Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 145 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,920 And you can read about these kings in the book of second 146 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:29,400 Kings and in the book of Chronicles you can. 147 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,120 That's how we can find the timeline of when this was 148 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,120 written. And and they support one 149 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:36,000 another. The historical books of the 150 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,240 Bible also support the prophetic books of the Bible. 151 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,160 And what's going on in Jerusalem and Judah at the time is there's 152 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,920 been a split between the two, the northern and the southern 153 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:49,600 Kingdom. And that's why it's called Judah 154 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,680 and Jerusalem. There's kind of a, a difference 155 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:57,080 of, of, of opinion and leadership and they're sometimes 156 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:01,080 at war with one another and at war with other nations. 157 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,400 And so often times God would bring about judgement on the 158 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:07,800 nation of Israel through other nations coming in and 159 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:13,520 disciplining them, so to speak. So that's some of the, the, the 160 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,720 history of this where this prophet pops up and he gives 161 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,240 words of hope to them in these times of struggle and 162 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,600 oppression. And, and they're in shame and 163 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,120 guilt because of their sin and they've been called out because 164 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:28,480 of their sin. And he speaks of a Savior, A 165 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,280 forgiving God, a coming Messiah, and a day of peace. 166 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:36,640 And but I want to focus on this, this first part of this verse 167 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,000 where it says the word that Isaiah, the son of Amos saw. 168 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,520 Now that seems like kind of a weird sentence. 169 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:48,840 Can you actually see a word? Was was Isaiah seeing words 170 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,040 coming down before his eyes kind of like this slide before you 171 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,840 today? No, What would happen when a 172 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:00,440 prophet received a word from the Lord as they would most of the 173 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:06,080 time get a vision and it would be interpreted to them alongside 174 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:10,400 of the vision. Many times in Isaiah there are 175 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:14,000 beautiful visions and some of them are literal and some of 176 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,400 them are figurative. And in order to interpret these 177 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,960 things, you have to understand what's literal, what's 178 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,560 figurative. And one of the most beautiful 179 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:28,880 prophecies or, or visions that Isaiah gets is in chapter 6 when 180 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,240 he's brought to the throne room of God. 181 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,840 And it said in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord 182 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,680 sitting upon a throne high and lifted up in the train of his 183 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:43,520 robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. 184 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:47,000 Each had six wings. With two he covered his face, 185 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,160 with two he covered his feet. And with two he flew. 186 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:54,680 And one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the 187 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:58,560 Lord, Lord of hosts. The whole earth, it's full of 188 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:00,720 his glory. And the foundations of the 189 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,080 threshold shook at the voice of him who called. 190 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:04,760 And the house was filled with smoke. 191 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,760 And I said, Woe is me, for I am lost, for I'm a man of unclean 192 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:15,000 lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, For 193 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,880 my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 194 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,280 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning 195 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,800 coal that he had taken from the tongs from the altar. 196 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,360 And he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched 197 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,280 your lips. Your guilt is taken away, and 198 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,440 your sin atoned for. Now in that very vision alone, 199 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,760 some of the things are literal, the the throne room and temple 200 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:45,000 of God. He sees the glory of God and 201 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,600 that's to be showing that that God and his glory is just it's 202 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:54,560 it's a fearful, fearful thing to be in the presence of God as a 203 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:56,680 Sinner. And he says I'm a Sinner in that 204 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:59,640 part where the Angel brings a colon touches his lips. 205 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:05,320 That's a a figurative statement about his sins being atoned for 206 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,640 and forgiven when he says I'm a man of unclean lips and the toll 207 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,040 the the coal burns his lips. That's a figurative statement 208 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,760 talking about the atonement of Christ there, right? 209 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,800 So it's no joke when you're going through these prophecies 210 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,160 that it takes some understanding and discernment to try to 211 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,920 understand the picture that that God is painting for the prophet. 212 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:33,520 And just so you know, second, Peter says no prophet interprets 213 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,080 his own vision, but he's carried along by the Holy Spirit and he 214 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,880 speaks these things. These are God's words. 215 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,960 And so as we get into this, I've got three points I want to look 216 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,040 at. And the first one then is this 217 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:53,640 worship Christ above all. Now you probably hear that a lot 218 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,760 when you come to this church. We talk about it a lot because 219 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,200 it's in the Bible a lot. In fact, a majority of the Bible 220 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:08,200 is God correcting his people that they have other gods or 221 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,360 other things that they put in higher priority than God. 222 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,120 And God's constantly trying to remind his people, come back to 223 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,080 me. Stay away from idolatry, quit 224 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:23,400 living in sin and and living for your own selfish pleasures and 225 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,200 come back to me. Worship me above all. 226 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,600 That's what I created you for. The the majority of the Bible is 227 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:34,600 focused on that. And so that's why we're going to 228 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,560 hear this over and over and over again when we're walking through 229 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,080 Scripture. Worship Christ above all. 230 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,400 Now let's look at what Isaiah says that he saw and what he 231 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,520 hears. It says it shall come to pass in 232 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,840 the latter days that the mountain of the House of the 233 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:55,200 Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains and 234 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,720 shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nations shall 235 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:04,120 flow to it. OK, so what's going on here is 236 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:09,880 he sees that the, the, the place where people worship God is 237 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,800 lifted up in his in this vision and all other mountains are laid 238 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,040 low. And, and what he's saying is, is 239 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:23,320 that this represents how God will be worshipped above all 240 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,840 other gods, above all other high places, above all other 241 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:29,760 mountains. You see, mountains have always 242 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,640 played a significant role in the relationship between God and 243 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,600 man. Where did Moses go get the 10 244 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,280 commandments? It was on Mount Sinai where the 245 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,080 Temple Mount, which is on Mount Moriah where Jesus walked up the 246 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,960 mount to Calvary, which is in the same on the same mountain as 247 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,400 Mount Moriah. There's always something about 248 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:59,320 mountains and worship and relationship to God. 249 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:06,320 And what he's saying is, is that the mountain that God is on is 250 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,680 going to be higher than any other mountain where other gods 251 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,680 are worshipped. You see in Second Kings 153233 252 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:22,080 and and through 35, it gives us a little bit of a back story 253 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:27,280 about this idea of Israel worshipping other gods on 254 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,200 mountains. It says in the second year of 255 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,560 Pika, the son of Ramallah king of Israel, Jotham, the son of 256 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,720 Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 257 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,280 He was 25 years old when he began to reign and reigned 16 258 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:41,520 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha, 259 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,400 the daughter of Zadok. And he did was what? 260 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,800 What was right in the eyes of the Lord court according to all 261 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,840 that his father Uzziah had done. Nevertheless, the high places 262 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,240 were not removed. The people still sacrificed and 263 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,480 made offerings on the high places. 264 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:05,000 And So what happened was that they saw that that that things 265 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,079 that they worship should be elevated. 266 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:10,800 And so they would go build altars to these other gods, 267 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:15,160 foreign gods that other nations around them believed in. 268 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,240 And that, in fact, was why they were disciplined so much and why 269 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,839 God sent prophets so much to the nation of Israel to bring them 270 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:27,599 back from their spiritual adultery and idolatry. 271 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:35,240 And then if you go back to Isaiah chapter one, verse 4, he 272 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:39,240 starts out the whole book with a sinful nation of people laden 273 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,160 with the iniquity offspring of evil doers, children who deal 274 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,800 corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord, 275 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:47,520 they have despised the Holy One of Israel. 276 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:53,520 They are utterly estranged. So in the first part of the 277 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,200 book, it's kind of a, a correction that you've been 278 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,920 worshipping false gods, you've been worshipping falsely. 279 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,840 But one day the mountain of the Lord's going to be higher than 280 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,600 all other mountains. Now does this mean that in the 281 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,480 end, one day that there's there's not going to be any 282 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,640 mountains, but they'll be 1 mountain and that it will be 283 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,680 literally higher than every other mountain? 284 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:23,240 Well, as far as I know, the, the, the highest mountain on 285 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:30,840 earth is Mount Everest at 29,000 and 32 feet, while the Temple 286 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:36,160 Mount that exists now is only 2428 feet. 287 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:41,880 And so does that mean there will be no more mountains when Jesus 288 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,520 comes back? Well, I think again, this is 289 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,880 figurative language where we have to understand what is he 290 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:52,440 getting at? He's, he's saying that when 291 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:57,600 Christ comes back, there will be a time where there won't be any 292 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,520 of this sinful idolatry anymore, but in fact, his people will 293 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,440 worship him above all else. There will be no other gods 294 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,640 because there are no other gods. He's the only God who created 295 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,920 heaven and earth. In fact, Isaiah says that 296 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,560 several times. I am the Lord God and I know no 297 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:17,880 other. There is no other, so there's 298 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,800 only one God. And all of that will be revealed 299 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:25,520 when Christ comes back again and all people will finally worship 300 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,840 him. Even his own people will worship 301 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:34,160 him and not be distracted by idolatry and sin. 302 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:39,160 And mountains also denote forms of government authorities, as it 303 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:44,640 says nations. And so think about it like this. 304 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,240 If Jesus comes back, he came as the suffering servant the first 305 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,360 time. Next he comes as the conquering 306 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:54,440 king. And we think about how our world 307 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,560 is so corrupt, right? Think about just America. 308 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:04,680 No longer will we have to put up with voting for the lesser of 309 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:09,600 the two evils anymore. No longer will we have to see. 310 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:15,480 Our own government officials affirming all kinds of sin, all 311 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:22,160 kinds of abominations to the Lord, watching babies sacrificed 312 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:28,200 on the the altar, so to speak of so that people can worship 313 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,960 themselves and not have to deal with the decisions that they've 314 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,760 made. I mean, so many corruptions just 315 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:41,040 in our own country alone. And not only that, we also live 316 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,000 in a pluralistic country, pluralistic meaning you can 317 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,920 believe whatever you want. And so we think about this and 318 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,640 some of us are the holdouts were like, well, this was a Christian 319 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,800 nation and we want to fight for that and we want to keep those 320 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:56,680 principles. But then there are others that 321 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,240 are like, no, we want all forms of religion in our country. 322 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:04,160 And so therefore what ends up happening is all kinds of chaos 323 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,400 and, and sin and worship of other gods. 324 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:11,520 And now our children and our families are being pulled away 325 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,960 and fooled by other so-called faiths. 326 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:26,120 That will be no more. That will be no more. 327 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,120 And we can look forward to that. We can look forward to the day 328 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:35,240 where righteousness will dwell on the earth and there will be 329 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:40,840 no more corruption and sin. The worship of the one true God 330 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,120 will be the top priority of all people on earth. 331 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,240 That is so hard to imagine, right? 332 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:51,600 And we're kind of fooled into this, this idea that, you know, 333 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:56,360 we all need to just accept everybody else's faith and kind 334 00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:02,640 of coexist. And for a time being, the way in 335 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,960 which we help other people see the truth is through sharing the 336 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:10,480 gospel and the truth. But one day everybody won't be 337 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,040 doubting us anymore. The Bible says every knee will 338 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,080 bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and 339 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,200 everybody will see for their own eyes. 340 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:24,440 We who had faith will be ready to reign with him, and we who 341 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:31,560 did not will not be. So that's what Isaiah is getting 342 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:37,160 at. And so then if we go to the next 343 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:43,280 part of this verse, we're coming back to chapter 3 or verse 3. 344 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:46,880 It says it shall come to pass in the latter. 345 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,000 Wait, sorry. And many people shall come and 346 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,080 say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 347 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,640 House of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, that 348 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,560 we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth 349 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:03,040 the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 350 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:07,400 Now this same exact passage is actually in the book of Micah as 351 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:13,800 well, chapter 411 through 5, which also proves it proves its 352 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,840 importance, but also truth that another prophet in the in the 353 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,240 same days as Isaiah got the same message. 354 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:27,200 If you go to it, you can see all of maybe the same same wording 355 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:33,480 in his verses, but it's saying that we all finally walk the 356 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,160 walk. I know that you're probably with 357 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,960 me in this if you're a Christian, but yet you are 358 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,720 distracted by, you know, kind of the things that are going on in 359 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,120 the world. You are you are pulled apart in 360 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:55,400 different directions with sin. And if you're anything like me, 361 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:01,880 we I long for a day when I don't keep failing over and over and 362 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,720 over again. And what this verse is getting 363 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:12,000 at is we're all going to say, come, let us go walk in his 364 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,840 ways. Let us go walk in his past. 365 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,720 Let us go sit at his feet and and learn from him. 366 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,520 It says the word of the Lord will come from Jerusalem and the 367 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:29,280 law will go forth and and that means that we will all desire to 368 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,560 know these words in this book. Right now. 369 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,840 The Bible says we sit, we see dimly a little bit and some of 370 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,960 these things are hard to understand, although God helps 371 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,120 us. And I do believe that this book 372 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,120 generally is is easy to understand. 373 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:49,080 It's understandable for everyone who has faith. 374 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,360 You can read these words and get something out of it for your 375 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:57,320 faith and you can know the the simple parts of salvation in 376 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:01,000 Christ and how how to be saved from your sins by by faith 377 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,400 alone. That is not not, you know, a 378 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:05,800 puzzle that you have to figure out. 379 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:10,680 It's clear in Scripture, but one day we will, we will worship him 380 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:15,160 because we understand even more so than what we understand now, 381 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,080 the things that he's wrote in this book. 382 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,760 Now some people might think, why would we need the Bible when we 383 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,400 have the presence of God with us in the new heavens and the new 384 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,760 earth, when Jesus comes back and we just have to go off what 385 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:36,320 Scripture says and it says first Peter 12425 it says all flesh is 386 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,680 like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. 387 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:44,520 The grass Withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord 388 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,080 remains forever. That that's a literal statement 389 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,160 that you can take to the bank, that no matter how many times 390 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:59,400 people try to critique the Bible or disprove the Bible, it's 391 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,040 never happened and it never will happen. 392 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,640 I have never watched a debate between an atheist and A and a 393 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:13,120 Christian, you know, theologian where the atheist actually won. 394 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:17,000 It just doesn't happen. And and they can get into all 395 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,240 kinds of philosophies about, you know, why does God exist? 396 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:24,320 But when it comes to the Bible being true or not true and 397 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:30,560 inspirely, divinely inspired, nobody can ever really disprove 398 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,000 these words. It will always be. 399 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,960 And when we are with God, whether in heaven or in the new 400 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,000 heaven and new earth, when He comes back again, we are going 401 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,320 to be worshipping Him according to these words. 402 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,640 And if I go on in first Peter, it says, and this word is the 403 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,080 good news that was preached to you, we are going to worship 404 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:57,280 Christ because of the gospel. In fact, if you go to the Book 405 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,360 of Revelation chapter 5, it tells us that we can still see 406 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:04,200 the scars on the Lamb who was slain. 407 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,560 Now all of us will have perfect bodies, glorified bodies. 408 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,640 But we know that Jesus, even in his glorification, kept the 409 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:19,960 scars in his hands and his feet and his side that he ended up 410 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:25,480 showing the doubting Thomas. We will be able to see those 411 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:29,760 scars still because why? Why do we see those scars in 412 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:31,920 Jesus, on Jesus for all eternity? 413 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,160 Because we're going to be worshipping him because of that 414 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,080 work that he did the good news of the Gospel, that he was 415 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:42,560 crucified for our sins, that he died on the cross for us. 416 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,400 And that's the only reason that we'll be standing with Christ 417 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,240 and sitting at his feet and and learning from him. 418 00:27:52,320 --> 00:28:02,570 There will be no more doubting in in Jerusalem at the end 419 00:28:02,570 --> 00:28:04,250 there. This is where the gospel was 420 00:28:04,250 --> 00:28:07,570 first proclaimed. And by the way, God has a 421 00:28:07,570 --> 00:28:10,810 special love for that piece of land. 422 00:28:11,370 --> 00:28:17,930 The Bible says, the Bible says that Jesus is going to step down 423 00:28:18,450 --> 00:28:20,330 in Jerusalem when he comes back again. 424 00:28:20,330 --> 00:28:24,210 Now it also says that it's not just going to be like he appears 425 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,720 one day and then you're going to hear a bunch of rumors. 426 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,320 It says as the lightning flashes as far as the east is from the 427 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:33,720 West. We're going to know that the Son 428 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:38,800 of Man has returned. Everybody will know that Christ 429 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:45,600 returned, but yet listen to this Acts 111 men of Galilee. 430 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,800 This is at his ascension again. He ascended. 431 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:51,440 Why do you stand looking into heaven? 432 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,720 This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in 433 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,520 the same way as you saw him go to heaven. 434 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,240 Jesus will come back to the very place that he left. 435 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,480 And where was that place specifically? 436 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:08,600 It was the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives where he 437 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:10,960 lifted up. In fact, there's a prophecy in 438 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,920 the Old Testament, Zechariah 14 four, about this same thing. 439 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,760 When Jesus comes back the second time, it says on that day his 440 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:22,560 feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before 441 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,960 Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be 442 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,640 split in two from east to West by a very wide valley, so that 443 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:35,920 1/2 of the Mount shall move northward and 1/2 southward. 444 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:42,200 Christ is going to touch down right where he left 2000 years 445 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:43,960 ago, right there in the Mount of Olives. 446 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:49,560 And the Bible tells us in so many different places, and it 447 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,640 confirms itself under so many different authors. 448 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,280 And so we are going to worship and we're going to know how to 449 00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:00,880 worship because we studied the Word here on earth now. 450 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:03,520 And so that's why we gather together. 451 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:08,120 That's why we do what we do. We, we, we are anticipating how, 452 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:11,560 how will we, how will things be new and different? 453 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:18,080 How will I worship my God? Because again, I'm we're sick of 454 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,400 being sick and tired all the time, right? 455 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:26,680 Well, we have and are supposed to have joy and peace in this 456 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:32,200 life. Now we are not fully saved from 457 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,680 this earth yet. Our souls are saved. 458 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:36,800 If you're a believer in Christ, you don't have to worry about 459 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:40,880 losing your salvation. But our bodies and our we're not 460 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:46,480 fully saved yet until we either go to heaven to be with Him 461 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,040 through death. I heard somebody went say that 462 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:52,320 death is the Christian's best friend. 463 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:58,240 Why? Because it is the only way you 464 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:03,520 can be delivered to your Savior. Unless He comes back before 465 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,320 then. Then we'll be changed in the 466 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,920 blink of an eye. But in either case, we long for 467 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:13,200 this. We're anticipating this day. 468 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:23,440 Which leads me to my next point is that He is and will be our 469 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:30,960 peace and safety as the Ruler of heaven now and the ruler of the 470 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:36,840 heavens and the new earth later, We will find our ultimate peace 471 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:41,760 in him and looking at passages like this should bring us peace 472 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:44,040 and safety. Security. 473 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,960 You know when, when, when you know the end of the story, when 474 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:53,480 you know that you have security waiting for you. 475 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,560 You're not as anxious, right? You're not as worried about the 476 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:00,520 future. You can go through some things 477 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,480 because you know ultimately the outcome is going to be in your 478 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,440 favor. That's what we'll get into in 479 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:11,520 the next part of this. In verse 4, it says he shall 480 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,440 judge between the nations and he shall decide disputes. 481 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,640 For many peoples, they shall beat their swords into 482 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,160 plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks. 483 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,160 Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 484 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:29,320 they learn war anymore. This sounds like peace. 485 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,320 This sounds like a time of no more worries. 486 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:37,280 I want to walk through these verses and let's look at some of 487 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:41,560 these words like the judge part. What's he going to be judging 488 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:45,680 when he comes back? Well, that word means to govern 489 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:49,480 or administer justice, to rule. And so he will come and 490 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:54,720 literally set up his rule in this nation's part. 491 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,080 People sometimes get this confused, but nations in its 492 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:04,720 original Hebrew means either Gentile or it means just 493 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:10,360 different groups of people submitted under 1 governor, 494 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,200 government, or one leadership. And So what does this mean? 495 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,720 It means that that Christ is going to come and he's going to 496 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:20,720 judge between who has faith and who doesn't, and he's going to 497 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,120 settle the disputes between nation. 498 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:25,840 Right now, nations hate each other. 499 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,320 You know that, right? I mean, we look, we look on the 500 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:32,960 news and all we ever see is nation rising up against other 501 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:40,240 nation wars and rumors of wars. But one day that will be all 502 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:45,560 settled and done. I know we had some promises that 503 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:51,480 some wars were going to be over, but when people say that, do we 504 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,040 really do we need to believe it? Because people are going to be 505 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,680 people and people are going to hate each other, especially 506 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,000 godless people and godless nations. 507 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:08,239 They will continue to do what godless people do, but one day 508 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:13,440 Christ is going to come and settle all of those wars, all of 509 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,360 the disputes, and there will be a universal peace. 510 00:34:18,679 --> 00:34:21,679 But again, this comes after His judgment. 511 00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:25,239 So when He comes, there will be a judgment, and then He'll 512 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:26,880 create the new heavens and the new earth. 513 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:32,040 And in Isaiah 11, three through 4, it says He shall not judge by 514 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:35,679 what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 515 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:39,560 but with righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with 516 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:41,760 equity for the meek of the earth. 517 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:46,080 He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with 518 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:49,760 the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 519 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:55,159 That's justice. Praise God, for justice is going 520 00:34:55,159 --> 00:34:56,960 to be served. And so if you, as you look 521 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,360 around at the the world and injustices are happening, you 522 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,480 can say, and you ask the question as many others have in 523 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,400 Scripture, and you say, God, why aren't you doing anything about 524 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:07,960 this? Well, there's a time where it's 525 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,040 going to be settled and dealt with and we will all rejoice 526 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,440 over that. But the other thing you have to 527 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:21,320 remember is if you want justice now and you are not saved from 528 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:26,640 your sins, then you too would be included in the judgement of 529 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:31,880 God. You see, we cannot stand there 530 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:35,920 before God at the end and say, well, thank God you judged all 531 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,920 evil. We're going to say, thank God 532 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:44,120 that you judged evil and Christ was made sin so that I could be 533 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:49,760 made righteous because my evil didn't get judged, because I put 534 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:52,640 my faith in Jesus Christ. But all those who did not have 535 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,720 faith in Christ, that evil will remain in that judgement when 536 00:35:56,720 --> 00:36:01,280 Christ comes again. Now let's look at these these 537 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,600 tools. Tools for war will be turned 538 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:09,520 into tools for cultivation again. 539 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:16,280 A plowshare or a pruning hook for for growing crops and 540 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:21,080 sustaining life instead of taking life will happen. 541 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:27,400 That's the the picture that we have there in Isaiah 11/6. 542 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,040 It goes on and talks about it like this. 543 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,320 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie 544 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:37,240 down with the young goat and the calf, and the lion and the 545 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:40,680 fattened calf together, and a little child shall lead them. 546 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,480 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie 547 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,240 down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 548 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:51,680 The nursing child shall play over the whole of the cobra, and 549 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:55,480 the weaned child shall put his hand on the outer Sten. 550 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,400 We're looking forward to this. And I would say children, if 551 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:02,400 you're listening right now, you know, I hope your parents 552 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,840 probably have shown you that it's not OK to play with snakes. 553 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:09,560 You know, it's not OK probably to go out and, and, and play 554 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:16,000 with the the lion. But one day, kids, you will be 555 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:22,240 able to ride on the backs of lions and leopards, and you'll 556 00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:25,960 be able to play with these snakes because there will be a 557 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,800 piece, a safety that is just beyond what we can understand. 558 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,400 And that's the picture that's being painted here as we know 559 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,880 that there is danger in the world. 560 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:42,840 But one day, as Adam, the first human being before sin entered 561 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,800 the world, the Bible says that God made all animals that he 562 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:49,720 created passed before him. And Adam got to name every 563 00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:55,200 single one of these animals in the new heavens and the new 564 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,760 earth. We will get to see all of these 565 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:04,440 named animals that Adam named and get to live with them. 566 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:08,640 We get to have safety. There will be no more worry of 567 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,960 danger. I don't know if it means that 568 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,680 they're all going to be vegetarians or and we are as 569 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:16,400 well. I, I'm not going to go any 570 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:18,560 further with that because I'm not sure. 571 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,600 It does say that the lion's going to eat straw like an ox. 572 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,240 But just remember, this is figurative language, right? 573 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:26,920 So sometimes we want to make things literal. 574 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:32,440 This is a figurative metaphor for us to understand. 575 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,760 Wow. Like a wolf. 576 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:39,600 We know that wolves kill lambs. We know that the leopard hunts 577 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:45,120 the the, the vulnerable young go. 578 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:49,120 We know that that lions are, if you watch any of those shows, 579 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:55,280 like, you know, the cool, like African safari animal, you know, 580 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,240 hunting it's prey videos. I mean, I don't know if you're 581 00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:00,240 into that. Every once in a while they pop 582 00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:02,760 up on YouTube and I'll watch it and I'm like, man, this is 583 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:07,280 brutal, you know, but it's a it's a reality that they've got 584 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:09,400 to eat. But one day this will be no 585 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,280 more. See, I believe in heaven. 586 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:14,200 We won't have to eat to be sustained anymore. 587 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:19,040 It will be for pure pleasure. It won't be the curse in in in 588 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:23,280 Genesis chapter 3 was that we would have to toil for our bread 589 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:24,760 and buy bread. We would have to live and 590 00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,440 survive, but we won't have to survive that way anymore. 591 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,120 And I believe that the what this is what Isaiah is getting at 592 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:33,800 here, the peace, safety and security. 593 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,280 One day that surpasses what, what our minds could even 594 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:43,360 imagine that we would be OK with our child next to the snake. 595 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,720 Or maybe even you're an adult and you don't like snakes and 596 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:49,880 you might like snakes. One day as an adult, you won't 597 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,000 be afraid of them. You won't be afraid of spiders 598 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,480 anymore. And you know, the, the, the wife 599 00:39:55,480 --> 00:40:02,160 won't say to the husband, kill it quick, you know, But with 600 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:06,280 this also points to one day we're we're this, this longing 601 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:10,000 that we have to, to not have sicknesses anymore, right? 602 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:18,040 There won't be that that thing that starts eating away at our 603 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:20,840 our, our bodies like like cancer. 604 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:28,240 There won't be violence to be afraid of anymore between human 605 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:33,280 against human. There won't be this despair or 606 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:37,000 this depression that we feel this or being in poverty and not 607 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:39,560 having enough anymore. There won't be danger. 608 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:44,840 There won't be accidents, so many senseless accidents that 609 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:47,920 you, you look at that happened with car accidents and things 610 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:53,480 like that, that hurt or maim or kill people will not happen 611 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:57,120 anymore. And we will. 612 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:00,400 We, we then should be longing for that. 613 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:06,560 And this should bring us hope because that's what the advents 614 00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,240 are all about. The coming of Christ is supposed 615 00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:13,960 to bring us hope, and we as Christians, we look back at the 616 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:21,840 first one and we get our hope from the Messiah saving us, and 617 00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:28,560 then we look forward to saving the entire creation with us 618 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:30,520 included. Making all things new. 619 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,160 Second Peter 313 But according to his promise, we are waiting 620 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:38,080 for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 621 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:40,320 Revelation 21, Four says it like this. 622 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:42,960 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall 623 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,400 be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, 624 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:49,160 nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed 625 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:52,200 away. And he who was seated on the 626 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:54,920 throne said, Behold, I'm making all things new. 627 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,480 Also He said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy 628 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:01,280 and true. OK, so those are the promises, 629 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:04,040 but what does it mean for us right now? 630 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,480 And that's my last point. Walk with God now then. 631 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:14,120 And while these things are about future events, I also believe as 632 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:19,920 I opened with an already, but not yet, you can experience some 633 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:24,560 of the joy and hope that will be experienced later in the future 634 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,280 now. And that's what he ends with. 635 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:32,480 He says, Oh House of Jacob, as he gives them this vision, as he 636 00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:35,600 declares to them what the word of the Lord was, the message of 637 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,520 hope to them. He says, come, let us walk in 638 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:42,960 the light of the Lord. We should walk now in the light 639 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,800 of the Lord. We should follow Christ and 640 00:42:46,240 --> 00:42:49,640 anticipate his second coming. Now, do we think about this 641 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:54,920 enough, Christian, we're we're constantly thinking of the day 642 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:56,600 today. What's going to happen today? 643 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:58,440 What about tomorrow? What about next week? 644 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:02,000 Do we think about when Christ will make a new heaven and a new 645 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,480 earth? Or have we have we got our 646 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:12,240 affairs in order for that? Do it while there's still time 647 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:19,160 and there still can be a way that we live as the House of the 648 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:22,200 Lord here. And although we're not all, you 649 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:26,560 know, transplanted and and overseas in the Middle East, in 650 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:32,400 Jerusalem, what was symbolic of the House of Lord there, we now 651 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:35,920 are the House of the Lord. You see, the Bible also says 652 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:39,080 there will be no temple. There will be no need for a 653 00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:44,920 temple in the new heavens, in the new earth, but Christ and 654 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:48,760 also a light there. There will be no need for a son 655 00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:52,240 anymore because the light of Christ will light up the whole 656 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:57,400 creation, the whole universe. We are the House of the Lord, 657 00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:01,840 though as the church. Are we living in such a way that 658 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:08,040 we're drawing people by the word of God to Christ the King, the 659 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,280 church? We should be unified now, and we 660 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,160 should put down our weapons against one another. 661 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:19,280 Yeah, we, we want to fight for truth and we want to keep the 662 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,520 main things. The main things, yes, But there 663 00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:27,360 are so many things that we can agree to disagree about and 664 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:31,120 still have unity, not be against one another. 665 00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:34,720 Christians need to be planting spiritual seeds and cultivating 666 00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:38,800 hearts with the tools that God has given us now. 667 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:41,960 Because we're called the light of the world, like Christ was 668 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:44,720 the light of the world. He says now we're the light of 669 00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:47,680 the world. And in fact, Ephesians 58, Paul 670 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:49,440 says it like this. For at one time you were 671 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,400 darkness, but now you're the light in the Lord. 672 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:55,720 Now walk then as children of light. 673 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:59,480 And we know that light represents 2 things. 674 00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:07,600 It reveals sin and truth about who Christ is, who God is. 675 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:12,520 So we're to be doing that now. How do we live in anticipation 676 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:18,600 for Christ to come back as Christians now we're to be 677 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:23,040 following the word of God, to worship him because of the 678 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:26,200 gospel. The Lamb who was slain for my 679 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,720 sins by faith alone, not by works, not by joining a 680 00:45:29,720 --> 00:45:33,360 religion. Did you and I, Christian, gain 681 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:38,280 this assurance of hope for eternal life and forgiveness of 682 00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:42,320 our sins, but by the sacrifice of Christ? 683 00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:45,720 And we should be worshipping Him now in front of all people, 684 00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:49,600 professing it to all nations and all kinds of people, not being 685 00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:52,720 ashamed of our faith in the Gospel. 686 00:45:58,150 --> 00:46:02,110 Jesus said in John 12, The light is among you for a little while 687 00:46:02,110 --> 00:46:03,750 longer. Walk while you have the light, 688 00:46:03,750 --> 00:46:07,190 lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in darkness 689 00:46:07,190 --> 00:46:11,040 does not know where he's going. If you're in darkness now, if 690 00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:17,400 you're not walking with the Lord Jesus Christ right now, accept 691 00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:19,880 the light while it's still light, while you still see 692 00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:25,680 light, while you still have the chance to put your faith in 693 00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:29,640 Jesus. I'll close with some of the 694 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:35,680 things that Isaiah says in his book, Isaiah 118. 695 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:38,120 Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. 696 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:41,520 Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as 697 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:43,840 snow. Though they are red like 698 00:46:43,840 --> 00:46:46,560 Crimson, they shall become like wool. 699 00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:55,000 Isaiah 66 Two, he says He will look to the one who is humble 700 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:57,560 and contrite in spirit, and trembles out his word. 701 00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:01,040 So this is a call to you, Sinner. 702 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:08,920 He wants to reason with you though you have many sins. 703 00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:16,280 He wants to cleanse you and wash you clean of that Crimson stain 704 00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:20,280 that you have on yourself and make you white as snow. 705 00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:25,480 But how do you do it? You put your faith in Jesus. 706 00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:29,840 If you feel Him calling you now, if you feel any sort of urge by 707 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:36,400 the Holy Spirit now, you come to him with humility, you come to 708 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:39,360 him with repentance. You say, I know I'm a Sinner. 709 00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:43,880 I know what the Bible says. And you, you don't have to prove 710 00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:47,960 it to me because I'm a selfish person. 711 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:50,600 I'm a prideful person. I'm a lustful person. 712 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:55,600 I hurt others and I hurt myself. And it happens often in this 713 00:47:55,600 --> 00:47:57,400 life and I wished I didn't do it. 714 00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:01,680 But now you've revealed to me, Lord, that I am this way, and I 715 00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:04,880 do deserve judgement from a holy God. 716 00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:09,880 But yet you say you want to wash me clean and make me new. 717 00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:14,160 And then Isaiah says this. And Isaiah 53, verse 5, the 718 00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:19,840 greatest chapter on the prophecy of what was to happen to Jesus 719 00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:22,400 700 years before he was crucified. 720 00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:25,640 What does Isaiah say? He says he was pierced for our 721 00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:28,240 transgressions. He was crushed for our 722 00:48:28,240 --> 00:48:31,760 iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement 723 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:37,440 that brought us peace, and by His wounds we are healed. 724 00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:41,520 Place your faith in Christ. If you haven't done that yet, 725 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:46,400 and if you are a believer in Christ, live in anticipation, 726 00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:51,880 spread your light and worship Him because of the gospel, and 727 00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:56,640 let Him and worship for Him be the highest priority of your 728 00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:57,520 life. Let's pray. 729 00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:04,080 Father, we thank you, Lord Jesus, thank you for your spirit 730 00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:06,960 that we have the ability to interpret your scripture and 731 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:12,320 that that you gave prophets your word so that we could read of 732 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:16,720 and study of and hear of the hope that we have waiting for 733 00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:20,560 us. Lord, we do long in this body to 734 00:49:20,560 --> 00:49:24,160 get away from our own sin and to get away from the dangers and 735 00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:31,640 the struggles of this life. Help us to live with 736 00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:34,680 anticipation for the new heavens and the new earth and start to 737 00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:39,040 not hold so tightly to the one we live in now. 738 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,320 I pray in Jesus name, Amen.