Nov. 17, 2024

Isaiah 40: Comfort Pt 2

Isaiah 40: Comfort Pt 2

We conclude our discussion about false comfort and Comfort

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We conclude our discussion about false comfort and Comfort

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All right, Isaiah chapter forty. I think we're finally there.

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We kind of got there last week and then we

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kind of stopped. So we're gonna hopefully get this all

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put back into kind of some kind of context and

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all hopefully we can move forward. I hope, I hope.

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I hope. I hope. I hope. The comfort discussion about

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false comfort, the discussion about the fake comfort, to me

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is the reason I had to spend so much time

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on it and the reason I'm separate from church. I'm

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doing an entire podcast series about it, is because remember,

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the whole reason we're in Isaiah forty, the whole reason

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we are there and we're gonna look at Isaiah forty

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through fifty five is because of sermon after sermon after

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sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon that

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I would listen to on anything between Isaiah forty and

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fifty five. In fact, it became a joke on the

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podcast Take a stop watch, let's see how quick we

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get inserted into the text. The very first one that

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I chose was thirty nine I think thirty eight, thirty

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seven seconds we were already inserted into the text. Others

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it was zero seconds because the title inserted us into it,

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and it's just what in the world is that? Right?

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So yeah, I mean, well it's I guess it's attempt

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to feel good, but it's just an attempt to take

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the text and make it about us when it shouldn't

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be about us. So my goal here is to try

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to go through Isaiah forty through fifty five, put it

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in its proper context, and see what we can do

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with it correctly. We've already spent multiple hours outlining everything,

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summarizing it, struck all of that, So in some ways

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I want to go back through it, but I'm not.

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We're just gonna We're just gonna jump in and see

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what we can get. So let's try to at least

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remember the basic context, all right. Isaiah thirty nine six

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through eight provides the context for Isaiah forty through fifty five.

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It explains why Judah will suffer exile in Babylon, and

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it sets up the need for comfort and hope. I

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cannot stress that enough, right, So Isaiah thirty nine explains

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who needs comfort. It's the people in Babylonian captivity. Right,

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we talked about we went from Isaiah thirty nine to

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Deuteronomy twenty eight, because God said, if they do this,

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they get blessing. If they do this, they get cursed.

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And we looked at all the things that they did wrong,

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and they did everything wrong. Therefore they get the curse.

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And now the curse is happening, right because no matter

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what Israel did, they were always going to get the

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curse because no one can keep God's law, which is

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really the bigger philological discussion here, all right, But it

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all sets up. They are suffering, they're in captivity. So

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when you go to Isaiah chapter forty, verse one, what

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do we read, comfort yee, comfort yee. It makes it

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means something, all right. Isaiah forty through fifty five offers

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the hope. It addresses Israel's brokenness and God's plan for restoration.

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This entire section reassures Israel that despite the consequences of

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their action, God will remain faithful. He will demonstrate his

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power mercy through their return from exile and through promises

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of spiritual redemption that reach beyond mere physical restoration. But

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the power, the mercy, the faithfulness, it's all directed to

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those who areware and Babylonian captivity. I cannot stress that enough,

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all right. The context of Isaiah forty is indeed connected

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to Isaiah thirty nine, where the impending Babylonian captivity is

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foretold due to Juda's persistent disobedience to the laws given

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at Siinai. This disobedience led to their experiencing the cursing

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outlined in Deuteronomy twenty eight, which warned at the consequences

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for forsaking God's commandments. All right, and we outlined that,

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and we took that all apart. Can we agree with

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that the Babylonian exile was a direct consequence of judas

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persistent disobedience to the covenant laws, resulting in the curses

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of Deuteronomy twenty eight. They failed to uphold key aspects

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of God's law, including exclusive worship of Yahweh, justice and

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compassion for others, Sabbath observance, and faithfulness to the Covenant.

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These violations led to their defeat, exile, and suffering separation

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from their homeland and symbolically, from God's presence. The curses

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they endured in Babylon reflect the warning God had given

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at Sinai, illustrating the seriousness of covenantal faithfulness and foreshadowing

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the hope of restoration that would come only when Israel

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turned back to God. That historical background leads right into

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Isaiah chapter forty verse one. All right, I thought it

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was easier to read a summary than to try to

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just walk through it, because then I would start preaching

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it again. All right, So I made myself read a

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summary because if I started to give the summary, then

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all the summary would turn into a sermon? Right? Does

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that work for everyone? That get us all set up?

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All right? So Isaiah chapter forty verse one, we begin

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with one word repeated two times, right, comfort? Comfort? Everybody

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see that comfort? Ye? Comfort, Ye, my people, saith your God. Now,

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typically what I would do here is that would probably

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provide an outline to the entire chapter, and we would,

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but I'm not going to do that. What we're gonna

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do is we're just going for this hour. Since we

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spent the entire first hour and the end of the

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last hour last week talking about this thing of com comfort. Comfort,

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that's what we're going to focus on. That word comfort.

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That's exactly what I was about to do last week

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when I asked all of you guys the question about

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should God's attributes bring us comfort? And then I started

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giving you kind of my thesis as I've talked about

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in the first hour this morning, which then I felt

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like that kind of changed the temperature in the room.

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But we got to talk about the comfort part, all right.

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So we've talked about comfort as false comfort. Now we've

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got to try to understand what is the word used here?

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Everybody ready, all right? The word comfort in this verse

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is translated from the Hebrew word does everyone remember knack'm

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Knack'm right? It's meaning usage and significant provide profound insight

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into the message of Isaiah chapter forty, verse one, and

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it's broader context in Isaiah forty through fifty five, and

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it's the way it would be understood by the original recipients.

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So in other words, this Hebrew word knockham is absolutely

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key to understanding the whole section. So that's why instead

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of coming in going okay, Because if you look at

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Isaiah chapter forty, right, look at verse one and two,

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just for a little bit of structure purposes a right,

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what is verse one and two? Verse one is comfort? Comfort?

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Verse two speak comfortable to Jerusalem, and it says some

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specific things, right. I think it mitches three or four things, right,

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and then what happens in verse three? Okay, Now, all

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of a sudden, we have a voice crying in the wilderness.

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We know that's connected in the New Testament to John

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the Baptist. What just happened? So from a structural standpoint,

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we would separate what verse one and two into its

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own section is kind of like the prelog, kind of

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like the introduction, and then verse three kind of goes.

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So we're typically I would try to look at one

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and two as a unit, but I'm just going to

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focus on comfort and then maybe next week we'll put

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one and two together as a unit. Does that make

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sense to what I'm doing? And why am I doing that?

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What have we just been the last hour talking about

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false comfort? So now we're going to talk about the

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real comfort in its real context? All right? So what

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let's start with the meaning of the Hebrew word knockham.

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All right, Let's start with the Hebrew the meaning of

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the Hebrew word all right, The primary meaning the verb

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knockham generally conveys the idea of two things. Two basic

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concepts come from this Hebrew word where he says comfort, comfort.

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What are these two things from knockham? Two basic ideas.

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Number One, comfort or console provide relief, consolation, or encouragement

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in the face of sorrow or distress. Comfort or console relief, consolation,

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encouragement in the face of sorrow or distress. Now does

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that fit the context? Does that? Yes? It does. Are

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they facing sorrow and distress? Yeah, they're in Babylonian captivity.

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Now remember the comfort These words of comfort were given

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before they went into Babylonian captivity. But it's for when

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they're facing their sorrow and distress. In some ways, it's

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telling them what's going to happen, even before it happens.

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But you get the idea, all right, So it's to

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provide relief, consolation, or encouragement. Everybody got that. What's the

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second primary meaning of kno caam? What's the second meaning

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anybody know?

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To repent, relent, or be sorry, feeling regret, sorrow, or

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a change of mind in response to circumstances.

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Oh, that's interesting, right, So what are the two meanings

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comfort or console, providing relief, consolation, encouragement in the face

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of sorrow or distress? And what else does it mean

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to repent, to relent, to be sorry, to feel regret,

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to feel sorrow, possibly a change of mind and response

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to circumstances. That's very important. All right. Now that's the

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meaning of the Hebrew word, just the basic meaning consolation, comfort, encouragement,

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or to repent, relent or be sorry. Those are the

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two basic ideas. Now, what is the kind of the

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nuance of knock cam? There's kind of a nuance here.

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The word carries a sense of an emotional and active passion,

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meaning that the one offering comfort does so with intentional

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care and resolve to address the distress of the recipient.

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In other words, this is it carries a deep sense

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of emotion, a deep sense of compassion that's meant to

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be to do something right. It's one thing to say,

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oh man, I feel really bad about the situation and

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then just do what. It's another to have such an

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emotion and such compassion that you do what you seek

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to do something. This is the idea that the one

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saying comfort comfort, there's it's it's it's demonstrating that there's

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something that's going to be done, which is what the

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entire section is about. Because God is going to do

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what He's gonna do something right, He's gonna do something.

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Does everybody see kind of that that idea. When knock

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am is used to discret God's actions, it often reflects

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his compassion or relenting and response to human suffering or repentance.

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In other words, when it describes God, it's going to

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describe action. He's going to do something, or he's going

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to relent from doing something, he's going to stop doing something. Well,

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you kind of get both right here in Isaiah forty

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verse one. Right, you get the stopping relenting part. He's

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going to stop and relent the captivity, right, and then

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he's going to do what He's going to actively work

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to get them out of it. So you've got the

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action and the relenting all in Isaiah chapter forty, verse one.

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Does that make sense? Everybody should say, amen, they're okay,

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all right, all right, I think it's I think that

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makes sense. All right. So what do we have here?

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We have the meaning of the Hebrew word, we have

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the kind of the nuance of it. All right, I

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think that makes sense. All right. How about the usage

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of knockham elsewhere in the Old Testament. Let's look at

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where this word is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

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All right, are you ready go to Genesis thirty seven

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thirty five, Genesis thirty seven thirty five. Tell me what

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you see there? Now, we're not going to go through

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every usage of it. Okay, I don't remember how many

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times it's used. I had it written down, but I

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deleted it somehow. Okay, you see that they rose up

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to do what to comfort him? Jacob refuses to be

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comforted knock him after believing Joseph is dead, emphasizing the

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emotional depth of consolation. What does it demonstrate He's so

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emotional that he can't be comforted? He refuses to be comforted. Right,

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it's showing again its connected to the emotion. Everybody see that?

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Everybody good with that? How about Job to eleven? I

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don't have time to go expound every one of these sections. Okay,

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Job two eleven? I think we have an idea. What's

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going on here? Right? Job's going through some difficult times?

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Is he not? What happens in two eleven? His three

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friends show up. What does it say about them? There?

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We go to comfort him, notock him? All right? They

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come to this show's kind of a relational and empathetic

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aspect of the word. They're his friends and they're showing

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up to try to comfort him. Now we know, do

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they They don't really do a lot of comforting, but

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they alas showed up with a but what is this show? Action?

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They didn't just say did you hear about job man?

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That's really bad? And then left? They did what? And

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they stayed. Remember they spent what seven days without even speaking,

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and then we don't know how long those dialogue went

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on and on and on and on, but they stayed.

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So even if we don't agree with what they did, well,

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you gotta admit they did. They did something, or in

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some ways they do more than a lot of people do, right,

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So in some ways they kind of did a good thing, right.

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I mean, I know it's easy to criticize them, but

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they have actually stayed with job correct, So I guess

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in some ways you can see it as a good thing.

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There's lots of ways of looking at it. So there

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is the example of knockham being used in relation to

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comfort or to console. Those are two examples Genesis thirty

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seven thirty five in Job two eleven. Those are examples

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of it being used that way. All right, how about

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the other way that it can be used? Look at

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Genesis sixty six, I think you know what this is?

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Where this is going. Genesis sixty six. Everybody know what

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this is. Yeah, it says repented. I think the NIV

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Steven is turant turned into the NIV. I've got one

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right here, but I bet you it's going to say

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something about sorry or something along those lines. Genesis sixty

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six grieved all right, so grieved sorry, and the King

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James repented. That's Knockham that he was sorry. He relented

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that he had made or repented almost that he made

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humanity because of their wickedness, including great regret and sorrow.

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So it's kind of showing that he's almost he feels bad.

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And now again it's anthropomorphic. It's speaking of God in

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human terms, so we can understand, but it's speaking that

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God is looking, going, man, why did this happen? Like

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I almost regret this, I'm almost sorry that I did

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this because of the way this turned out. Of course

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he knew it was going to turn out that way.

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We can get into that whole discussion. Look at Exodus

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thirty two fourteen. I think you know where this is going.

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Exodus thirty two fourteen. What happens the Lord repented or

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relented from bringing disaster on his people after moses intercession,

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showing a change in course born out of compassion, God

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relents from bringing judgment. This is very applicable to Isaiah

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forty verse one, Is it not so? In many cases

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knockam reflects both sorrow and comfort, or in some cases

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it reflects sorrow, comfort, and relenting. It can really have

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three ideas, sorrow, comfort, and relenting. Everybody get that idea

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as the act of comfort often arises out of grief

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regret about a difficult situation. All right, So that's how

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it's used elsewhere. In other words, what am I demonstrating?

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It has a wide range of usages Just in those

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few passages, I mean those are very different to go

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God is sorry, or God relents to well, they showed

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up to comfort a friend. It just shows a wide

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range of usage. Does that make sense? But we're in

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what book? Isaiah? So what should we look at? Look

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at how knockam is used where in Isaiah? So knockam

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appears multiple times in Isaiah, conveying God's compassion and intent

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to restore his people. Look at Isaiah twelve one. Though

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you were angry with me, your anger turned away that

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you might comfort me knock am reflects God's shift from

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anger to comfort, emphasizing his willingness to restore after judgment.

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Everybody see that Isaiah twelve to one. Everybody got that

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kind of basic idea. So not gam can reflect what

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a move or a transition from what anger to comfort.

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Now that's important why Isaiah forty through fifty five is

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called what we talked about in the first hour. We

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talked about it last week, we talked about it the

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week before that, the Book of comfort or the Book

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of consolation. That's what is often referred to. Why because

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in Isaiah forty it's a shift, it's a change from

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what judgment to comfort? And what is the Hebrew word

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used immediately in Isaiah forty verse one, knock them? Which

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can you be used to show what? Well? In Isaiah

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twelve to one, it's reflects God's shift from anger to comfort.

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It can demonstrate a shift from judgment to comfort. That's

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exactly what's happening in Isaiah chapter forty, verse one. Everything shifts.

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That's why we separate Isaiah forty through fifty five in

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its own section because it's a major shift from one

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to thirty nine. One to thirty nine is you're a center,

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You're a center. You did this, you did this, you

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did this, you did this. Judgment judgment, judgment, judgment. And

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then all of a sudden, in chapter forty we read

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knock them knock Am, which is now the shift is

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a curry. So that word is very important to go

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to Isaiah forty nine thirteen. Now this is right there

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in that section. The Lord has comforted his people. Please

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know the Lord has almost in past tens now in

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forty nine, is it right? And we'll have compassion on

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his afflicted. Is that not how it reads? Or something

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to that effect. We'll have mercy on the afflicted. Knockam

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is tied to God's compassionate action on behalf of the suffering,

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aligning with his redemptive purposes. In other words, what this

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shows is not Gammas, tied to God doing something, not

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just feeling something, but doing something forty nine thirteen, forty

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nine thirteen. Everybody see it? Okay? I want to make

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sure I'm not confuse anybody. How about Isaiah fifty one

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to three. The Lord comforts Zion, He comforts all her

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waste places. The word expresses God's intent to restore and

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renew Jerusalem after devastation, bringing joy and flourishing. But once again,

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not chemist deal with what. It's compassion, it's mercy, it's

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to consult, but it's tied with what action. It's tied

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with and restoring. That's very key, restoring, restoring, because that's

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gonna be key here. How about Isaiah sixty six thirteen

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as one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.

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This verse highlights the intimacy and tenderness of God's comfort,

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liking it to a mother's care for her child. This

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is showing not camus. It's intimate, it's relational, it's active.

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It demonstrates a change, demonstrates are relenting. Right, God is punished,

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but now he is comforting. Does that make sense? All right?

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That's how it choosed. Everybody see that. So what have

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we looked at? We have looked at the meaning of

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the Hebrew word. Right, we got the primary meaning, and

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we got the nuance there. Right, we got the usage

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of knockam elsewhere in the Old Testament. We saw that

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in Genesis thirty seven. Job too, we saw examples of

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it being about relenting or being sorry in Genesis sixty six.

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In Exodus thirty two fourteen. We kind of talked about

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it's almost more than a duel meaning, a triple meaning. Right.

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We kind of talked about how it's used for sorrow, comfort,

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and to relent. Right. We talked about the usage of

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Knockham and Isaiah. We looked at Isaiah twelve to one,

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Isaiah forty nine to thirteen, Isaiah fifty one to three,

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Isaiah sixty six thirteen. Now let's go to its specific

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usage where Isaiah forty verse one. All right, let's look

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at the context now, because all of that brings us

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where to Isaiah chapter forty verse one, Isaiah forty one.

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This is how one source states It opens with a

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double imperative comfort, comfort my people. This repetition emphasizes urgency

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and certainty of God's call to console his people. It

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sets the tone for the entire section, Comfort Ye, Comfort

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Ye sets the tone for the entire section, demonstrating God's

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going to act, God's going to relent, showing emotion. Does

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that make sense? Knock Am expresses God's desire to provide

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consolation and reassurance to Israel after a period of judgment.

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And where do we read of that period of judgment?

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Isaiah thirty nine six through seven. We read about that there, correct,

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all right, So there there is the context of knock

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Am and Isaiah chapter forty verse one that kind of

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gives us exactly what is going on. It's urgent, it's relational.

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It sets the tone for the entire section because it's

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expressing God's desire to provide consolation after this period of judgment.

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All right, the comfort is relational. God addresses Israel as

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what in Isaiah chapter forty verse one, my people? Everybody

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see that. It's relational, right, It reaffirms his covenantal relationship

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with them despite their unfaithfulness. You may want to circle

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my people and you want to put covenant. You can't

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take that my people and just necessarily apply that to everyone.

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Why what keeps us from saying my people in Isaiah

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forty verse one is everyone? What keeps us from doing that?

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Thirty nine keeps it because my people is identified as

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the people who were in Babylonian captivity. You can't apply

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that to the church. Does everybody understand that? That's clear?

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But it's relational based off that covenant? And what are

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we demonstrating? God is faithful even though the people have

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been unfaithful.

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Right.

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Not only that the comfort is active, so it's relational.

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Can everyone see how it's relational? My people, it's active.

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It's not merely a emotional but promises real restoration, including

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their return from exile and God's renewed presence with them.

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It's an active comfort. As we've already talked about, it

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is a divine comfort because it says comfort, ye, comfort

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ye my people, last part saith your God? Right? Everybody

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see that? So it's a divine comfort. It's not a

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human comfort. It flows from God's character as compassionate and faithful,

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grounded in his ability to deliver his people. Everybody see that.

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So in its immediate context, when we look at the

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specific usage of Isaiah of Knockam in Isaiah forty verse one,

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we see the immediate context. It's a double imperative. It

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sets the tone. We see that it is a relational comfort.

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We see that it's a divine comfort. We see it's

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an active comfort. We see all of that. Right there?

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Does that? Does everybody kind of see that? All?

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Right?

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Knock Am here reflects God's sorrow over his people suffering

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a result of their disobedience and his commitment to act

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on their behalf or to bring relief and restoration. Look

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at Isaiah forty verse two. What is it? What do

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00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:39.160
we see in Isaiah forty verse two? Yeah, but it

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signifies what that this time of suffering has come to

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an end. I know we can break we're gonna break

401
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all of that down specifically, but it's basically saying it's over.

402
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It's over, it's come to an end. It's assuring this

403
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comfort is assuring the people that it's come to an end,

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the suffering, that the suffering is not the final word,

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that it's going to come to an end. There's something

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after the suffering. There's a restoration, there's something to come. Right.

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Does everybody get that? All? Right? I think that kind

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of break that kind of puts KNOCKM in its context. Now,

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00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:20.680
let's just briefly look at how would this be significant

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to the original recipients. I don't think you really need

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00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.279
my help on this, but we got to make sure

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we connect this to the original recipients. Right, The original

413
00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:34.039
recipients were Israelites in or anticipating Babylonian exile. It was

414
00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:37.799
a time of immense suffering, loss and disillusionment. Can we

415
00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:42.039
all agree with that right. That's the So the comfort

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00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:45.759
of Isaiah forty verse one is immediate. It's God's promise

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to end their captivity. Ultimately the assurance of his continued

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covenantal faithfulness. So we see this significant to them, It

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makes perfect sense. Comfort. They need comfort. They have a

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real problem. They need real deliverance. Not only that. When

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we read in Isaiah chapter forty verse one, the phrase

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my people, it's reminding Israel that they have not been abandoned.

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God has not left them, even though they have experienced judgment.

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It reflects God's active restoration of his covenant relationship when

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he says my people, what is he saying? You are

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still my people, even though you've been suffering for seventy years.

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You are still my people. And what's the basis of

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00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:32.799
him being their people? Covenant not their actions? Does that

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00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:38.960
make sense all right? For the exiles, the comfort was

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00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:44.599
deeply practical. It pointed to their eventual return from Babylon,

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00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:47.880
the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the renewal of their national identity.

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This was not some abstract encouragement, but a concrete promise

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tied to a historical reality. In other words, this is tangible,

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00:29:57.400 --> 00:30:01.160
it is physical, It is material, not just like, oh, well,

435
00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:05.920
find comfort. No, it's something rooted in And why is

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that so important? Because I can't just go in instill

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that because it's tangible to their situation. Does that make sense?

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I think that can make some sense? All right? So

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what is the significance then? And understanding comfort ye or

440
00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:29.720
knock am? In Isaiah forty verse one? What is the significance? Well,

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what does it demonstrate? Well, let's just see if you

442
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can figure it out. What would be the significance of

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Isaiah chapter forty verse one? Comfort ye? Comfort ye? My

444
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:40.720
people say it, you're mind? Can we agree this? That

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the first piece of significance? It shows God is the

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source of the comfort. Can we agree with that? The

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comfort of Isaiah forty verse one highlights God's unchanging nature.

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His justice leads to discipline, but his mercy brings restoration.

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It shows God is the source of comfort. Who nobody

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else is going to comfort them? Right? Why? Well? One,

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they can't get themselves out of captivity. They need something

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greater than themselves, so they have to look to God.

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God is the source of comfort. I think that's important,

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especially in its context. Agreed? All right? Next, I think

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understanding not. Gham helps see that God's comfort is rooted

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in truth. It does not ignore sin, it does not

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ignore suffering, but it addresses them with his power to

458
00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:37.839
redeem and restore. It shows a balance of judgment and mercy. Right.

459
00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:40.960
It shows a willingness to acknowledge reality. He's not denying

460
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:45.119
the reality. He's like, hey, be comforted. No, it's like, no,

461
00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.680
you need comfort, and I'm going to do it in

462
00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:50.799
a very real, tangible way. There has been judgment, but

463
00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:53.400
there's going to be mercy. It does not deny reality,

464
00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:57.039
doesn't overlook sin. It's very based in reality, and it

465
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:00.960
shows a balance between judgment and mercy. It shows that

466
00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:08.000
it is rooted in truth. It's rooted in reality. So

467
00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:10.359
Number one, it shows God's source of comfort. It shows

468
00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:13.960
a balance here. It's an invitation to trust in some ways,

469
00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:18.279
is it not? Israel was called to trust in God's

470
00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:22.799
promises during exile. Can we agree what do they have

471
00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:25.519
to trust in here? When they get these words? Where

472
00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:29.079
are they at? I mean the words come before they

473
00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:31.799
get there, but at this point, when the message is

474
00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:34.359
preached to them, they're in captivity. But they have to

475
00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:36.279
trust that God is going to bring them comfort in

476
00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:39.599
a tangible way by doing what bringing it to an end.

477
00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:43.359
They got to trust that. Can they yet see that? No,

478
00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:45.880
they have to trust it. So it does call on

479
00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:50.319
them to trust what they cannot currently see. Does that

480
00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:56.759
make sense? They have to trust in that to some level. Yeah,

481
00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:58.839
that's what I said. Yeah, it comes to be well

482
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:03.799
one hundred I mean, Isaiah dies about one hundred years

483
00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:06.599
before it even happened, So yeah, these words are there,

484
00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.240
so they already know it's coming, but at first they

485
00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:10.920
probably wouldn't have known what to do with it. Now

486
00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:15.039
the words mean something when now they're in it. But

487
00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:19.160
they're gonna have to trust because they are in it, right,

488
00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:23.519
getting a word comfort, comfort, it's all coming to an end.

489
00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:26.119
You're like, well, wonderful, but you got to trust that

490
00:33:26.200 --> 00:33:29.279
it's actually going to come to an end or you're

491
00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:31.039
looking for it to happen right now, and when it

492
00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:33.480
doesn't come right now, it may cause a little bit

493
00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:36.839
of difficulty. Correct. So the Hebrew word not cam in

494
00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:40.559
Isaiah forty one captures the depth of God's compassionate response

495
00:33:40.599 --> 00:33:44.680
to his people. It signifies comfort that is both emotional,

496
00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:48.440
it is active, It is rooted in his faithfulness and

497
00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:53.680
redemptive power. The original recipients, the comfort provided assurance of restoration.

498
00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:58.400
It reaffirmed their covenant to relationship with God. And by

499
00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:02.680
understanding the full meaning of Knockam, we gain a rich

500
00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:07.079
appreciation for the profound hope and restoration promised. And Isaiah

501
00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:11.199
forty one. I think that's the case. Now, what's the

502
00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:15.639
obvious question? Now at this point, we know the comfort, right,

503
00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:18.639
we know the comfort, yes, okay, so we know how

504
00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:20.719
it applies to them. So what would be the obvious

505
00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:23.559
question we would ask? Now, as because you know we're

506
00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:27.639
Christians and we go to church, they will how does

507
00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.760
it apply to us? How does knockham apply to us?

508
00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:35.360
All right, Well, first and foremost, let's let's demonstrate what

509
00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:40.719
doesn't apply to us. The promises and Isaiah forty through

510
00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:46.000
fifty five, almost most of them are directly related to

511
00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:51.679
whom Israel and their covenant relationship. We can't go take

512
00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:54.679
those promises and say, well, now I'm going through this

513
00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:57.639
difficult time, but God's going to deliver me and God's

514
00:34:57.679 --> 00:35:02.159
going to restore. You can't do that, right, You can't

515
00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:05.719
do that, and Christians have a long history of doing that.

516
00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:09.840
We go to the Exodus, God delivered them from bondage.

517
00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:14.119
He's gonna deliver stop it, stop it. We cannot do that.

518
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:18.199
So we know we can't do that, right, But how

519
00:35:18.280 --> 00:35:21.440
have we stated that there is a connection here? What

520
00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:25.360
is the spiritual connection between us in this situation? Well,

521
00:35:25.480 --> 00:35:29.800
in a similar way? Okay, these are some things we

522
00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:35.960
have in common. Was Israel sinners? Are we sinners? Were

523
00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:38.280
they living in a world where there was pain, suffering

524
00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:41.239
and death. We live in a world where there's pain,

525
00:35:41.320 --> 00:35:45.880
suffering and death. Were they giving promises? Could they see

526
00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:48.320
the fulfillment of that promise at the time they get

527
00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:48.840
the promise?

528
00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:49.079
No?

529
00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:53.599
Do we have promises? Yes? Do we have promises? Can

530
00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:56.400
we see the fulfillment of those promises right now? No?

531
00:35:56.679 --> 00:35:58.639
I can't see the fulfillment of a promise where there's

532
00:35:58.679 --> 00:36:01.039
no more pain, no more suffering, no more death, and

533
00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:03.039
everything is wonderful. And to have a new body and

534
00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:05.159
there's no more sin and everything is great. Can I

535
00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:06.639
see that in any way, shape or form.

536
00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:06.760
No.

537
00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:08.719
In fact, I may look at my life and do

538
00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:12.719
what Just like there's probably some people who were sitting

539
00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:18.880
in Babylonian captivity going, come on, this is this is trash? Okay,

540
00:36:19.239 --> 00:36:21.519
this is garbage, okay, because I don't know if you've

541
00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:24.960
realized this. We've been here thirty five years. In fact,

542
00:36:25.039 --> 00:36:27.159
a lot of the people who entered here are all dead.

543
00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:29.480
And I'm the kid of the parent who, for some

544
00:36:29.559 --> 00:36:32.440
weird reason had me born in Babylonian captivity. And I

545
00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:35.559
didn't ask to be born. My parents are trash, right, Okay,

546
00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:37.239
maybe they didn't say it exactly that way, but you

547
00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:39.280
can kind of hear that, right, I mean, if you're

548
00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:41.719
born in babylon captivity, well how did we get here? Well,

549
00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:44.239
mom and dad didn't obey God, and so now you're

550
00:36:44.280 --> 00:36:47.559
born in captivity. Well that's not fair. I mean, can

551
00:36:47.599 --> 00:36:51.400
you hear that? Complain? Right? Hey, can't imagine your kid

552
00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:55.360
eating the meal with the family and you need to

553
00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:59.079
clean your room. Well maybe you should have panged God. Okay,

554
00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:01.719
then I wouldn't have to clean my room in captivity. Right.

555
00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:04.480
You can understand why that would be the case. But

556
00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:07.719
we can relate to this. We're sinners and we live

557
00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:09.800
in a world filled with pain, suffering, and death. And

558
00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:11.920
the reason we live in this world field with pain, suffering,

559
00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:17.920
death is because of sin. Yet we read promises that

560
00:37:18.039 --> 00:37:23.320
there's going to be a deliverance. Our captivity will finally

561
00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:25.480
be truly over right, because as long as we live

562
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:27.239
in the flesh, we're still captive to them. Even no

563
00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:29.559
Christians say we've been set free, we haven't been set

564
00:37:29.599 --> 00:37:31.679
free from the bondage of sin. Because I've been set

565
00:37:31.719 --> 00:37:33.559
free from the bondage of sin, then I would be

566
00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:35.760
able to stop sinning. And if I can't stop sinning,

567
00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:39.280
whatever's keeping me from sinning means I'm still in bondage too,

568
00:37:39.400 --> 00:37:42.079
all right, So clearly I'm still in bondage. So in

569
00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:48.239
a roundabout way, where do we live and Babylon? Do

570
00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:53.280
we have promises that are for us? Okay, we're not

571
00:37:53.400 --> 00:37:59.119
stealing their promises? And guess what those promises? What did

572
00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:01.679
we say about some of those promises that Knockham was

573
00:38:01.719 --> 00:38:08.320
pointing to that discomfort was active? Do we believe God's

574
00:38:08.400 --> 00:38:11.559
promise to us are active? We believe it will be active?

575
00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:14.039
Now for them, there was a time it wasn't active, correct,

576
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:20.400
I mean for seventy years, right, So for us for

577
00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:22.920
seventy years, right? I remember they always say the Bible

578
00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:26.199
talks about living what's seventy and by strength seventy five? Right?

579
00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:29.599
So for about seventy years. We live in captivity. Right,

580
00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:36.960
God's promise it will be active, but not here there

581
00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:39.920
now it did do what it was active in the

582
00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:41.880
sense that God sent his son to die for me,

583
00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:44.840
but that even happened before I lived. But in my

584
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:48.639
life doesn't mean all my pain is suffering. None of

585
00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:51.639
it may ever go away, but it will ultimately go away.

586
00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:53.599
So what do I have to do. I got to

587
00:38:53.639 --> 00:38:56.960
trust that God's promise is active and what it will do.

588
00:38:57.800 --> 00:39:01.360
It's personal because I am now declared to be a

589
00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:06.519
child of God. I'm in relationship with God, just like

590
00:39:06.679 --> 00:39:09.840
Israel is a relationship with God because I've been grafted in.

591
00:39:10.199 --> 00:39:15.719
It's a divine comfort because it comes from God. I

592
00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:20.320
can't get myself into Heaven. God has to. So it's

593
00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:24.519
very connected that sense. So I'm in captivity now. I

594
00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:28.559
have been given promises that says one day it's all

595
00:39:28.679 --> 00:39:34.119
going to come to an end. Right, one day it's

596
00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:36.400
all gonna go. I'm gonna put away this body of

597
00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:42.559
flesh and I will receive a new body that death.

598
00:39:42.639 --> 00:39:46.960
Where is thy sting? Right? Because it's all been defeated,

599
00:39:47.199 --> 00:39:51.000
but I don't see it now. They receive the words

600
00:39:51.039 --> 00:39:56.239
of comfort. But even before the captivity started, isn't that crazy?

601
00:39:56.880 --> 00:40:00.559
We received the words in a sense because way before

602
00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:03.000
we were born, right way before we were born, we

603
00:40:03.119 --> 00:40:06.000
received the words of comfort. And then we were born

604
00:40:06.039 --> 00:40:09.000
and we entered into captivity, and then we get these words,

605
00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:11.480
and then these words give us all of these promises.

606
00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:14.400
But what do we have to do? We got to

607
00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:16.239
do the same thing, Israel. Do we have to trust

608
00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:19.840
his promises in the midst of what a reality? That

609
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:23.639
seems to say? What that there's no reason to trust it?

610
00:40:24.679 --> 00:40:27.599
Why should I trust a promise that one day that

611
00:40:27.760 --> 00:40:30.119
all this is going to happen when I can't see it?

612
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:33.400
How would they supposed to believe it? Now? A lot

613
00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:36.559
of people will say, well, they had examples. Remember, by

614
00:40:36.599 --> 00:40:41.199
the time these people are in Babylonian captivity, they are

615
00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:45.639
generations removed from people who saw many of those great power.

616
00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:50.559
They're way removed from it. Right. In fact, many of

617
00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:53.400
them were born in captivity. All they've ever known is

618
00:40:54.679 --> 00:40:58.599
have they seen God chicana glory? No? The temple is

619
00:40:58.840 --> 00:41:02.480
in shambles. Have they seen God feeding them with manna?

620
00:41:02.719 --> 00:41:02.760
No?

621
00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:07.320
Have seen God part the Red sea? No? So they

622
00:41:07.400 --> 00:41:10.119
all they can see is reality, and reality would say

623
00:41:10.519 --> 00:41:15.679
don't trust in God's promises, just like we can feel

624
00:41:15.719 --> 00:41:19.159
the exact same thing, correct, And so what can we do?

625
00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:25.760
We have words of comfort spoken to us. What is

626
00:41:25.800 --> 00:41:28.800
a good New Testament verse about comfort? Direct that would

627
00:41:28.840 --> 00:41:30.440
be directed to us? See if you can find one?

628
00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:36.599
And the New Testament, See if you can find one.

629
00:41:38.519 --> 00:41:41.119
I think there's a verse about the God of all Comfort.

630
00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:45.400
I think that's in the New Testament. See if who

631
00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:51.719
can find it. First we find it, we can go home. Okay.

632
00:41:51.880 --> 00:41:54.039
If you don't find it, we stay here all day,

633
00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:57.280
or no, you stay here all day, I'm leaving. Okay,

634
00:41:59.039 --> 00:42:02.719
I'm gonna go home and get food. I'll see y'all

635
00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:05.280
next Sunday. You see if y'all found the verse by then, okay?

636
00:42:08.360 --> 00:42:11.159
Maybe First Corinthians. Second Corinthians is where I'm thinking, because

637
00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:14.519
that's a letter to a church that really fits a

638
00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:22.159
little bit better. Right, Second Corinthians one three? And what

639
00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:34.960
does that say? Eating Jesus the God of all comfort,

640
00:42:38.920 --> 00:42:40.760
and the Holy Spirit's called the comfort or right, there's

641
00:42:40.840 --> 00:42:43.440
lots of So there's things in the New Testament about comfort.

642
00:42:43.719 --> 00:42:47.920
So where do we look for comfort? God? Now here's

643
00:42:47.960 --> 00:42:50.079
the key. Now, I want ever to get this. We

644
00:42:50.239 --> 00:42:53.960
look to God for comfort, but that doesn't mean God

645
00:42:54.639 --> 00:42:58.599
is going to comfort us in our present captivity by

646
00:42:58.840 --> 00:43:05.199
fixing our circumstances. That's where the church messes up right.

647
00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:09.000
I can tell you God is the God of all comfort.

648
00:43:09.079 --> 00:43:11.760
Look to him for comfort. But what comfort are you?

649
00:43:11.960 --> 00:43:22.000
Guaranteed salvation in Christ Jesus, which guarantees you what no

650
00:43:22.119 --> 00:43:25.159
more pain, no more suffering, no more death, no more sin,

651
00:43:25.480 --> 00:43:30.719
no more tears? What can that? Comfort? Cannot mean? Hey,

652
00:43:31.159 --> 00:43:33.199
God is the God of all comfort. That's going to

653
00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:35.920
fix your situation. Your sickness is going to go away,

654
00:43:36.239 --> 00:43:38.039
This is going to go away, This is going to

655
00:43:38.119 --> 00:43:41.719
get better. I can't promise you any of that, but

656
00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:43.760
I can point you to the God of all comfort

657
00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:48.039
as the one who comforted us. He comforts us in

658
00:43:48.119 --> 00:43:51.320
what way? I have his word of comfort, just like

659
00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:54.519
they had a word of comfort. Now, look, I can't

660
00:43:54.559 --> 00:43:58.119
speak of you to you, but for me, if I'm

661
00:43:58.239 --> 00:44:01.760
in this situation, especially if I was born into the situation,

662
00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:04.800
I probably would have been not such a good person

663
00:44:04.880 --> 00:44:07.559
to hang around because I would have been like, what

664
00:44:08.119 --> 00:44:11.519
good is a stinking word of comfort? When the captivity

665
00:44:11.599 --> 00:44:14.400
is not being lifted up. Do something now. I don't

666
00:44:14.440 --> 00:44:16.760
care about seventy years from now, I might be dead.

667
00:44:17.800 --> 00:44:20.559
Do it now. I mean, come on, would that not

668
00:44:20.639 --> 00:44:23.119
be a reasonable I know I'm not supposed to talk

669
00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:25.079
that way, but it would be seventy years is a

670
00:44:25.159 --> 00:44:28.400
long time when the life expectancy at that time wasn't

671
00:44:28.440 --> 00:44:32.840
that long, right, but it was coming. Well, guess what,

672
00:44:33.039 --> 00:44:35.679
sometimes you know how I feel? Well, it's great God

673
00:44:35.760 --> 00:44:37.239
that you promised me I knew heaven and a new

674
00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:39.119
earth with no more pain, no more suffering, no more debt.

675
00:44:39.239 --> 00:44:41.400
But it would be great that you would do something now.

676
00:44:42.920 --> 00:44:44.760
But the problem is is I've been told that I

677
00:44:44.800 --> 00:44:47.880
should expect something now, when that's the lie, and that's

678
00:44:47.960 --> 00:44:51.760
the false comfort. The comfort that I can grab on

679
00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:58.199
to is what it's coming, and it's guaranteed, not because

680
00:44:58.239 --> 00:45:02.920
of my faithfulness, but because God's faithful. You see the parallel,

681
00:45:04.480 --> 00:45:09.000
There is a parallel. See people think whenever I argue

682
00:45:09.119 --> 00:45:12.440
for the original context that you just don't ever want

683
00:45:12.480 --> 00:45:14.360
to apply it. No, there is an application. But the

684
00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:17.360
application has to be why in a way that I

685
00:45:17.440 --> 00:45:21.280
don't do any damage to the scripture. So I can

686
00:45:21.400 --> 00:45:23.719
look to them and go, Okay, is there a parallel

687
00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:28.039
to me. I'm not inserting myself there, I'm saying, looking

688
00:45:28.079 --> 00:45:31.960
at their situation, I can see me. I'm in captivity.

689
00:45:33.880 --> 00:45:36.199
I'm in a world of pain, suffering and death. That's

690
00:45:36.360 --> 00:45:41.000
very captive to sink. So am I. Yeah, there's words

691
00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:44.000
of comfort, but those words of comforter for well seventy

692
00:45:44.119 --> 00:45:48.440
years from now, I mean obviously metaphorically speaking, right, it's

693
00:45:48.639 --> 00:45:50.840
in the future for a lot of people within seventy

694
00:45:51.039 --> 00:45:56.960
because when I die, I am delivered then from this body,

695
00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:03.880
this captivity, and then I'm truly seph free. There's the

696
00:46:03.960 --> 00:46:07.760
parallel that makes sense. And what did I not do?

697
00:46:09.000 --> 00:46:12.800
I didn't insert myself, taking their tangible promises and then

698
00:46:12.840 --> 00:46:15.800
trying to tell people in church, hey, you need comfort today, Well,

699
00:46:15.880 --> 00:46:18.880
God's there for you. God's gonna do this. God's gonna

700
00:46:18.920 --> 00:46:22.079
do that. When pastors do that, they should be sued

701
00:46:22.239 --> 00:46:27.519
into oblivion. That's malpractice. You know what I can tell

702
00:46:27.559 --> 00:46:30.360
you leave today. God is the god of all comfort.

703
00:46:30.519 --> 00:46:33.119
Find comfort in him, but don't for a second think

704
00:46:33.199 --> 00:46:35.440
that that comfort means he's going to do anything. In

705
00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:40.760
the present. Your situation may get worse and you may

706
00:46:40.840 --> 00:46:43.280
not even know what's coming. What coming may be far

707
00:46:43.360 --> 00:46:45.440
worse than anything you've ever experienced in your life. I

708
00:46:45.519 --> 00:46:53.079
hate to say that it could be. But ultimately, now,

709
00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:56.880
how do we trust that? That's called faith? And that's

710
00:46:56.960 --> 00:47:00.639
the difficulty. You know why faith is difficult because we

711
00:47:01.039 --> 00:47:05.159
believe in that which we cannot see. We believe in

712
00:47:05.239 --> 00:47:10.639
that which we have yet to experience. That's hard to

713
00:47:10.800 --> 00:47:14.599
trust because I can only trust what I can see

714
00:47:14.639 --> 00:47:17.800
and what I can experience. But by faith, that's that's

715
00:47:17.840 --> 00:47:21.239
what faith is. Faith is a complete and in some

716
00:47:21.440 --> 00:47:25.480
cases in conflict with reality. Reality says your faith is stupid,

717
00:47:27.840 --> 00:47:32.679
but we can't deny that reality. Right? Does that make

718
00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:36.119
some sense? I hope? So I hope. I hope that

719
00:47:36.320 --> 00:47:41.039
makes sense. All right, Okay, let's let's stop. Not too bad,

720
00:47:42.599 --> 00:47:45.719
twelve oh nine, not too bad. It's hard only having

721
00:47:45.760 --> 00:47:48.400
two hours now because now you said to go, oh well,

722
00:47:48.440 --> 00:47:50.360
I can do that Wednesday, or I gotta try to

723
00:47:50.400 --> 00:47:53.199
do everything and two hours on a Sunday morning, right,

724
00:47:53.519 --> 00:47:55.480
or then try to move things to the podcast. Right,

725
00:47:55.639 --> 00:47:57.199
All right, let's pray. Look, got we come before you

726
00:47:57.320 --> 00:48:03.039
this afternoon? Lord to one Hebrew word used twice in

727
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:07.039
a text challenges us to consider what comfort is, what

728
00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:10.800
it isn't, what fake comfort is, what true comfort is.

729
00:48:11.480 --> 00:48:13.639
Try to understand the comfort that was offered to them,

730
00:48:14.199 --> 00:48:16.000
and then try to see ourselves in it. Lord, we

731
00:48:16.119 --> 00:48:19.639
may have mishandled the text, and if we did, forgive us. Lord,

732
00:48:19.679 --> 00:48:21.840
we have tried our very best to understand all of

733
00:48:21.920 --> 00:48:26.400
this in a way that hopefully brings light and understanding

734
00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:32.039
and helps with any confusion, pain and feeling disillusioned because

735
00:48:32.079 --> 00:48:34.400
of the lies that's been given to us. Help us

736
00:48:34.400 --> 00:48:37.760
see this correctly, and may we have faith to trust

737
00:48:37.840 --> 00:48:41.639
in you when everything around us sometimes says to question you.

738
00:48:41.800 --> 00:48:43.679
And we ask this in Jesus name, and God's people

739
00:48:43.679 --> 00:48:43.920
said