1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,720 My knee started shaking. I wanted to jump up and shout, 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,160 man, because we've got a great savior, don't we not? 3 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:08,960 And then to think about it's going to be worth it all when we 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,920 see Jesus, the tempter will be banished. 5 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,200 How about that Amen, boy, I tell you what, what a great thought 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,960 when we when the when these robes of flesh drop, we, we drop 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,240 them, Amen. And we're changed into his 8 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:27,400 image. And then what a beautiful song 9 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,960 about the holiness and the the work of Jesus Christ in our 10 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,920 hearts. Lord, you're the Potter. 11 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,040 We're the clay. We want to be molded and shaped 12 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,680 and to your image and the image of your son. 13 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,600 And so I'm thankful. I want to, I want to say thank 14 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,200 you to Mount Victory Baptist Church. 15 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,120 I want to say thank you to Pastor Mrs. Boots. 16 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,280 Your hospitality from our family to yours. 17 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,440 You guys mean so much to us. I mean that from the bottom of 18 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,000 my heart. We've got so many memories. 19 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,720 We've done so many things together and we've prayed 20 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,040 together. We've just worked. 21 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,880 And many of you, many of you, you know, as pastors, we don't 22 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,800 we do not talk, we don't gossip, but I mean that. 23 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:09,520 But I tell you what, there's so many times I remember when 24 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,360 Pastor Boots would call me and say, yeah, this family showed up 25 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,400 today, you know, and they visited for the first time And 26 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,840 and then, you know, all they've they're coming, they're coming. 27 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,120 Pray for him, pray for this. And now I meet you and you've 28 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,920 been here 345 years and I remember. 29 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,080 And likewise, vice versa, he remembers me saying, Hey, man, 30 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,800 we reached this family, this person got saved and, and 31 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,000 they're growing in the Lord. And, and just a, it's just a 32 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,280 real blessing to see how God has worked in your church and, and 33 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,160 has blessed and you guys have been faithful and you're doing 34 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:40,760 the work of Christ here in this area. 35 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,440 And so I, I commend you and I want you to know that it means a 36 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,080 lot to our family. It means a lot to our church. 37 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,280 And so let's turn the divine library this evening to Isaiah 38 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,560 chapter #14 Isaiah chapter #14 while you turn in there. 39 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,480 It was just a few months before the launch of Mount Victory 40 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,640 Baptist Church. We were getting ready for those 41 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,040 get acquainted meetings and a bunch of us came down here. 42 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,920 Remember Mother Boots took us over to the hotel where you guys 43 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,840 were meeting and he showed us where the church was going to 44 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,000 start and all of that. And, and you know, we were 45 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,320 having a good conversation. We're just talking about 46 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:14,920 everything. And somewhere in the 47 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:17,080 conversation, I believe it was Pastor Boots. 48 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,560 I don't know if I got all the details right, but the comment 49 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,560 was made that any bum can get 50 people. 50 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,080 I think we were talking about some woman pastor that just like 51 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,040 randomly started this crazy church or whatever and, and 50 52 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,600 people showed up, you know, and, and so we got to laughing about 53 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,560 that and then, and then we put our hand to the plow and we all 54 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,360 started working. And I think all of us young 55 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,680 church planners and replanters at that time, you know, we had 56 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,240 no idea what we were getting ourselves into and we had no 57 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,160 idea how difficult it was going to be to try to get the 50 58 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,320 people. And so as we would pray and we 59 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,880 would talk the, the term bum status, we would, we would ask 60 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,640 each other, have you reached bum status yet? 61 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,760 And, and it was, it was, it was a while. 62 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,400 It was a while. And so I'm, I reference that my 63 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,480 sermon on Monday night and Pastor Boots said, you know, 64 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,520 we've got a lot of people since then that have come to the 65 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,160 church and, and praise the Lord, it's been a while since we've 66 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,880 hit bum status. He said, when you said that, I 67 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,160 don't know how many people in our church even know what that 68 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,560 means. And so I just thought I'd bring 69 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,480 you up to date. Maybe maybe you missed it, maybe 70 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,320 you didn't. But you know, we, we, we were 71 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,040 like less than a bum for a long time. 72 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:40,040 And what a glorious day it was when we reached bum status. 73 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,400 But God is good, is he not? And doesn't matter how many 74 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,200 people come to your church, if Jesus Christ is being lifted up, 75 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,960 then he's glorified. And then the early days at 76 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,480 Gospel Light Baptist Church, I remember rallying the truth. 77 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,360 We were just a handful of people meeting week in and week out. 78 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,480 And sometimes you wonder, man, is this thing ever going to take 79 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,520 off? But I remember saying all the 80 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,040 time to them so that they would stay encouraged, but also to 81 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,320 myself, you know, that God doesn't measure success by 82 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,280 numbers, doesn't measure success by numbers. 83 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,680 He measures success by obedience, by faith. 84 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,279 That's what God's looking for. And oftentimes all throughout 85 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,920 history, you look, it's always a remnant of people that God used. 86 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,840 And we took our, our theme out of First Samuel 14 where the 87 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:27,320 Bible says there's no restraint to the Lord to save by many or 88 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,240 by few. And we left that up on our 89 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:31,840 Facebook page for many, many years. 90 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:34,720 It might still be up there as far as I know, because that was 91 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,840 our rallying crying to thank the Lord for that. 92 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:40,200 So I'd like to bring a message to you out of one verse in the 93 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,360 book of Isaiah chapter #14 this evening, verse #32 Isaiah 14, 94 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:52,200 and verse #32 this evening. What shall one then answer the 95 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:58,600 messengers of the nation, that the Lord hath founded Zion and 96 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:03,000 the poor of His people shall trust in it? 97 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,840 We're bringing a message to you this evening entitled What shall 98 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:11,920 we answer the nation? Let's pray as we begin. 99 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,120 Father, we do love you and I thank you, Lord, for what a 100 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,080 privilege it's been to be here, Lord, in your presence with your 101 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,600 people. Lord, you've been glorified 102 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,240 already tonight through the preaching and the and the what? 103 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,800 Through the singing, Lord, and the prayers and the fellowship 104 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,520 of your people. And now I pray, Lord, that you 105 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,400 would be glorified by the preaching, that you would fill 106 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,120 me and every person in this building with your Holy Spirit. 107 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:40,560 Lord, give us ears to hear, give us a heart of faith. 108 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:45,080 Want to pray that you would bind Satan now and put a hedge of 109 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,760 protection around this building and may your work be done. 110 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,400 And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. 111 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,440 Like to begin by telling you a little bit of the context of 112 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,440 what's going on here, a little bit of the history. 113 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,120 A theme of the book of Isaiah is trust faith. 114 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:06,040 Who are you trusting in? Who's your faith in and what's 115 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,400 going on here? You can look a few verses before 116 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:13,600 this verse #28 the Bible says in the year that King A has died 117 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,840 was this burden that is taking place. 118 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:21,200 Now King A has was the 12th king of Judah. 119 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,600 Now at this time in Israel's history, the Kingdom has been 120 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,760 divided. And the 10 tribes of the north, 121 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,800 commonly known as Israel or Ephraim. 122 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,080 And there were two tribes in the South, Judah and Benjamin. 123 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:41,280 And King Ahaz was one of the kings of Judah, the southern 124 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:44,840 tribe, and Jerusalem was the capital there. 125 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:49,720 And Ahaz was a wicked man. He reigned for 16 years. 126 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,240 He sacrificed his children to idols. 127 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:59,640 He brought all kinds of idolatry into the, the, the land of Judah 128 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,480 there and he failed to trust in God. 129 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,080 Now, as you go through the history there, there, there, 130 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,280 there was a lot of turmoil. There was a lot of war and 131 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:09,880 rumors of war that were happening. 132 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,960 And what took place is Assyria became the dominant nation, if 133 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,480 you would, But over in the Middle East, the kingdoms of 134 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:24,440 Syria and the northern Kingdom of Israel, they formed an 135 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,200 alliance. And they said, we're going to 136 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,240 rebel against Assyria. And we want a has, we want you 137 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:36,520 to join us. Now God sends Isaiah to King 138 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,200 Ahas with a message, with the word of the Lord. 139 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:41,880 Amen. And so now Ahas has a choice. 140 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,120 Who am I going to trust him? I'm going to trust in the 141 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,600 promises of God where I'm going to lean on my own understanding. 142 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,080 Am I going to try to trust in diplomacy or whatever it might 143 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:53,960 be? And so the message that Isaiah 144 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,600 has is that, hey, look, God is going to take care of you. 145 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:00,480 You do not have to join this alliance. 146 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,080 You don't. You can trust that the Lord will 147 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:03,720 keep you safe and he'll protect you. 148 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,840 And by this time next year, these nations, Ephraim and 149 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,800 Syria, they're going to be wiped out. 150 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:16,360 Now, when in the Bible, God always told the Jews, when he 151 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:20,080 sends a prophet with a message, he's also going to give a sign 152 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:25,960 to confirm it. And Isaiah asks Ahaz, what sign 153 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,600 do you want from God? All right, now, this is the way 154 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,880 that God ordained it. But Ahaz tells Isaiah, I don't, 155 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,520 I don't want a sign. Now, he didn't want to. 156 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:39,520 He says this not because he's going to trust in God. 157 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,520 This is actually disobedience to God's way and God's plan A has 158 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,480 already made-up his mind that he was not going to trust. 159 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,960 He said I don't want to sign. Isaiah is filled with with 160 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,320 wrath. He's very upset about this lack 161 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,040 of faith and this lack of obedience demonstrated by King A 162 00:08:58,040 --> 00:08:59,920 has. And so he says, hey, God's going 163 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:03,440 to give you a sign anyways. Behold, a virgin shall conceive 164 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,400 and bear a son. Thou shalt call his name 165 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,360 Emmanuel, which means interpret. Amen. 166 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,160 Is God with us? And what a wonderful sign that 167 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:15,360 God gave. And, and there was an immediate 168 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,040 fulfillment of that. God was telling him, hey, look, 169 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,920 before this child even grows up, God is going to bring these 170 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,440 things to pass so you can trust my word. 171 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,440 But Ahaz didn't want any of it. And instead he decided he was 172 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,360 going to take matters into his own hands. 173 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,880 He was going to bribe the king of Assyria. 174 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,000 He goes to the only place really at that time, the only wealth 175 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,880 that Israel had, which was Solomon's temple. 176 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,480 He strips the the riches and the treasures out of the temple, 177 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:50,840 offers it as a bribe to Assyria because he failed to trust God. 178 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,440 That's what's going on leading up to this. 179 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,040 God is not happy with King A has. 180 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,080 He wants him to trust in the promises of God. 181 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,880 He wants him to trust in the Word of God, and he wants him to 182 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,760 trust in the Savior that he's going to send. 183 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:13,720 Amen. A has never got around to that 184 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,160 and A has dies and these messengers come. 185 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,680 That was common back in those days for the nations that were 186 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:24,120 all around to send ambassadors during these times of 187 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,800 transition. And can I tell you tonight that 188 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,320 times of transition in nations can be very volatile. 189 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:36,920 They can be very unstable. That's when the enemy is is 190 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,920 starting to try to move in and try to encroach and try to 191 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,760 intimidate and so forth. But many of the nations would 192 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:47,640 send ambassadors and, and to send condolences upon the the 193 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,960 the loss of King Ahaz upon his death, but they would also 194 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,400 congratulate the new king. But most of the time while they 195 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,240 were doing this, they we're really trying to spy out the 196 00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,320 land. They were trying to see what is 197 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:04,200 going to be the diplomacy and the policies of the new king and 198 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,240 the new administration. What is his strength? 199 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:12,280 What's going to happen to Judah? Is there a way we can get our 200 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,680 foot into the door and take advantage of these things and so 201 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:17,840 on and so forth. Everybody following me so far, 202 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,760 that's what's going on. These messengers are gathering. 203 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,280 They want to, they're checking to see how stable is the nation, 204 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,360 how secure are things going to be? 205 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,640 Who's going to be the new king? What is his policies going to be 206 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,360 in Judah moving forward from this time forward? 207 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:40,200 And so the question is, what shall we answer the messengers 208 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,080 of the nation? What are we going to tell them? 209 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:49,040 Who's the next king? By the way, the next king was 210 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,280 going to be a has his son, a man by the name of Hezekiah. 211 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,760 Hezekiah was going to be a good king, praise the Lord and he's 212 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,960 going to get rid of the idolatry that his father had brought in 213 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:01,240 and he's going to trust the Lord. 214 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:05,200 He had moments himself. And in fact, most of the end of 215 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,400 the book of Isaiah, the last 27 chapters of the book of Isaiah, 216 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:14,280 are written in response to the fact that Hezekiah makes the 217 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,160 same mistakes that his father made. 218 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,920 Babylon comes in, and Hezekiah, rather than trusting God in the 219 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,120 promises of God for his security and stability of the nation, 220 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,120 Hezekiah brings in the ambassadors of Babylon and he 221 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:34,080 shows them all of his wealth and his treasures, and he tries to 222 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:41,680 secure peace, if you would, for Israel by making diplomatic ties 223 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:46,920 with Babylon. And God said, no, there is no 224 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:51,720 peace to the wicked. Well, it hadn't been a thing 225 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,920 kind of running in this thing. Many people compromise thinking 226 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,360 I'm going to keep peace in my family or I'm going to keep 227 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:02,160 peace with my coworkers. If I just if I just lower the 228 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:06,040 truth or if I just not be so vocal in my witness for Jesus, 229 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,120 maybe I'll, I'll keep everybody happy. 230 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,760 I'll I'll keep peace. Listen, listen my friend, there 231 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:20,080 is no peace and disobeying God, so Hezekiah is going to have to 232 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,680 make some of the same choices and decisions. 233 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:26,480 Now, when it comes to Assyria, Hezekiah makes the right choice. 234 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:31,080 And if you know the story, the Assyrians come down, They wipe 235 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:33,720 out Syria just like God said they would. 236 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,360 They wipe out Israel just like God said they would. 237 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:39,840 And they get to Jerusalem and they surround Jerusalem and 238 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:44,320 they're starving the people out. And Hezekiah takes the message 239 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:48,000 from Sennacherib, the Assyrian general, and he pours it out 240 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,400 before the Lord. And one night God sent an Angel 241 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:57,800 down and 185,000 Syrian Syrian soldiers were killed. 242 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,040 God delivered Israel, God is able. 243 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,240 Amen. We're on the winning side. 244 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,200 I'll give you a little bit of the context, give you a little 245 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,000 bit of the history about what's going on here and why this 246 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,440 question is being asked. The ambassadors of, of, of the 247 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,760 Philistines are there, Assyria is there, Babylon's there. 248 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,160 The nations have all gathered around and they're looking for 249 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,880 an opportunity to take advantage of Judah. 250 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,040 They're looking to see if if there's some instability there, 251 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,800 if there's some insecurity there, what are the policies 252 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,720 going to be moving forward? Are they going to, are they, are 253 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,040 they going to accept our religious practices and so on 254 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,680 and so forth? What shall we answer the 255 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:39,760 nations? And Isaiah, the prophet says, 256 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:44,360 you tell them this, the Lord hath founded Zion and Israel is 257 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,920 just as secure today as shall ever be, because we've got God 258 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:51,960 on our side and we've got God who has put the foundations 259 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,520 here. And the poor, those who have 260 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,640 nothing to offer, can put their faith and they can put their 261 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,360 trust in Jehovah God. That's what's going on. 262 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,880 I want to draw application tonight to our nation. 263 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,840 I want you to know that our nation is seeking for answers. 264 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,200 There are people out there that are want to know is education 265 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,080 the answer? And I want you to know it 266 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,480 doesn't matter how many millions of dollars we pour into 267 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,680 education. The answer is not in education. 268 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:27,320 And there are more people who are spending hours debating in 269 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,880 political forums. But all the time spent in 270 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,160 politics is not going to give you the answer that America 271 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,160 needs tonight. The answers not to be found in 272 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:41,880 politicians or in in businessmen or in educators or philosophers 273 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,680 or in college campuses is the answer is the Lord hath founded 274 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,200 Zion. The answer is the Lord Jesus 275 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:51,640 Christ. And I'm here to remind you 276 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,440 tonight that God has entrusted that answer to his people, the 277 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:02,360 church. And so we come to this text and 278 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,440 I see two things that I want to show you from this verse. 279 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:09,480 First of all, I want you to notice the attention that God's 280 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:15,320 people attract, the attention that God's people attract. 281 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:21,520 Why did anybody in this day and age, and why does anybody in our 282 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,720 day and age even care about the people of God? 283 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,240 I mean, think about in the Old Testament, Israel was just a 284 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,080 little tiny nation. I think it's about the size of 285 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,800 New Jersey, maybe a little bit bigger. 286 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:40,520 And yet if you look at the history of humanity, all of the 287 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,200 eyes of the gentile world have been on that. 288 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,600 People now tell me that is an accident. 289 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:51,960 It's not an accident, friend. That's right. 290 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,720 I'm here to remind you that there is a truth that God put in 291 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,960 motion, going all the way back to the time when he called her 292 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,160 Abraham out of the earth. The Cowbees, when God said, hey, 293 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:05,119 look in you, all the families of the earth are going to be 294 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,200 blessed. And when God made that promised 295 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,839 friend, he brought an attention to that family. 296 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:16,240 He brought an attention to that nation unlike any other nation 297 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:22,079 in the world, and God set that truth in motion, and there's 298 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:27,160 nothing anybody can do about it, in fact, after God. 299 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,960 And God never forgot his people, did He, When they went to Egypt 300 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,080 and they became slaves, God didn't forget them then. 301 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,600 And he sent Moses and and that nation was formed there and on 302 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,480 Mount Sinai. God gave them their law as they 303 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,360 prepared to move into the land that God had promised them. 304 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,520 And God said, keep therefore, and do them talk about the law, 305 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,840 for this is your wisdom and your understanding. 306 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:56,800 Now get this in the sight of the nations see it was always God's 307 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,800 plan for the world to look at his people and to be drawn to 308 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,560 God by observing the people of God. 309 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,200 It is always the plan of God for the nations of the world to look 310 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,360 at Israel and to see the the law that God had given them and the 311 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,520 blessings that God had given them, and even the the temple 312 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,160 and the Tabernacle that they had and, and the fellowship that 313 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:23,600 they enjoyed with the creator God and to be drawn to God that 314 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,640 way. It was God's plan and design for 315 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,240 Israel to be a light to the nation's Amen. 316 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,800 And I want you to know something tonight, friend, that that is 317 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,720 exactly what God's plan is for the church. 318 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:43,440 The church is not Israel. But over and over in the New 319 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:47,400 Testament, God tells us ye are the light of the world. 320 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:51,480 A city that is set on a hill, Amen, cannot be hid. 321 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:56,160 The Bible says you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood 322 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,320 and holy nation, a peculiar people. 323 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:03,320 Why, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who called 324 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:08,120 you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 325 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,240 In Philippians. The Bible says ye should be 326 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,400 blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, 327 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:17,480 among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the 328 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:22,600 word of life. Go ye therefore and teach all 329 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,360 nations, the Bible says, baptizing them in the name of 330 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:27,680 the Father and the Son of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to 331 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,720 observe all things whatsoever. I've commanded you, and lo, I am 332 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:33,680 with you all way, even unto the end of the world. 333 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,840 I'm here tonight to remind the church that we as the people of 334 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,520 God have the attention of the world and we have the answer. 335 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,680 We have the life giving answer that they so desperately need 336 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:47,040 and they're seeking. For. 337 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:52,520 What shall we answer? The nation, oh how people should 338 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,560 find the answer with the people of God. 339 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,320 I'm reminded of Steve Jobs. There's a 13 year old boy went 340 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:04,200 to a a Lutheran pastor with questions about the existence of 341 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,400 God, about the Bible and whether or not was the word of God. 342 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,320 And he came away from that meeting with that pastor 343 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,120 convinced that that that the church had no answers. 344 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,160 And he gave up on God and he lived a wicked life and, and 345 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,880 unless we don't know if he ever trusted Jesus Christ, but if he 346 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,000 didn't friend he, he's burning in hell today. 347 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,160 When we came to Gospel Light Baptist Church, we started and 348 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,520 man, I tell you what, it was hard getting people to come to 349 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,040 church and, and, and those that came and visited didn't come 350 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:38,760 back. And we'd knock on the door, they 351 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,320 would peek out and they wouldn't even answer the door. 352 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:45,280 And I remember when when we finally got a family coming and 353 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:49,000 it was a a mom and two kids and she came and then she came back. 354 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:52,240 And I think that was even more exciting. 355 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,680 When she came back the second week, it was like, wow. 356 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,760 I remember she told us at that time, my husband will never 357 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:01,440 come. He's an agnostic. 358 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,320 He had been a philosophy major at Millersville University. 359 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,680 And she told me this. She said he has visited every 360 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:12,920 church in Millersville and he's talked to every pastor and he's 361 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,560 convinced that the church has no answers. 362 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,400 The questions of life, my friend, that ought not to be. 363 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:27,080 That's right in Glen Allen, VA God forbid that that be true in 364 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:28,640 Millersville anymore. Amen. 365 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:31,320 We have the answers. Can I tell you tonight, the 366 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:36,960 church attracts the attention of the world because of the hope of 367 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,240 our message. The hope of our message. 368 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,920 Hey, I'm here to remind you tonight there's no buddy that 369 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:49,240 has the message that we have for God so loved the world that he 370 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,040 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 371 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,200 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 372 00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:00,440 Hey, it was just March 16th, a few days ago, 3/16. 373 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:05,000 And every time I hear John 316, I say praise the Lord because 374 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,840 we've got John 316, friend. Islam doesn't have that. 375 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,120 Roman Catholicism doesn't have that. 376 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,000 Mormonism doesn't have that, atheist doesn't have that, but 377 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,280 we can open up our Bible when somebody comes to us and we can 378 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,600 say, hey, that word, whosoever you can put your name in there. 379 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,360 It doesn't matter what sin you've committed. 380 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,320 It doesn't matter what your backgrounds been. 381 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:30,200 And you can say for God so loved Andy Almanza that he gave his 382 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,720 only begotten son. Boy, I tell you what the hope of 383 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,000 the glorious message of Jesus Christ. 384 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:41,320 God has designed the the world to pay attention to what's going 385 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:45,920 on here because of the hope of our message and by it was 386 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,720 somebody believes in the in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 387 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:52,280 What a difference it makes how it changes their lives. 388 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,320 Man, I'm telling you what it gives people hope. 389 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,280 The church attracts the attention of the world not only 390 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,120 because of the hope of our message, but also I'm here to 391 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:03,480 tell you that we attract the attention of the world because 392 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:05,200 of the happiness of our countenance. 393 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,400 The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength. 394 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:13,080 The Bible says we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 395 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,040 glory. Are you with me tonight? 396 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,360 It's a great day to be saved, is it not? 397 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,280 Hey, we go through trials, we go through tribulations, but we 398 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,560 know that no matter what happens, we're going to be with 399 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:28,360 Him for all of eternity. We're not going to hell because 400 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:31,280 of our sin. We know we got a home in heaven. 401 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,840 We've got a Savior who loved us. We got a Holy Spirit who seals 402 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,760 us. We got the to God to lead in and 403 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,080 be a lamp and to our feet, and a light, and to our path. 404 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,480 Boy, Christians ought to be the happiest people on the face of 405 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,720 the planet, man, when Moses spent some time with God, it 406 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:50,560 changed his countenance, did it not? 407 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,280 The Bible says his face shone and they had to put a veil in 408 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,080 front of it. And I tell you, when a Christian 409 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:59,880 spends time with God, when we soak our minds in the promises 410 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:03,520 of what Jesus has done for us and about how wonderful it is to 411 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,320 be a citizen of a heavenly Kingdom, when we do that, we go 412 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,000 to work, friend. It comes across in our 413 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,360 countenance. Remember when I first got a job 414 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:19,600 working at Pool Rama? It was a warehouse in South 415 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:24,880 Chicago and I remember I'm here telling you tonight, it was not 416 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,560 a mountaintop peak in my Christian life. 417 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:31,320 I was struggling with my faith. I was struggling, surrendering 418 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,200 to the will of God and I was not. 419 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,680 I was not concerned about the souls of my Co workers. 420 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,440 I went to work every day and I was just battling with God over 421 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:46,400 some things and there was turmoil in my brain and my mind 422 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:52,120 at that time. And yet, and yet somehow my 423 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:55,840 light shone. I remember one day the guy 424 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,440 pulled me aside and said, man, what's going on with you? 425 00:24:58,440 --> 00:24:59,840 There's something different about you. 426 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:03,480 And I said, what do you mean? He said, you're always happy. 427 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:10,000 I was like, happy. I've been arguing with the Lord 428 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:15,360 all the way up here to Chicago this morning, happy and 1 by 1. 429 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:17,680 And hey, it wasn't all good. I mean, there were times when 430 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:19,880 they surrounded me and they were like, man, you Christian, how 431 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,080 come you don't drink and how come you don't do this? 432 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,120 And, and I was like, why are you all paying attention to me? 433 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,480 I'm just a college student. I'm a single guy. 434 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,760 I'm here for a summer and then I'm leaving. 435 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,720 You guys have been here forever. Just let me do my job. 436 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,680 Let me do my business. You keep to yourself. 437 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,680 I'll keep to myself. But it didn't work that way for 438 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,800 him. There was something that shown 439 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,320 through and over that summer God worked on my heart and I got 440 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:45,760 with the Lord and I got a burden for them. 441 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,640 And that's when God called me to priest because I began to pray 442 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,960 that God would send somebody to America to help people see the 443 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,760 glorious hope in Jesus Christ. And God said, why don't you go, 444 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:00,080 man? I went back to work with the, 445 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:04,720 with the joy of serving Jesus and, and those guys that would 446 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,240 go across to the bar every every day at lunch and they'd come 447 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,960 back and they would say, oh, you know, why don't you come with 448 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,000 us? We're having fun. 449 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,120 And I remember telling them, I any day I want to, I can be like 450 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:21,800 you, but I don't want to. God has taken that away. 451 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:25,920 By the end of that summer, I came in, we used to drive these 452 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:31,800 little pallet jacks around and we all had our pilot Jack and I 453 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:36,920 came in and there they had put a sticker on my pilot Jack. 454 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:43,200 It was a it was a sun smiling and over the top they wrote Mr. 455 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:49,240 Sunshine and I took a marker and that U in sun. 456 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:54,160 I put an O Mr. Sunshine, you know what I'm saying? 457 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,960 I'm saying God, God has designed the world to pay attention to 458 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,120 what's going on with his people because of the hope of our 459 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,920 message, but also because of the happiness of our countenance. 460 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,120 Can I tell you? Thirdly, God has designed it 461 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:09,560 that way because of the humility of our attitude. 462 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,200 You know, this world is filled with pride and arrogance. 463 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,440 This world is so divided between the haves and the have nots and 464 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:21,480 those who have they, they just oppress those who do not. 465 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,760 I mean, if you're if you're strong and if you're athletic, 466 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,040 they praise you. And if you're not, they'll 467 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,640 squash you. If you're young and you're 468 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,160 beautiful, they'll lift you up. But if you don't have any of 469 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,840 those attributes that the world celebrates, they'll make sure 470 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:38,960 that you know that you're nothing. 471 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:44,320 We live in a world that is so full of the pride of life and 472 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,480 the arrogance, see, that is surrounding us in our 473 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:48,880 workplaces. Everybody. 474 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:53,960 It's a dog eat dog type of world that we all work in and we all 475 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,120 live in. And then you put a humble 476 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,200 Christian right in the midst of it. 477 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,080 Somebody who knows it's not I, but Christ. 478 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,920 Somebody who knows, hey, I'm a Sinner, but thank the Lord God 479 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,520 saved a Sinner just like me. I tell you what, that attracts 480 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,840 the attention of the world. Can I tell you God has designed 481 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,280 it this way, not only because of the hope of our message and the 482 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,200 happiness and our countenance and the humility in our 483 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,520 attitude, but also because of the holiness of our conduct. 484 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,840 Man, when it when you get saved, you get changed. 485 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,040 If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. 486 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,120 Old things are passed away. We don't have to be the servants 487 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:38,640 of sin anymore, and praise the Lord, we can be servants on the 488 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,360 righteousness. We can put off the old man and 489 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:45,560 the lust, and we can now serve in the new man that is patterned 490 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,920 after Christ. We can be holy, for he is holy. 491 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,600 My friend, I'm telling you what there's a difference in the life 492 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:58,920 of a saved person and it's attractive to the world. 493 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:05,640 This world that is, is enslaved to sin, enslaved to the lust 494 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,080 there by nature, the children of wrath, the Bible says, and we 495 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:16,720 were all there at one time. And they can't break the habits 496 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,960 of alcohol and drunkenness or pornography or anger. 497 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,280 And we can go on and on as the sin of this world is dragging 498 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,920 them down and they have no answer for it. 499 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,960 And then you drop in a blood box, born again, righteous, 500 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:36,120 loving Christian in the world. Tell me that doesn't attract the 501 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:42,440 world. God has designed the world to 502 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:47,960 pay attention to what's going on in the church house because of 503 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:53,480 the honor of our privileges, man, we're part of the 504 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,800 fellowship of the unashamed. We have access to God. 505 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:03,760 We can come boldly into the throne and find grace to help in 506 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,560 time of need. What a privilege, What a 507 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:09,120 privilege to be able to come to church and fellowship with the 508 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,320 believers. What a privilege to be able to 509 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,040 praise God. What a privilege it is to be 510 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:16,640 able to trust in the promises of God. 511 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,480 Man, all these privileges that have been stowed upon us as the 512 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:24,880 sons of God. No wonder John said, behold what 513 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,560 manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should 514 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:34,560 be called the sons of God. I'm here today to remind you, 515 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:41,400 Church, that God has designed it so that the world will pay 516 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:44,120 attention. And I want you to notice. 517 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:50,680 Secondly, and I'll try to hurry in our text back in Isaiah, not 518 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:55,200 only the attention that God's people attract, but I want you 519 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,840 to notice the answer that God's people give. 520 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:05,240 What is the answer that we're supposed to give this lost and 521 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,640 dying world? And I tell you tonight, the 522 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:15,520 answer is this, that Jesus Christ is All in all, that Jesus 523 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:21,160 Christ is our All in all. In our text, the Bible says the 524 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:25,920 Lord have founded Zion. You know that means that means 525 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,840 the answer is not me. The answer is not you. 526 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,520 The answer is not Mount Victory Baptist Church. 527 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:34,880 Amen. The answer is not becoming 528 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,720 American. The answer is God did it. 529 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,760 God's done something, God has done a work that only God can 530 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,880 do, and he sent his Son Jesus into the world to become the 531 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:52,680 foundation of what is going on. And when the stability and the 532 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:57,000 security that the world is seeking for can only be found in 533 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,160 Jesus Christ. You see, all along with, with, 534 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:05,160 with with Ahaz and Hezekiah and Israel, what they forgot was 535 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:06,480 this. When it came to their 536 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:11,240 protection, when it came to the security, they were safe because 537 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,560 of the promises of God. He said, what do you mean, 538 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:15,800 preacher? I'll tell you what I mean. 539 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,640 Because when Adam and Eve sinned in that garden, God made a 540 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,640 promise. And he said, I am going to send 541 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,680 the seed of the woman and she is and, and it is going to crush 542 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:28,800 the head of the serpent. Are you with me? 543 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,360 God promised a savior would come and he chose the vessel to bring 544 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,000 that savior into this world as the nation of Israel. 545 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:39,920 He said it's going to be a descendant, a seed of Abraham. 546 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,280 Are you following with me? And and so Israel's promises was 547 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,800 that there was going to be a savior that would come from 548 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,040 them. Israel wasn't going anywhere 549 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:49,880 because God was going to send Jesus. 550 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:53,280 Amen, Amen. That's what they forgot. 551 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,880 They forgot that they didn't need diplomacy, they need 552 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,520 bribes. They didn't need to try to go 553 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:03,800 and make deals with the heathen and bring in a has even brought 554 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,360 the altars of false gods and put them in the temple. 555 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,320 They didn't need any of that because the future was as sure 556 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:19,120 as the promises of God for him. And I want you to know tonight 557 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:24,800 that all the promises in Christ Jesus are gay and Amen in him. 558 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,880 And I can tell you tonight that there is forgiveness for sins 559 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,120 because of Jesus Christ. I'm here to tell you that there 560 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:36,000 is reconciliation with God and it's all because of Jesus. 561 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:40,040 There is redemption. There is peace that passeth all 562 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,680 understanding. There is joy unspeakable and 563 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,600 full of glory. There's a mansion for every 564 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:49,120 child of God and then promise that he's going to return. 565 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,520 And it's all because of Jesus. I'm here tonight to tell you 566 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,920 that there's a promise of reunion with the loved ones that 567 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:59,520 have gone on before us because the dead in Christ one day are 568 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,400 going to rise and we're going to be reunited with Him. 569 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:08,840 And it's all because of Jesus. I get excited about it. 570 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:10,520 I'm coming out inside my suit, man. 571 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,199 That's time to wrap it up. Almost. 572 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:15,159 But I'm telling you, what is the answer? 573 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,760 Jesus. It's all Jesus. 574 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:20,280 He died. He shed his blood. 575 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,639 He paid the ransom. He rose again from the dead. 576 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,600 He gave us the promise. He's coming back again. 577 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,840 This whole book is about him from beginning to end. 578 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,719 Well look, we're looking for Jesus, friend. 579 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,679 This idea of the foundation is found all through the book of 580 00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:40,400 Isaiah. Turn with me real quick. 581 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:44,159 Isaiah 28. What is the answer? 582 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:47,239 That Christ is all I need. Amen. 583 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:55,440 Christ is all I need all all I need salvation of the Lord. 584 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,720 He performed everything that is necessary. 585 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,600 The foundation is the first thing that must be built. 586 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,640 Nothing else can go up until the foundation is laid. 587 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,040 Religion wants to teach people that they have to clean up their 588 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,120 life first before God will accept them. 589 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:12,720 But it's like trying to build a house before you have a 590 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:14,240 foundation. It don't work. 591 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,040 It all tumble. Just like this speaker here 592 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,920 cannot stand if you remove the foundation. 593 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:26,360 And I'm here tonight to remind you that Jesus Christ must be 594 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:29,280 the foundation of your life. You can't do anything else until 595 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:33,600 you're saved. You can't do anything else until 596 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:39,040 you've found Jesus. Bible says for other foundation, 597 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:44,040 can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ? 598 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:53,120 Isaiah 28 If you would verse #16 well, look at verse #15 because 599 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,960 you have said we have made a covenant with death and with 600 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:58,600 hell. Are we at agreement? 601 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,080 When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not 602 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:06,440 come unto us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under 603 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,920 falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore thus saith the Lord 604 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:13,160 God. Behold, I lay in Zion for a 605 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:19,680 foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a 606 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:26,000 sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make 607 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,240 haste. And I tell you what's going on 608 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:30,080 here real quick. There they were. 609 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:33,320 They were saying, hey, Isaiah's telling a man, God's going to 610 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,200 judge your sin. Judgement is coming, Babylon's 611 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:38,960 coming and and you better get right with God. 612 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,880 And they said, hey, we don't have to worry about Babylon. 613 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,320 We've made an agreement. We have a treaty with Egypt. 614 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:48,560 We've got a treaty with this nation. 615 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:50,640 We've got a treaty with that nation. 616 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,160 We don't need to get right with God. 617 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:58,160 We don't need to trust God. We're going to be safe from the 618 00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:02,120 from the danger that is approaching because we have an 619 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:07,160 agreement and God says your agreement is with death. 620 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,520 You've made a treaty friend with hell. 621 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:16,160 That's pretty powerful. I'm telling you, there are many 622 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,480 people out here in the world today. 623 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,720 They're not worried about the judgment that is to come because 624 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:25,080 they got sprinkled as a baby. They're not worried about the 625 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,720 judgment that's come because they think they're good works 626 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:30,600 outweigh their bad works. They're not worried about the 627 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:34,560 judgment that is about to come because some Church confirmed 628 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,440 them after they kept so many sacraments. 629 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,040 Listen, their treaty is with death. 630 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:48,440 Their agreement is with hell. Isaiah says you need to look to 631 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,400 what God has done. He set a cornerstone. 632 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:55,360 He set a foundation. He set a sure foundation has 633 00:37:55,360 --> 00:38:01,120 been laid and you need to place your faith and trust in Him. 634 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,320 He that believeth in Him shall not make haste. 635 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:07,000 You know what that means? He says when the judgment comes, 636 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:11,720 you're not going to be running, you're not going to be fleeing, 637 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:17,960 scared outside your mind as you watch everything go to the pits. 638 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:21,800 You put your faith and trust in me. 639 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:22,880 You won't be ashamed. Amen. 640 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:28,800 Amen. Peter quotes this passage and 641 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:35,800 says he was talking about Jesus. First Peter chapter #2 he's 642 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:39,600 talking about Jesus. And I close with this. 643 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:46,040 You know what our answer is? Jesus is all and all. 644 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,520 So trust him. Trust Jesus. 645 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,960 Turn from whatever you're trusting in, turn from your 646 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:59,080 sins, turn from your good works, turn from your church, or 647 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:02,760 whatever it is that you think, hey, I'll be OK because I got 648 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:07,720 this in my back pocket as my get out of hell free card and trust 649 00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:11,800 Jesus, friend. And that's the answer that God 650 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:18,560 has given to the church. He has entrusted it to us and he 651 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:24,400 has poured into his church hope in that message. 652 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:29,480 He has poured happiness into our countenance, He has poured 653 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:34,120 humility in our attitude, He has put holiness in our conduct and 654 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:38,160 honor in our privileges, so that you can just place a born again 655 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:42,240 child of God in the midst of a wicked and perverse nation and 656 00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:45,480 we'll stand down. I want to say as I close, why 657 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,200 would you put a bushel over that? 658 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:52,480 Why would you? Why would you forsake that and 659 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:57,440 think that somehow we need beautiful light shows and fog 660 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:02,080 machines and, and, and, and worship bands in order to 661 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:06,160 impress the world? We already have the attention of 662 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:08,920 the world. We already have so much that God 663 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,960 says I'll make a difference. Can you imagine how ridiculous 664 00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:19,560 it would be if the mayor of Paris were to announce that 665 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:21,360 they're tearing down the Eiffel Tower? 666 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:27,040 The icon that you can identify the entire city by just seeing 667 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:31,720 that one structure. Could you imagine the questions 668 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:36,720 at the press conference as they try to explain? 669 00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:41,240 Well, we just felt like it was time to rebrand as a city. 670 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,800 This, this structure has been around for a long time and it's 671 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:49,640 done us well, but we just think it's time for a new look. 672 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:53,200 We're going to go in a different direction. 673 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:59,640 How ridiculous. It's nowhere near ridiculous for 674 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:06,440 the Church of Jesus Christ to forsake all that God has done 675 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:10,920 for us in order to draw the attention of the lost and dying 676 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:15,560 world, to give up on the message, the answer that we have 677 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:19,720 that nobody else has. May God bless Mount Victory 678 00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:21,800 Baptist Church as you shine for him. 679 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:25,440 Lord, we love you and we thank you, God, for an opportunity to 680 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:27,440 preach your word. Make it a blessing to the hearts 681 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:30,760 of your people. Lord, I, I've done my best. 682 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:38,680 It's nowhere close, Lord, to being perfect, but you deserve 683 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,160 perfection. You deserve, Lord, to be lifted 684 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:47,880 up. You're the answer, God, I pray 685 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,920 tonight that you would be with Mount Victory Baptist Church. 686 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:55,240 What shall they answer? The nation? 687 00:41:56,560 --> 00:42:02,520 Help us to look to you and to trust in you with heads bowed 688 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:04,280 and eyes closed. Pastor, I'll turn the service 689 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:04,680 over to you.