Good afternoon. Who else who likes Papa John's?
Anybody. Baptist indeed.
All right, so turn about to Isaiah chapter 31.
That's Isaiah chapter 31. This message is actually
something I picked up on one of my devotions and but I've
entitled it. What are you looking to?
What are you looking to find myself first one second.
All right. So we'll start reading that in
verse number one. Well, to them that go not to
Egypt for help, and stand horses and trust and Chariots, because
there are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but to look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the
Lord. Yet he also is wise, and will
bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise
against the House of the evil doers, and against the help of
them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and
not God, and the horse's flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpless
shall fall, and he that is hoping shall fall down, and they
shall fail together. For thus say that the Lord
spoken. Oh wait, I'm supposed to stop
there. All right, let's pray against
the best. Dear God, thank you for us
today. Thank you for us.
We was all here say fluor and thank you for that good
afternoon we had of lunch and everything I prayed now as the
as I go over this message that I always speak clearly and slowly
word and I would just do well and Paris not to go well they do
well juice and I pray Amen. So here we see in these verses
rebellious Israel looking to Egypt.
It says there verse one will to them that go down to Egypt for
help and stay on horses and trust in Chariots because there
are many and of course men because they are very strong,
but they look not until the holy war of Israel.
I didn't go, I didn't read that passage.
But back in Isaiah 30, it talks about Israel going down to
Egypt, God's judgment on Israel and how he was basically telling
that they're going to be punished by the Syrians.
And they go down to the Israelites.
They go down to Egypt for basically as a refuge.
But we see Egypt #1 we see Egypt and many people, many people
today the same thing. They get in a rough spot and do
what the chosen Israel did here. They head to Egypt, they totally
turn their back on God and go to Egypt.
And going down to Egypt, Israel ends up trusting in three
things, the horses, the Chariots, and the horsemen.
People today do the same thing. And I've likened the horses to
money, Chariots to time, and horsemen to worldly council.
And the sad thing is that even some Christians today do the
same thing. They turn their back and backs
to God and rebellion and trust in money, time and wealth and
worldly council. So first let's look at the
horses. So back in Bible times, horses
symbolize power, strength and wealth.
In that same way, today we all, we all view money as power,
strength and wealth. People get a rough spot and go
just pay it everything pay, pay, pay.
But one day that money will fail.
The Bible says there in verse 3, the horses are flesh and not
spirit. In other words, money cannot
solve your spiritual problems. Money will not and cannot buy
you a place in heaven. It will not save your soul.
Something of the flesh cannot fix spiritual brokenness.
Also, when one begins to rely on his money, so much for relying
his to her sorry for solving his physical problems.
This generates a love for money. And we know the love.
Money is the root of all evil. Secondly, Israel looked to
Egypt's Chariots. Today many people trust in time.
They think time's on their side, but in reality it's not.
Time is in sinking fast and everyone's individual tiny
hourglasses and thinking of a time is just giving the devil
more and more of your life, even if it's just seconds.
Because seconds add to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days,
weeks, months and on and on. And as Pastor preached a couple
months ago, maybe he was saying the devil doesn't mind you
making decisions for Christ as long as you put off till later
or some other time. And also just remember that
whenever you're having fun or enjoying yourself, whatever,
time is going fast. So we should do stuff for that.
We should make decisions for eternity and not for the
present. So don't trust in time because
you don't own it. So, so far I've looked at
Israel's horses, I mean Egypt's horses, then Chariots.
Now let's look at the third thing.
Israel looked to the horsemen of Egypt.
People today go for the world's counter rather than God's, but
we see here in verse 3 again that these horsemen are men and
not God. Christians today ignore God's
counsel and go to the world and ask for their counsel instead.
But the counsel of this world is vain and not to be heeded or
trusted. Turn about to 1st Kings chapter
12. That's first Kings, the 12.
We're going to see that rare bone.
He rejected the counsel of his father's counselors and with his
friends, and they gave him worldly counsel, and as a result
these were split and divided. But First Corinthians 12 verse
#8 it says, But he set the council of the old man which
they had given him, and consulted with the young men
that were grown up with him, and which stood before him.
And he said unto them, What council give ye, that we may
enter this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the
yoke which thy father did put upon his lighter.
And the young man, young men that were grown up with him,
spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this
people which spake unto these, saying, Thy father made us, made
our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us.
Thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger shall be
thicker than my father's loins. And now, whereas my father did
laid you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke.
My father has trusted you with scorpions, but I or whip, sorry,
whips, but I will trust you with scorpions.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Jeroboam the third day,
as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the
third day. And the king answered the people
roughly, and forsook the old man's counsel that they gave
them, and spake to them after the counsel of the young men,
saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your
yoke. My father also chastised you
with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Wherefore the king hearken not unto the unto the people, For
the cause was from the Lord, that he might perform his
saying, Which the Lord spake unto Heja, the Shilo knight,
unto Jeroboam the son of Nabad. So when all Israel saw that the
king hearkened not to them, the people answered the king,
saying, What portion have we and David?
Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse to your tents,
O Israel. Now see to their own house,
David. So Israel departed unto their
tents. But As for the children of
Israel, which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam
reigned over them. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram,
who was over the tribute, and all Israel stoned him with
stones that he died. Therefore King Rahbone made
speed to get up to his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
So Israel bought against the House of David unto this day.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was
dead, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and
made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the
House of David not but the tribe of Judah only.
So you see here God's chosen people, they were, they were
divided, they split. It is all over one man's choice
to heed foolish and worldly counseling and turn your Bible
to Proverbs 24, Proverbs 24, verse 6.
Because we're going to see here that the Bible does say that in
the multitude of counselors there's safety, but that doesn't
mean that we should go running off to the world for it.
Proverbs 24, verse #6 it says, For by wise counsel thou shalt
make that war. And in a multitude of counselors
there is safety right there. The third word, What's that say
for by wise counsel? Not for by any counsel, no.
For by wise counsel thou shalt make that war.
Christians have no business looking to the foolish counsel
of the world. So we looked at Israel looking
to #1 Egypt, its horses, money, Chariots, time.
The horsemen were the counselors so we know now know not to look
to them. So what should we look to or who
should we look to should look to God.
She's look to the Lord. He's our help in time of
trouble. I deliver in strength.
So first we got to look to his word.
God has given us everything we need to know to live the
Christian life to the fullest in his word.
Too many Christians today look like God hasn't told them or
even shown them what you did by the way through Christ them how
to live victoriously. It's all in his word.
There's no need for the horsemen of Egypt.
Many Christians walk out with no joy.
They say they're going through trials and don't know where to
turn or who to turn to. Turn to God, turn to His word.
Please turn the Bible to Hebrews 4.
It's Hebrews chapter 4 of verse 12.
And why? Because we're going to see here
that it says God's word is quick and powerful and why He turned
out. I'm going to read Isaiah 40
verse 8. It says the grass wizard, the
flower feedeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever.
This means that God's word is eternal.
It's it's everlasting, you know, it's never going away.
And then he was for four verse 12 says, for the word of God is
quick and powerful, strapper than any 2 edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the
joints and marrow and as a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. We must read his word, we must
heed his word. We must look to his word.
Secondly, God has not just given us his word, but his people also
that we can look to. We have to go to one another
when in need of help. Our counsel, pastors should be
consulted, parents, teachers, we should go to each other.
They're all it's called our church family and that's what it
ought to be. We should be willing to help
each other. There ought to be a high level
of trust between each and every member in the church.
So we should go to each other and knock to the world and it's
vain counsel. He has looked to his people.
So he looked at looking to God's word, looking to his people.
That's look lastly at looking to his return as Christians we
should be looking to Christ imminent return.
Many Christians live like Christ is coming back.
They believe you know they got saved and don't share the gospel
or live like Christ rose and all saved us, but he isn't coming
back. But others, they believe he is
coming back but not now in the future or later on.
But the truth is he could come back right now and how sad would
it be for Christ to come back and find us all living backs
living Christian lives. We must live like Christ could
come back today because he can. We must share the gospel and
live lives pleasing to God. Turn to Titus chapter 2.
There's Titus 2 because we should see that
Christ's return. It should be some old myth, but
it should be a blessed hope, as Paul calls it here.
And Titus chapter 2, we're starting during verse #12 it
says teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we
should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world,
looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of
our great God and Savior. And yeah, our Savior Jesus of
our, of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, sorry, who
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity and purify unto himself peculiar people, zealous of good
works. Paul calls Christ his turn
glorious. We must live worthily in the
holy lives as this Christ was coming back today.
But how it says there in verse #12 teaching us that denying
ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present world.
We should deny ungodly and will the lust, as pastors also
preached. If we expect we must mortify the
flesh, we have to put off the old man.
And Paul goes on to say that we should live soberly, righteously
and godly lives here in this passage, the Greek word for
soberly, I didn't put in their time not to pronounce it for
soberly. It means with sound mind.
Soberly, temporarily or discreetly, or sane or moderate.
A Christian must live with a sound mind.
We must live, we should live righteously and godly as well.
So living soberly, righteously and godly, that is how we can
live lives worthily of Christ's return.
That's how we can look to his determine.
So we've looked at three things we should look should look to,
and three things we should. We should, we now know not to
look to Egypt and its horses, money, Chariots, time and
horsemen, worldly counselors. Instead we should look to the
Lord and His Word, his people and His return.
It may be here this afternoon and don't know Christ is your
savour. The message you made is the same
look to him for salvation. So with all that being said,
what are you looking to Let's let's pray I do God thank you
for this afternoon and thank you for that.
Will they believe that that's another thing and I prayed for
us the day to go out then we'll have a safe trip down up to
Pennsylvania and juice. They pray, men.
Amen. Amen.
Let's send our receipts with our heads bowed and our eyes closed.
I want to give you an opportunity to respond to the
message. Simple message, but good.
Exactly what we need to be reminded of.
What are you putting your trust in ever I if I asked you to
raise your hand, I think every single one of you would raise
your hand and say I'm trusting in God.
But are we really? We do trust in our money.
We do trust in time. We do trust in others instead of
the Lord. What's your trust in?
What are you? What are you putting your trust
in? Great reminder, Father.
Again we thank you for the message.
I pray that you'd speak to our hearts in Jesus name, Amen.
As the piano plays, the invitations open.